Veteran Nigerian singer Alexander Akande, commonly referred to as 9ice, claims that that he recalls sounding like Haitian rapper, Wyclef Jean, in the early stages of his career.
The crooner of “Photocopy” claimed that although other Nigerian musicians had also imitated Wyclef’s sound at the time, he was superior to them all.
9ice revealed in a recent interview with SPS that he quit imitating Wyclef Jean after coming into his own.
He emphasised that his brand of music is a fusion of his major inspirations like Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Bob Marley, Ayinde Barrister, Kwan1 and Pasuma.
“My inspiration was Wyclef [Jean]. If anybody listened to me at the beginning, there was a time I was sounding like Wyclef 100 per cent. And there were other people that were sounding like him but they felt that I sounded better than them when it comes to sounding like Wyclef,” he said.
“And from sounding like Wyclef, I got to my own original sound. Bob Marley, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Ayinde Barrister, Kwan1, Pasuma and Obesere are the people that I listened to while growing up and they formed my blend in music.”
