Music has also been said to
express that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain
silent. Music has created an avenue for all and sundry to have a reason to be
happy at all times. But when some music stars disappear from the radar, it
gives a music lover reasons to wonder why. Lets takes a look
at some wave-making music artistes that are now less visible on the Nigerian
entertainment scene in the modern vastly competitive era.
Bigiano
Gabriel Bablalola, known as
Bigiano joined Peter and Paul Martins in 2001 to form a group named Triple B.
however, in 2004, the centre could no longer hold and Bigiano went solo. In
2008, Bigiano made a compelling appearance on the music scene with the monster
hit track, ‘Shayo’ and went on to become more popular than his early group
members. He was involved in several shows based on the commercial success of
the ‘Shayo’ song. He released a few more songs which made waves so to say. But
ever since then, little has been heard of him music wise. His former group
members in an interview said they knew he wasn’t going to last in the music
scene because he allowed little things get into his head and would be unable to
handle fame. Could that be the reason why he has gone into oblivion? He however
said his absence from the scene was deliberate, as he wanted to spend more time
with his family.
Tony Tetuila
Anthony Olanrewaju Awotoye
better known as Tony Tetuila is known for these songs ‘My Car’ and ‘E go
better’. He was a former member of the Remedies, along with Eedris Abdulkareem
and Eddy Montana. He broke out of the group and went solo. He was hugely
successful when he went solo and sadly, he hasn’t been able to live up to the
super star tag put on him. It is a known fact that he is struggling to regain
relevance as he has been appearing in few musical videos. He still maintains
cordial relationship with people like Tuface and regularly seen at the ever
bubbling places in Lagos. He was one of
his groomsmen during Tuface’s wedding. Rumour has it that he impregnated a
young lady living in the United Kingdom.
Paul ‘Play’ Dairo
Paul Dairo is a known name
in the musical industry. He is the son of the late legendary musician, Paul IK
Dairo. At a point, he was sick and was in the United States for better
treatment. The sickness which kept him away from the scene and limelight for a
while nearly ended his career. After leaving his hospital bed, he had promised
to head straight to the recording studio and out with two new albums at once.
But so far, his fans are still waiting for the fulfilment of that promise. One
of his hits songs ‘Angel of my life’ song was used by MTN for their reality TV
music talent hunt show, Project Fame without his permission. He sued MTN
Nigeria and Ultima Limited for allegedly infringing on his copyright. Uncle
Paul, we await your promise. However, he performs at wedding gigs.
Danfo Drivers
The duo of mountain black
and mad melon were a 2-man gang who ripped aprt the music industry in early 200s with their ghetto inspired
dance hall songs such. Their first album had the same title as their crew name
‘Danfo Drivers’ and the title song was used on the soundtrack of American
comedy film 'Phat girlz' alongside Tuface's hit 'African queen'. Their third
album was commercially disappointing but it was able to win an award in Nigeria
Entertainment Film Festival (NEFFA) held in Abuja and also helped to create
opportunity for the duo to perform in major European cities in 2009. Ever since
then, they have not been heard doing their thing again. There are solely missed
though.
Zule Zoo
This is a group made up of
Ibrahim Alhassan and Michael Aboh were/are a traditional musical group who
brought a new kind of energy into the Nigerian music scene. With Kerewa still
one of the most used slogans in social circuits, only few people will claim
ignorance of the presence of Zule Zoo.
Their controversial debut album titled Kerewa that was full of pulsating
beats and lewd lyrics was what kept the name Zule Zoo in the consciousness of
music lovers. However, since Ibrahim and Mike went solo, the former has
released a couple songs, but hasn’t made a hit. They are re-united now
according to the words of Ibrahim and are back with a positive force. We still
expect the ‘force’.
Deebee
Deebee, a Bariga bred
artiste burst onto music scene with a monster hit song ‘Collabo’ in 2008. He
was the cynosure of all eyes as almost every DJ played his songs. In fact the
song was very successful commercially. As expected, he released a few more
songs after and just like those before him, he went dark totally. Nothing has
been heard from him ever since then. Probably he is in collaboration with some
other pressing matters. But recently under the aegis of Rhymes Ent. in UK, and
with producer Olly Jay, Deebee released Lako, Poke You and Ose Omo which was
done with Mr Solek himself.
Ashionye
She started out as member
of girl band and then goes solo like the Plantashun Boiz and Destiny’s Child.
Her song “Dance for Me” dominated airwaves for a bit. The accompanying video
was heralded for its dance moves and also for being very colourful. In an industry
where there has always been a dearth of female acts, Ashionye showed a lot of
promise. Alas, it was not to be. These days, she’s more of an actress, and even
had a brief stint on TV show ‘Tinsel’. Her reason for her long absence from
music was because she was pregnant and had to take time out to raise him.
JayRu
Featuring Wizkid on your
song is almost a guaranteed formula for success. That formula definitely
provided a solution forAbiodun Inneh better known as JayRu. He sang ‘Familiarity’ featuring Wizkid. The song
was a success probably due to the fact that Wizkid was featured. “Ye ma form
familiarity” was what the people were shouting, until JayRu went silent, and
everybody also stopped forming familiarity. He has tried to release songs into
the market but sadly, they have not been commercial hits.
Alariwo
After the passing of
Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, the only other acts representing for that genre of
music were sons Femi & Seun, Lagbaja and maybe Dede Mabiaku. That was until Rotimi Matins better known as Alariwo burst on to the scene with “Yawa Go Gas”. Despite multiple efforts,
it’s been quite difficult for the crossover king to have the same amount of
relevance he managed with his debut.
OLUSOLA OLUJIDE AYODELE
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