Veteran rapper Tobechukwu Ejiofor, known as Illbliss, has expressed regret over the migration of Nigerian music stars Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy from rap to afrobeats. In an interview with Radio Now 95.3 FM, Illbliss reminisced about the vibrant rap scene in Nigeria before these artists transitioned to singing, which he believes contributed to their global success.
Illbliss noted that while rap music is less lucrative in Nigeria, with only a few rappers achieving significant commercial success, afrobeats has proven to be a more profitable genre. “We (Hip-Hop community) lost a lot of our soldiers; we lost Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido. Three of them were rappers. I guess they found the afrobeats vibe and it made them global stars,” he said.
He acknowledged that hip-hop remains a challenging genre in Nigeria, with only a handful of rappers like himself, Vector, M.I., Reminisce, Olamide, and Phyno achieving notable success.
