Entertainment
Unveiled! Rifts That Rocked Nigerian Showbiz
Many recall the widely-
publicised situation between Nigerian pop star Tiwa Savage and her ex-husband Tunji ‘Tee Billz’ Balogun in April, 2016 and the aftermath of it all. Though the situation, her social media game was on top of things as she maintained an impeccable silence through it all, only addressing the core of the issues via an all-revealing interview with Azuka Ogujiuba of This Day newspaper. Insiders say her finances soared afterwards as well as she managed the situation in fine style.
Well, from our end we saw an instagram verification of her account, a renewed assurance from Pepsi on still being interested in her whatever the case and then a fairly successful US tour in promotion of her current album, RED. Also, Jay Z came into the picture and provided her a solid base with which to further launch her music into global space with Roc Nation. It’s been all round goodness for the 36-year old mother of one. And so has it been in many other cases. The financial returns and overall renown have been decent on the back of controversies and face offs, more often than not.
But then again, some celebrities fail to maximise the situation and the attention it brings their way. In such cases, there’s really no one to blame than the entertainer’s management and team of publicists. Controversies in entertainment have existed for as long as we can recall. In Nigeria, we remember rapper Rugged Man and his issues with Eedris Abdulkareem and consequently Kennis Music in the early 2000s. We also remember Rugged Man and Mode 9 which led to several diss songs, the situation between the plantashun Boiz in 2004, KC Presh, Eldee The Don and Freestyle and the epic, era defining fall out between Don Jazzy and Dbanji in 2012.
In between all of these, Rugged Man fell out again with Singer 9ice, prompting criticisms from various divides and earning himself the tag of most controversial indigenous hip hop artiste in maybe the history of the genre in Nigeria.
All of these put together helped define an era, shape the industry and put us right on the cusp of global dominance directly or indirectly.
Having established that controversies are somewhat important, with a measured dose of course, we run you through 15 of the biggest ‘beefs’ in 21st century Nigerian entertainment is seeing as there’s been a bit of confusion as to what really is and what isn’t. That said, in no particular order, below are 15 of the most unforgettable ‘beefs’ in Nigeria entertainment.
Plantashun Boiz
2face (now as 2 baba), Faze and Black face formed one of the biggest music groups in Nigerian music, but broke up in 2004 over several undisclosed issues leading to solo careers that saw only 2 baba succeeding overall.
Rugged Man And Eldris Abulkareem
Both hip hop veterans fell out after Rugged Man attacked the latter, criticising his style of hip hop and more.
Eldee The Don And Freestyle
Formerly label mates, both artistes fell out after years of thin-veiled jabs and innuendos. It all took shape after Freestyle released the song ‘Braggin Rights’ with Blaise. Eldee responded to this with a diss song even though they have both denied on numerous occasions that there’s an issue between them.
Mode 9 And Rugged Man
Mode 9 and rugged Man fell out following differences in style of music with Rugged Man maintaining that Mode 9’s style of music wasn’t created for the Nigerian audience, and Mode on the other hand maintaining that he was “keeping it real” as real hip-hop should be.
2 Shots And Big LO
The duo fell out following several irreconcilable differences after establishing themselves as a superb force together musically with the monster hit song, ‘Delicious’
Rugged Man And 9ice
Both musicians had issues after 9ice alleged his wife cheated on him with a close friend, the friend being Rugged Man. The allegation stuck for sometimes as 9nic’s marriage with Tony Paine eventually crashed. However, 9ice has come out to apologise for his comments and insinuations back then, saying Rugged Man was never guilty of the allegations.
Olamide And Don Jazzy
In January 2016, Olamide and Don Jazzy fell out after the former got on stage at the Headies awards and threw a tantrum. He later went on social media to call out the Mavin head honcho in a set of tweets after which he reportedly apologised to both Don Jazzy and the organisers of the Headiest.
Tonto Dikeh And Toyin Lawani
Both ladies were embroiled in a social media ‘feud’ of sorts after Lawani accused Dikeh of wrong fully giving Jeremiah Ogbodo aka Swanky Jerry credits for her styling and even threatening to sue.
Stella Damsus And Doris Simeon
Both Nollywood stars fell out after Simeon’s marriage to Daniel Ademinokan crashed and Damasus went ahead into a romantic affair with him.
Don Jazzy And D’banj
In 2012, both music heavyweights dissolved the Iconic Mo’Hits Records owing to several undisclosed reasons.
Wizkid And Skales
Formerly signed to Eme records under Banky W, both artistes feuded publicly via social media rants after Skales accused Wizkid of not supporting his career despite having helped him write some of his hit songs.
Kcee Fresh
As with many other Nigerian music groups, the duo broke up after they couldn’t work together any more, following this, Kcee went on to attain even greater success with 5 Star Music.
Don Jazzy And Wande Coal
After Mo Hit dissolved in 2012, Wande Coal stuck with Don Jazzy under the new Mavin Records imprint but things went wrong eventually between them leading to a social media face off.
Popular businessman and socialite, Pascal Okechukwu, aka Cubana Chief Priest, has said that his relationship with singer Davido is beyond money and gossip.
He stated this in a recent interview with BBC Igbo.
“Davido is my friend. He is my in-law; he married Chioma who is from Imo State where I hail from.
“So the relationship I have with Davido is beyond money and gossip,” he said.
DAILY POST reports that Chief Priest disclosed via his Instagram page that his outfit for the wedding of the singer, Davido and his wife, Chioma, in Lagos on Tuesday cost seven million Naira.
The socialite recently appreciated Davido for not “discarding” Chioma.
He stated that the DMW boss has made Imo State proud by choosing to marry from the state.
Nigerian singer Simisola Kosoko, popularly known as Simi, has lent her voice to the ongoing anti-tax hike protests in Kenya.
The Tide’s source reports that Kenyan youths are marching against tax hike in widespread demonstrations tagged ‘RejectFinanceBill2024.’
Five people were shot dead and dozens wounded after police clashed with protesters who stormed the parliament building in Nairobi on Tuesday, according to Amnesty Kenya.
Reacting via her X handle on Tuesday night, Simi declared her support for the demonstrators.
She stated that “it is both powerful and heartbreaking for a people to have to fight and die for freedoms and rights.”
The singer wrote, “I stand with the people of Kenya. It is both powerful and heartbreaking for a people to have to fight and die for freedoms and rights. Godspeed and Strength. [Hash tag] RejectFinanceBill2024.”
In a series of other posts, she wrote: “Wow. When you’ve had enough, the fight is almost inevitable.
“African leaders- have not you done enough?
“I can’t wait for the day Africa is not a weapon fashioned against Africans. All of this amazing Black power and human resource, but the majority are not likely to thrive unless they run.”
Famous Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Davido was spotted among other top artistes at Asake’s ‘Lungu Boy’ tour concert in Atlanta, Georgia.
Asake’s performance at his sold-out show at the 17,000-capacity State Farm Arena in Atlanta began on August 16, 2024, and is set to run for 10 days.
In a trending video on social media, Davido appeared backstage with American rapper Quavo to support Asake during the live performance.
Other musicians in attendance included Nigerian hitmaker Zlatan and American rapper Russ Millions.
The Tide’s source reports that Asake’s ‘Lungu Boy’ tour is set to cover six U.S. cities, where he will headline notable venues including Madison Square Garden in New York, the Toyota Center in Houston, and the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Asake’s tour comes just days after the release of his latest hit, ‘Lungu Boy,’ which features several superstars, including Wizkid, British rappers Central Cee and Stormzy, Travis Scott and Brazilian singer Ludmilla.
‘Lungu Boy’ set a new record for the biggest opening week on Spotify Nigeria, garnering 18.9 million streams in its opening week and breaking the previous record of 14.4 million streams held by Davido’s ‘Timeless.’