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.
Spotify yesterday revealed a significant surge in heartbreak song streams in Nigeria during the Valentine’s Day season, with a 626 percent increase between 2022 and 2024.
This was disclosed in a statement issued in Lagos, Nigeria by Spotify’s Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa Phiona Okumu.
Okumu said, “Spotify data reveals a surprising trend, a massive surge in heartbreak song streams.
“Nigerians are turning to their playlists to express their emotions, with a staggering 626 per cent overall growth in heartbreak streams from 2022 to 2024.
“This Valentine, the sound of love is accompanied by the sound of heartbreak, and the data shows it’s louder than ever before.”
She said on Valentine’s Day, most surprisingly, male listeners streamed heartbreak songs at a significantly higher rate than female listeners, with a 362 per cent increase compared to 169 per cent among women.
“This could suggest that men resonate with the feeling of heartbreak more and turn to music as a private outlet for processing emotions.
“Whatever the reason, one thing is clear, when love is in the air, so is heartbreak and Nigerian men are pressing play on their pain more than expected.
“While Valentine’s Day is often celebrated with grand gestures, heartbreak is a common theme on Valentine’s Day -more than what’s publicly shown,” she said.
Nigerians will join their counterparts across the world to mark the 2025 Valentine’s today.
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has joined MLS side San Diego FC’s ownership group as a club partner.
SDFC announced today that Tems joined the ownership group through her company, The Leading Vibe.
In the process, Tems became the first African woman to be involved in MLS ownership.
“We are delighted that Tems has joined San Diego FC as a club partner,” SDFC chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour said in a statement.
“Tems is a globally significant artist who will help us reach new audiences and spread the word about our unique project, which, of course, has its foundations in sub-Saharan Africa through the unique Right to Dream organisation.”
Reacting to her addition as the latest partner in SDFC’s ownership group, the singer said: “I am thrilled to join San Diego FC’s ownership group and to be part of a club that celebrates creativity, culture, and the power of community.
“Football has a unique way of bringing people together, and I am excited to help build something special in San Diego, a city that thrives on diversity and innovation.”
Fashion and beauty entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani, has claimed she is enduring back pain and that her spine is degenerating.
Lawani revealed this in a video posted on social media last Tuesday.
In the clip, she opened up about her experience with epidural anesthesia, an injection administered to pregnant women in the spine to reduce pain during childbirth.
The mother of three claimed that since receiving the injection, she has not felt like herself.
She accused doctors of not fully informing women about the long-term side effects of epidurals.
According to Lawani, she received the anesthetic injection during the birth of her last two children.
She said, “When you hear ‘epidural,’ run. Doctors tell you about the side effects but do not tell you about the long-term effects on your body. I have about three friends having the same issues that I am having.
“Like, I am just 42, how did I end up with spine issues? I have a degenerating spine. I have implants in my spine. I go paralyzed. I can’t stand for a long time. I can’t even breathe properly sometimes because it affected so many things in my body when I had the surgery.
“They will not tell you because you just want the pain to go away. I have had two epidurals. I had my first as natural birth. The last two were epidural. The last one I had epidural because I had to undergo a surgery and I had no choice.
“See, the pain does not stop. My back is killing me and my spine is degenerating.”