Veteran rapper Tobechukwu Ejiofor, known as Illbliss, has expressed his disappointment over the shift of music stars Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy from rap to Afrobeats. In a recent interview with Radio Now 95.3 FM, Illbliss reflected on a time when rap music was thriving in Nigeria before artists like Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy transitioned to singing, a move that ultimately propelled them to global stardom.
Illbliss acknowledged that hip-hop is not a lucrative genre in Nigeria, with only a handful of rappers, including himself, achieving commercial success. "We (the hip-hop community) lost a lot of our soldiers; we lost Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido," Illbliss lamented. "All three of them started as rappers but found their path in Afrobeats, which made them international stars."
He further noted, "Hip-hop is a tough sell in Nigeria. Not everyone has been as fortunate as myself or others like Vector, M.I., Reminisce, Olamide, and Phyno. The list of successful rappers here isn't long."
