Why Ice Prince no more on the radar in the Nigerian music industry??
So what made Ice Prince fall from the ladder in the Nigerian music industry? is it the controversy with his girlfriend, Maima?
What do you recall about the year 2010? Nothing? Let me give you a hint. In both music and fashion, 2010 was a year of a lot of color and pop, new emergence of trend which considered outdated now, but the Nigerian music industry was on fire that birthed this era.
SUPRA sneakers, OBEY face caps, varsity jackets, and then there’s Oleku from the Ice Prince performing at end-of-session school parties.
Oleku was a huge hit right away. There’s something special and unique about this record. Is it the beginning of the song’s underlying dotting piano melody or Brymo’s one-of-a-kind chorus, dubbed the best chorus/hook ever in the industry?
Ice Prince’s spicy, fiery-cool rap style could be the reason. His rap style was infectious, with lots of ing-rhymes. The first stanza was spoken in an angry manner. His flow would quicken and his lines would become more rapid as he slid in slowly.
The delivery was flawless. Brymo’s sensitive hook is perfectly complemented by Ice Prince’s violent, expressive flow. Later on, this pattern would become more obvious and more frequent.
The singer-rapper duo would continue to work together, with MI enlisting Waje for “One Naira” on his MI 2 album.
Ice Prince, on the other hand, had an official debut with Oleku. With Oleku, he’d become the third in a line of young musicians to break into the public with a smash single.
Holla At Your Boy was a song by Wizkid. Eni Duro was with Olamide.
The enormity of Oleku was far greater for Ice Prince. Oleku reverberated through clubs, serenaded end-of-year school gatherings, and became a radio hit. It’s a viral, contagious hit.
But that wasn’t the only thing that happened. A debut hit of that scale rarely goes unnoticed without having a significant impact on other places.
Ice Prince would win a slew of awards. At the Headies, the rapper would win Song of the Year and Best Rap Single.
Oleku was also the first Afrobeats song to be played on BBC1Xtra radio, according to reports.
It’s been nearly ten years since that album was released and still very relevant whenever you play it.
Editorial Opinion
So what made Ice Prince fall from the ladder? is it the controversy with his girlfriend, Maima? or is Ice Prince still using the regular old sounds that brought him fame then? or Ice Prince not evolving and exploring other genres/sounds like the “new sounds”? or does he need a feature with any of the top 3?