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Iyanya describes how the title of his new album was influenced by a social media troll.
Nigerian music star Iyanya has unveiled the intriguing backstory behind the title of his latest album, ‘Once Upon A Cat,’ revealing that it was inspired by a comment from a social media troll. During an interview on Naija FM, Iyanya discussed his album and his decision to collaborate with emerging artists.
The album title stemmed from a remark made by a social media user during a discussion sparked by Davido’s classification of Burna Boy as a “new cat” in the Afrobeats scene.
In the midst of the ensuing debate over who qualified as a “new cat” versus an “old one,” one user humorously replied to a question about Iyanya’s classification by saying, “that one is once upon a cat” in pidgin.
Iyanya shared that he and his team were brainstorming album titles when they came across this comment, and it instantly resonated with them, ultimately becoming the chosen title for the album.
‘Once Upon A Cat’ features a lineup of emerging artists including Moonlight Afriqa, Tee Dollar, Qing Madi, M3lon, Pawwz, and Young Duu, among others. Iyanya explained that his decision to collaborate with these talents was driven by his desire to shine a spotlight on them and offer them a platform to showcase their skills.
In addition to discussing his album, Iyanya touched on his plans to create remixes of his classic hits and compile them into an album. The interview, which spans 23 minutes, also delved into topics such as Iyanya’s relationship with longtime associate Ubi Franklin and the social media controversy surrounding his friendship with a female fan he met at Davido’s 2023 Timeless concert.