Over the years, the Nigerian music industry has seen a lot of its popular music groups break up and its artists go their separate ways to pursue a career as a solo act.

While the breakups of these music groups had impacts on the industry and their fans, the members of these groups still found a way to make lemonades out of lemons.

Here are some of the top Nigerian Artists who became successful solo acts after leaving their group;

• RELATED: Throwback: Iconic Music groups that rocked the Nigerian Music Industry
• RELATED: A look into Nigerian Music Groups that have broken up

Rudeboy

Known as Paul Okoye, Rudeboy was the one half of the renowned music duo, P-square. Alongside his brother Peter Okoye, they ruled airwaves for almost a decade with their groovy and love-themed songs that had many African households on a chokehold.

While a lot of many Nigerian music groups were breaking up, many didn’t expect P-square to break up as they were literally twin brothers but alas they did.

What started a slight family misunderstanding festered into something huge that end up posting the Nigerian Music Industry their beloved music group.

This separation between the two brothers had many wondering what the next step would be for them but Rudeboy didn’t hesitate in launching out solo with “Fire Fire” and “Nkenji Keke.”

Despite the bitter taste left on many of P-square’s fans’ tongues, this didn’t stop people from accepting his songs.

While the singer has released several hits over the years, his biggest is “Reason with Me” which broke a P-square record on youtube after amassing over 122M views on the streaming platform.

In 2021, he released his debut solo album, “RudyKillus” which has received mixed reactions from fans is doing considerably well on streaming platforms.

2Baba

Formerly known as 2face Idibia, 2Baba first came to the limelight as a member of the R’n’B group, Plantashun Boiz which dominated the industry in the early 2000s with hits and two successful albums: Body and Soul (2000) and Sold Out (2003).

However, in 2004, 2baba left the group to pursue a solo career under Kennis Music where he released his debut solo album Face 2 Face (2004), which established him as a viable solo artist.

His popularity skyrocket with the release of his second album, “Grass to Grace“.

The album’s success was propelled by the success of “African Queen” in the country. The song is considered to be one of Nigeria’s best songs to date.

With over two decades in the Industry, 2Baba has seven studio album and has received several major awards including one MTV Europe Music Award, one World Music Award, five Headies Awards (Hip-hop award), four Channel O Music Video Awards and one BET award for his musical work, four MTV Africa Music Awards, one MOBO award, one KORA award, 3 Afrima Awards, and numerous additional nominations.

2Baba is also one of the Nigerian consistent artists to date, still topping airwaves despite the increase in young bloods in the Industry.

Eedris Abdulkareem

There was a point when Eedris Abdulkareem was one of the Nigerian Hip-Hop major contenders. From 1997 to 2002, he was part of the popular hip-hop band The Remedies alongside Tony Tetuila and Eddy Remedy.

The Remedies were popular for their hits like “Shakamo” and “Omoge” which endeared them to millions of people all over West Africa.

The group split up in 1999 when Eedris Abdulkareem who was the henchman of the crew decided to launch a solo career.

Eedris Abdulkareem’s solo career started off to a glistening start with the release of 3 successful albums with the Kennis Music label imprint between 2002 and 2004.

His solo career was blessed with iconic songs like “Jaga Jaga” which earned him the ire of the Nigerian Government, “Mr Lecturer“, Oko Achewo” among others.

His fortunes however took a downturn in 2004 after a fracas with the American rapper 50 Cent. His subsequent album “King is Back” was released in 2007 under his La Crème record label and he is still has a visible presence on the Naija music scene.

Kcee

Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo, better known as Kcee started his career in the music industry alongside his former music partner Presh with the two combining their names to form their stage name KcPresh.

The flashy duo won the first edition of Star’s yearly musical contest, Star Quest in 2002. They went on to release 5 albums before going their separate ways in 2011.

After his separation from Presh, Kcee got signed to his brother, E-Money’s label, Five Star Music where he released a number of songs including the 2013 hit, “Limpopo” which gave his career a boost.

He has several hits and two albums to his credit as a solo artist.

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Worthy Mentions

Olu Maintain (Maintain); went on to release two albums- “Yahooze/Maintain Reloaded” a successful effort that spawned the mega-hit single, “Yahooze” and Kentro World(2009).

Faze (Plantashun Boiz); has released three albums since- Faze Alone (2004), “Independent” which spawned several hit singles in 2006 and Originality (2008).

BlackFace(Plantashun Boiz); has only one album to his credit. He also co-wrote 2face’s breakthrough single- African queen.

Tony Tetuila(The Remedies); also did very well on his own with hit songs like “Omode meta”, I’m in love with 2 women” and “My Car” which became a street sensation. He has 5 albums to date.

Mr. P(P-square): Might not have been successful as his brother solo-wise but has been able to release hit songs to his credit. Released his debut album, “The Prodigal” in 2021.

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Some groups in the Nigerian music industry have witnessed breakups leading to serious competition among its members. While some of such breakups were necessary, others left their fans heartbroken.

• RELATED: Throwback: Iconic Music groups that rocked the Nigerian Music Industry
• RELATED: Top 5 songs from Naija music groups of the early 2000s

Mp3bullet.ng take a look at the groups that have broken up;

P-square

The history of the Nigerian music industry or Music Groups cannot be complete without the P-Square chapter, which started in 2001. The duo of twins Peter and Paul Okoye is practically a reference point in Nigerian urban music and pop culture, and its huge influence extends into many African countries.

Although the group has suffered an off and on rancour before their final separation, until about three years ago, the duo has been up and doing in the music scene both locally and internationally dropping massive hits and shutting down stadiums of about 23,000 capacity in Africa.

Things fell apart when Peter allegedly confronted his twin Paul, and their elder brother and manager Jude for sidelining him in choosing the songs to put out, and that they only selected every song composed by Paul alone.

Both Peter and Paul now have their solo careers with various songs to their credit. Peter now goes by the stage name Mr. P and Paul goes by Rudeboy.

P-Square released six albums in their music career, including Get Squared (2005), Game Over (2007), Danger (2009) and Invasion (2011), Double Trouble(2014).

The Remedies

One of the biggest Nigerian Music Groups that rocked the late 90s and early 2000s were The Remedies, made up of Eddy Remedy, Tony Tetuila and Eedris Abdulkareem.

The group was a force to reckon with, they were one of the groups that defined the style now known as “Naija Hip Hop”.

The Remedies was formed in 1997 and hit songs like “Shakamo” and “Omoge” endeared them to millions of people all over West Africa. The group split up in 1999 when the henchman of the crew, Eedris Abdulkareem decided to launch a solo career.

Eedris Abdulkareem’s solo career started off to a glistening start with the release of 3 successful albums with the Kennis Music label imprint between 2002 and 2004.

His fortunes however took a downturn in 2004 after a fracas with the American rapper 50 cent. His subsequent album “King is Back” was released on his La Crème record label and he is still has a visible presence on the Naija music scene.

Tony Tetuila also did very well on his own with smash hit songs like “Omode meta”, “I’m in love with 2 women” and “My car” which became a street sensation. He has 5 albums to date.

The third member of the group Eddy Remedy was unfortunately not able to kick-start a successful solo career. He has an album “Leave Eddy Alone” to his credit.

Plantashun Boiz

Between the late 90s to early 2000s, Plantashun Boiz housed the trio of Innocent Idibia, aka 2Baba, Chibuzor Orji, aka Faze and as well as Ahmedu Augustine Obiabo better known as Black Face were a household name in the music scene.

During their days as a group, they had several hits but things came to a head when some members of the group decided to pursue individual careers in 2003.

According to how the story goes, 2Baba signed under Kennis Music where he dropped his hit song African Queen which catapulted him to stardom and made him a force to reckon with in Africa and beyond.

Faze on the other hand also made his solo debut with Faze Alone as his first single as a solo artist. Black Face as well dropped a couple of singles.

Within a space of about two years, the three of them had songs and albums doing well out in the industry and radio stations.

2Baba has since gone on to release 7 multiple award-winning albums Face 2 Face (2004), Grass 2 Grace (2006), The Unstoppable (2008), The Unstoppable International Edition in 2010, Away and Beyond(2012), The Ascension(2014), Warriors(2020).

He has also bagged numerous prestigious awards and nominations and become an Icon of Nigerian and African Music all over the world.

Faze has released four albums since- Faze Alone (2004), “Independent” which spawned several hit singles in 2006 and Originality (2008), Refazed(2012).

Since then, 2Baba has grown to become a legend and Faze isn’t doing bad as well. He only drops singles once in a while.

Black face on the other hand has been silent for years now until recently when he called out former label mate 2Baba, for allegedly stealing his song “Let Somebody Love You” which he (2Baba) recorded with international songstress Kelly Bridget.

The Plantashun Boyz collaborated on a reunion album titled “Plan B” in 2007.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM35Au_IYRM

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Style Plus

Styl-Plus (originally STYL) was a gospel and pop music group that formed in 1997 in Abuja. The four founding members were Shifi Emoefe, Tunde Akinsanmi, Yemi Akinwonmi and Lanre Faneyi. In 1998 Lanre Faneyi died, and Zeal Onyecheme joined the group to replace him.

In 2002 Yemi Akinwonmi left the group and the musical band became a trio without adding a new member. Starting 2003, the group had its own record label, STYL-PLUS.

Style Plus gained stardom with their hit single Olufunmi in 2007 and they were known for their crooning love songs.

The trio was even described in some quarters as the Nigerian version of the American RnB group, Boys 2 Men due to their genre of songs.

In February 2006, they released their highly anticipated 11-track debut album Expressions in star-studded launches at Abuja and Lagos that were rumoured to have cost over N10 million (about USD75 000 then), making it possibly the most expensive album launch in Nigerian history.

However, Tunde left style plus few years after to pursue a solo career and since then, not much has been heard from him. The reason for his departure is still unknown.

According to Informationng.com, repeated attempts to get the group to relocate to Lagos was responsible for the breakup of Styl-Plus – some members wanted to move, but others refused.

Shifi and Zeal also haven’t dropped many songs since, leaving their fans to assume that they are done with music and facing other endeavours.

Kush

KUSH was an all-girl music group made up of gospel artist, Lara George, Emem Ema and celebrity photographer, TY Bello, who shot to prominence with their hit song, ‘Let’s Live Together’. The trio met at the University of Lagos where they formed the group but it only lasted a few years.

While the reason behind their split is still unknown, Lara George was quoted to have said; “Music at the time when KUSH started was a very difficult thing to do particularly for three young professionals with so many career options.

It was tough keeping things together at that time because the pressure the financial uncertainty brought took its toll on us as a group and everyone started to drift apart until we were no longer able to keep things going.”

Lara George has since built her career as a gospel musician, Emem on the other hand is now an artiste manager. Incidentally, she now manages Peter Okoye, a member of the defunct Psquare group who now goes by Mr. P. Ty Bello is a celebrity photographer who is doing well in her chosen field. Bello still releases Gospel Songs from time to time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWWXCgZKmg0

Kcee Presh

Kcee Presh made up of Kcee (Kingsley Okonkwo) and Presh (Precious John), came to the spotlight when they won the much-coveted Star Quest prize in 2002.

They were rewarded with the Most Promising Act award that same year. They also won the Best Collaboration, Best Music Comedy Video, Best Akwa Cross Artist (2006), Best South-South Artist (2006) and a host of others during their short stay together.

Although of different backgrounds (Kcee hails from Anambara state while Presh is from Akwa-Ibom and Cross River), Kcee made songs that rocked the Nigerian music scene during their time as a group. They went on to release 5 albums before going their separate ways in 2011.

Kcee however got signed to Five Star Music, a record label owned by his younger brother, E-Money. Kcee hit the music waves with his debut single Limpopo in 2013 which gained him massive followership. He has since helped put his record label at the forefront of the music industry in Nigeria.

Presh on the other hand hasn’t offered much as a solo artist since their split.

Like Kcee, he also got signed to a new record label Eric Many record and released a song “I No Dey Lie” which features Tiwa Savage in 2016. The song didn’t fly as expected and since then, nothing has been heard from him.

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Maintain

The trio of Olu, Tolu and Bamo came to national prominence on the back of hit songs like “I catch cold” and “Nibo la wa gbe lo”. After six albums between 1998 and 2004, the group split up after the exit of Olu in 2005.

Olu Maintain went on to release two albums- “Yahooze/Maintain Reloaded” a successful effort that spawned the mega-hit single, “Yahooze” and Kentro World(2009).

Big Bamo released a well-received album “popotiti” but since seems to have taken a leave from recording music.

Except for occasionally featuring in a few songs Tolu has not had a significant solo career since the breakup of Maintain. The trio has since faded from mainstream music as not much have been heard from them.

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however, this post will specifically highlight rap albums with impact and cultural remarks, it’s sad that rap album rarely impacts like they used to be.

The evolution of the Nigerian music industry has witnessed a coarse amount of standard rap albums over the past 2 decades, the metrics will be critically relying on the impacts of a rap album on the mainstream.

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What is a rap album? rap or rapping album is a body of work that thrives in talking delicately and rhythmically, often with a very multiplex rhythm even without tonal concerns.

Below are the Best Nigerian rap albums of all time

Mode 9 – Da Vinci Mode

This is the fourth studio album by rapper Mode 9, released in 2010.

The 22 tracks album is considered the most lyrically rich rap album in Nigeria.

Da Grin – C.E.O

C.E.O an acronym for ‘Chief executive Omota’ is an album by Late Nigeria Rapper Da Grin a cultural era defined project.

M.I Abaga – MI 2: The Movie

This is the second studio album by highly acclaimed rapper M.I Abaga, it was released in 2010, one of the most relatable rap album of all time.

Ice Prince – Everybody Loves Ice Prince

This is Ice Prince’s debut studio album and was released on October 9, 2011, under Chocolate City

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It features guest artists including, Brymo, Wizkid, 2Baba, Jesse Jagz, M.I, Yung L, J-Milla, Wizboyy, Morell, Samklef, and Sean Tero

M.I – Talk About It 

This is M.I. Abaga’s debut studio album and was released in 2008, it features guest artistes including Ice Prince, Jesse Jagz, Wizkid, Djinee, YQ and more

Jesse Jagz – Jag of All Tradez

This is Jesse Jagz’s debut studio album and was released in 2010, under Chocolate City, It features guest artists including,  Brymo, M.I Abaga, Wizkid, Ice Prince and more.

Olamide – Eyan Mayweather

Eyan Mayweather is the fifth studio album by rapper Olamide, released in 2015, the album highlighted Olamide‘s level of consistency in hip-hop.

Phyno – No Guts No Glory

This is Phyno’s debut studio album and was released on March 20, 2014, under Sputnet Records and Penthauze Music. 

It features guest artists including  P-Square, Omawumi, Olamide, Stormrex, Efa, Flavour N’abania, Runtown, Ice Prince, M.I, Mr Raw, Timaya and Illbliss.

Vector – Lafíaji

Lafiaji is a studio album by rapper Vector, it was released in 2016.

Lafiaji is renowned for his metaphors and wordplay.

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