Tony Tetuila, Terry G, J Martins, other Afrobeats legends of the 2000s, where are they?

Tony Tetuila, Terry G, J Martins, other Afrobeats legends of the 2000s, where are they?

By Chinyere Ifeka 

Music in Nigeria has not only skyrocketed in the country but has slowly taken over the world. Living in these times now, you’d come to the realization that Afrobeats has become a popular sound across the globe. With different forms and variations of it like Afro-pop, Afro-R&B, Afro-soul, hiplife, hip-hop, dancehall and many others. The interesting sound has taken a storm over the current generation and now reaching the Western parts of the world, it is now being infused by different Western music sounds and has gained a mighty recognition globally.

 

Afrobeats was coined by the father himself, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, being the name he referred to his musical sound, which entails a different music styles combined with it, and this sound has spawned out many great musicians of our time like Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Rema, Tiwa Savage, Ayra Starr, Teni and many more.

 

 

But enough about those giants in the late 21^st century music industry dominating Nigeria and the world. I would personally like to talk about the musicians who are iconic symbols that set the bar for Afro-pop to become what it is today. We hear their songs when we go to parties and reminisce on days of young when the songs newly came out and their music was at its’ prime. It’s no denial that these very icons are also musical influencers to our now musical giants in the industry.

 

These musicians has helped in laying the foundation of Nigerian pop music, dancehall, hip-hop and so on and so forth, but it seemed as though as time went by, their music although never faded because music never dies, the artistes who has made these beautiful nostalgic songs somehow have. What could have been the cause of their fading away from the limelight and sudden disappearance from the now bubbling music scene in Nigeria?

 

I’d like to make mentions of some then popular Nigerian artistes which I would personally call their music ‘old school’. Firstly, I’d like to make some mentions about the old artistes like Modenine, Tony Tetuila and 9ice, who gave us solid street and hip hop jams that turned to memorable anthems. Their songs have trended over a decade and are still used as jams in current day parties and are still being enjoyed by many. It is questionable to wonder about their sudden disappearance in the music game.

 

The likes of J.Martins, Bracket, Terry G and Naeto C are also musicians who have been quite absent in the music game at the current state.

 

Terry G who is also known as the Akpako Master has talked about returning back to the music industry as of last year November 2022 after he had claimed to have quit drinking and smoking and ‘womanising’ while J.Martins has made claims to returning back to music in 2021 after he decided to stop before the pandemic. The rest seemed to have moved on from music and we can only hope things are going well for them and may eventually make their return back to music.

 

Another mention I’d like to wonder about is one of our favorite ladies who came into the music scene through the popular music reality television show Nigerian Idol, Omawumni. After dropping several hits during her time like ‘Bottom Belle’, ‘In The Music’ or my personal favorite ‘If You Ask Me’, she did take a break from the now booming music industry. But it seems she is now back again with a new song featuring Yemi Alade titled ‘Love You Well’ which hopefully will make its successful debut as time goes on.

 

Waje, another vocal gifted musician has come across my mind as well. I can still remember when I heard her song featuring Tiwa Savage titled ‘Onye’ and to be honest, in my opinion was the only song I’ve ever known of hers. She has been seen lately being a permanent judge of the music reality TV show called The Voice Nigeria and as of this year, starred in Funke Akindele’s latest Amazon Prime series titled ‘She Must Be Obeyed’. Hopefully, we anticipate to see her back and better in the music industry soon enough.

 

There are quite a lot of Nigerian musicians who have dropped several hits of the past which are still being loved and highly appreciated till date, but it also shows how consistency in the music industry is highly necessary in order to push forth their career. Many of these old school songs end up being one hit wonders as musicians either lack the consistency to continue releasing more music or are struck by what I know is every creative’s problem which is called a creative block. This alone can be a major hindrance for a musician to not be consistent in the game. Another problem could also be record label issues, poor marketing schemes, inability to follow current trends and failure to reach the new audience which are the younger generation.

 

Although some of these artists still thrive to push their music and careers forward one way or the other, some artists completely fell off the radar. A case of Solid Star who has released multiple hits with multiple features of now top stars like Tiwa Savage. Recent findings of him pointed out that the then star is currently struggling with his mental health due to depression and the sudden decline in his career drove him to alleged drug abuse and was seen roaming the streets of Lagos in a very poor mental state. We hope he gets rehabilitated and return back to the scene.