Passionate. Tenacious. Unrelenting. Just a few words that properly describe rising rapper King Kead whose Letter To MI created a series of conversations about the state of Nigerian hiphop.
The emcee became a sensation after his 3 minutes 49 seconds long record which, like the title infer was an open letter to the generally accepted king of Nigerian rap M.I Abaga- caught the attention of the public leading to several heated conversations amongst lovers of Nigerian hiphop around the world.
He had told us earlier that the track was not to seek for attention; he truly believed he had things to say about his rap idol. ‘A lot of things went wrong in Chocolate City and his (M.I’s) quality of music had dropped so I felt I should reach out to him through my music’, he said.
For Kead, the Letter to M.I was a honest message to his idol about his personal concerns on the quality of M.I’s music and position as a role model. Even though M.I publicly expressed his displeasure over the content of the letter, the rapper still maintains that he has mad love for his idol and won’t relent on his mission to ‘save’ hip-hop.
@KING_KEAD although I wish you well in your career.. I am not pleased, touched or honored by this song… That’s all I will say
— Yung denzL (@MI_Abaga) September 2, 2017
However he disagrees with MI’s claim during the heated podcast that ‘Nigerian rappers don’t write weak bars because they are wack but because of the listeners’.
Kead thinks that is an unacceptable statement because to him, Nigerians are very intelligent and receptive people who can follow an intelligent 16.
He maintains that hiphop can still be as popular as the recent wave of Nigerian pop music now is.
His ballsy address to MI has changed things for even him though. ‘Since the Open Letter To MI went viral, my listens on SoundCloud has gone from a mere 200 to nearly 3000. This is an opportunity to reach more people and send out needful energies through the music. For me, hiphop is more than a sound but a culture that has the ability to provoke social change and inspire generations.’