By Ayokunle Odekunle
Taking a cursory look down memory lane, great men are touted to be great not because of the talent which they exhibit alone but because they make grave mistakes and even after being written off would always manage to rise above water and shut their critics up.
Abolore Akande a.k.a 9ice means a lot to different people. To many, he is a very talented songwriter, lyricist and singer who is also very down earth. To another set, he is talented but they have a problem with him because he doesn’t ‘flow’ with the time. The fact that he has refused to join the bandwagon of musicians who go into the studio to spew rubbish and sing about booze, sex and women and who try to imitate the ‘Western style’ of talking, singing and dressing has also gotten him into hot water with some others.
After the release of his 3rd album Tradition, he had a marital problem and so the cracks began for him. The album itself was not bad as it is very rich in lyrical content and definitely one for the matured minds but still mad media conspired to ‘kill’ the album. As a result of his problems with his wife, he lost so many fans who were unimpressed by spats between himself and his wife on Twitter. Then came the beef with rapper Ruggedman. All these led to a fall in his stock and here, the media saw the chance to finish him off.
Perusing through blogs then, I was always disappointed with many popular bloggers who came up with stories that they couldn’t substantiate; all in a bid to diminish his worth in the view of right thinking people. One popular blog accused 9ice of fighting physically in public but yet, this blogger couldn’t produce a single shred of evidence nor did he satisfy the doctrine of Audi Altarem Patem (hear the other side). A radio station in Ibadan claimed that 9ice was postponing the release of his double albums because he was broke.
The worst was one I saw on 360nobs.com; a certain guy called ‘Monk’ in his column which was published in November 2010. In the article, he claimed that 9ice was finished and should hang up his microphone. The writer displayed his ignorance and emotions when he claimed that 9ice had released a double album after Tradition and that they flopped (That was in 2010). I was miffed when I saw this and I had to ask friends if 9ice’s double album was out but no one had seen it. Ironically, the albums were just released a whole year after writing that maliciously intended write-up.
2011 was hell to fans of 9ice as the media had written him off. On December 7 2011, while I was in class awaiting my Civil Litigation lecturer for the day’s lecture, I saw on Twitter that the double albums – Bashorun Gaa and Versus were out and my heart skipped. I was unsure if the albums would make sense; not after the Nigerian media had almost turned me against him. However, the reviews I saw on Twitter were massive as people were rating the album an average of 4 stars over 5. I couldn’t wait for class to end as I bolted to Obalende and then every vendor told me that the albums had sold out.
After the massive entry of the albums into the market, one would expect the Nigerian Press to ‘hype’ them in their little way but many of them refused to even acknowledge the release of his albums. The conspiracy continued.
Many of the websites are still trying to downplay the success of the albums. On the January 6, a story emanated from thenetng.com or something where it was written that 9ice moved out of his House into Ogba and did that to severe contact with his associates. The unknown writer went ahead to state that 9ice was not A LIST and that Davido and Wizkid were better. That story, titled ‘9ice moves out of Ogba home, plans Solo Concert’ caused some uproar on Twitter and some notable websites circulated the story and spread the false assumptions.
To the issue of who is A list and who isn’t, the doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitor applies. 9ice is up there with the Crème-de-la-crème of the music industry. His albums have gone platinum and he has won major National and International awards. Comparing him to Davido is worse as Davido has no album to date and I have never even heard his song.
I am sure his music and the success of his albums is an answer to his critics. He sure doesn’t have to reply them. Whatever is incessantly attacked must surely be so good. However, I am still expecting 360nobs.com or that ‘Monk’ of a guy to either affirm or deny that story published in November 2010. Meanwhile, affirming it would be a volte-face on their part while denying it would ensure that their credibility is at its lowest ebb.
All I am saying is that the Nigerian Press should not sacrifice sensationalism for credibility. Learn to say things the way they are and not the way you want them to be
*Ayokunle Odekunle, a Graduate of Law is a Student of the Nigerian Law School and can be reached on Knuckleswithoddy@yahoo.com
51 comments
Too bad some bloggers don’t verify their stories b4 publishing them…n of cos,it does appear that credibility has flown outta d window as far as today’s press is concerned…
Nice1 bro, 9ice nor get mate o…he gat a unique style
You mean Nigerian press should not sacrifice credibility for sensationalism right?
Concentrate on how to draft ur Stmt of def & stmt of claim and stop whinin abt 9ice! Ur just asskissing! I wonder how much you got! 9ice is F****** everybody knows, and nobody gives a F**k abt u or him! He aint in d League of d big boys! Too much weed has F**’d him up!he can’t manage his marriage,affairs or life! Wait and see how KARMA f**** him up.Face ur practice counsel
u nust be a fool for saying that to 9ice , do u even havea wife ,can u control a house not to talk of a country, usless fool.i know its benneth. if it is p 2 u wiil keep shouting .stupid fool how i wish i see u
mumu
I have noticed this same trend of bad press and followed it through from the genesis till now. Since the release of the double album the press have remain silence and they’ve kept quiet abt the success of the album. No wonder the country is in such jeapardy. It is we ordinary pple of/on the street that have 2 fight for ourselves n our rights when every other avenue fails. The press n the media have failed woefully. Lola Timothy.
This is pure butt kissing. I’ve read all articles are they are just about opinionated as yours.
9ice has drank and smoked too much, his albums are average, and he really needs to keep his personal life out of his music and work on his label.
And if he really wants his music to bounce back and re-establish his career, he should swallow his pride and crawl back to ID Cabasa’s studio and work with him.
9ice is a failing star if he doesn’t fix his problems.
Please Nigerian Press; don stop doing your jobs!
u must be a fool to say 9ice should cralw back to id cabasa.aint u educated , dont u know the meaning of crawl.u must be a big fool. if it is those guys singing rubish for u , u will jump up and start shouting. this is someone whose song have meaning and dept not like those performers only.
ohh u are even a yoruba , i know u will be the one shouting when those fools starts to sing danger. idiot .
9ice is the best..and the writer of this article is too good
@Ayokunle Odekunle,God bless you as you said it all n as a prove of dat is comment frm pple like Femi Adesuyi claiming false stories are articles dat are just opinionated wen u have urs backed up with facts.Femi, my prayers for u is dat pple will write fasle stories abt u with no fact just as u just did with ur comment bt firstly u ned to be known for something dat has an impact in our life as i googled ur name with no result. 9ice, u are blessed n no man can change dat. Cheers
nice one bro!…. 9ice lyrics re knowledgeable…. he speaks the truth nd states the fact
if u block my previous comment then ur prayers wld be blocked as well.Simple
2succeed in lyf,dere wl be beefrs n supporters.my advise 2nice is, ignore al odds and stay focusd.determinatn they say is d key 2success
Ist,il fault ur claim dt 9ice doznt sing abt booze or women-pamurogo,bo kini yen,loni ni,women.weed n wine..so,wat are u sayin…i cnt play bo kini yen/www 4 ma lil cousin,buh all wiz’s n davido’s songs are gud 2 go n incase u dnt knw,musik aint abt ur songs only,ur personality off field also matters n 4 d dude who said 9ice sold a mil unda 2 days,fear God o,even lil wayne didnt sell lyk dt n its only p.square dt hs movd digits dt fast n double albums-darey did dat…n aw can 9ice be among d top 5.2face,dbanj,psquare,banky w,m.i,eldee,even Asa(dt i dnt count as a naija act)..aw 9ice take enta..a lot of us re always biased.am an artiste,n truth be told,9ice had problems wiv hs voice,doe ‘versus’ was a gud album(largely cos of d features).so,loyal fans,stop ova-hypin’ 9ice,we all knw he lost it in 2011,he’s gettin bac nw,buh wil nid 2 rewrite hs wrongs b4 he is fully acceptd.nigerians aint fools
He sold i million within 2 days and evry one knws it no be lie,as for psquare what 9ice sold within 2days dey sold it within 7.
How will u mention top 5 musicians and not put 9ice,if u eva comapre 9ice to eldee,m.i and banky again ehn.What are dey singing.In terms of lyrical content u cnt compare 9ice to dbanj,9ice beat am na swagger dey carry dbanj.
@cokes & Femi Adesuyi U guys are retarded fools.Saying 9ice lost his game by smoking weed is a complete joke.common don’t ya’ll listen to ”life is beautiful” listen to the lyrical content from him.Abeg if una no get JOB E better make U go start to dey drink menstrual fluid….BASHTARDDDDSSSSSSS
U said 9ice went platinum,as if dats a basis 4 determinin’ his position 2dae..rememba olu maintain,eedris,faze,they went platinum too o
U guys ‘the likes of baba ibadan, cokes e.t.c’ should be ashame of urself and despite being 9ice’s haters u could not open ur dirty mouth and say the two albums are flop….i can see u’re dissapointed cum lossers bcos of the success of his albums all u could argue is 9ice is smokes weed, hes not the only one dat went platinum blah blah blah and ur so call A-LIST Artists have been running around with singles and remixes like forever ever since they droped their last album 2, 3ys ago yet 9ice drop 2 solid albums in less than 2yrs and all u could conclude is that the ‘VERSUS’ album is good bcos it has so many features that shows how foolish u’re cos i don’t know what u were expecting when an album is titled VERSUS
@ Cokes, put the beef aside. there is no way you would mention the top 5 artistes in Nigeria and 9ice wont be included. in as much as he also sings about women and booze, he sings sense and he thus gives us a mixed grill or would you prefer D banj to him in terms of musical quality?
comparing Davido to 9ice is another ba attempt at ridicling 9ice. please, i wont even try to compare them because its an insult to 9ice and music lovers. i would leave you with these
then How you go take compare ELDEE to 9ice? Fear God o. ow many of Eldee’s albums don move units, how many awards he don win, he popular reach 9ice? the top 5 artistes in Nigeria are 2face, Asa, Dbanj, Psquare and 9ice. hit ur head against a brickwall if you dont agree.
9ice has really made all the haters defensive o. Hate it or love it, the guy gat game, gud to a fault and humble. I prefer to hear ‘razz’ 9ice to all dose modafuckers who enter the studiom to say rubbish in the name of singing
9ice is one of the best thing that has ever occured to Nigeria in the music scene. He promotes our culture and traditions…He has also won several awards locally and Internationaly….Pls Pls and Pls, don’t compare 9ice to Davido. Davido has no album in stores. A fan tweeted Davido concerning this comparison issue, and Davido tweeted back to let him know that 9ice is a legend. One thing I know for sure is that there is no perfect Person, we all make mistakes. Put yourself in his shoes and see if your reactions wouldnt be worst than how he handled his problems. About smoking and drinking, catch Nigerian Hip Hop Artist at their favourite spots before judging 9ice!
All yee haters of 9ice if u don’t repent now his success will consume u and u shall be sent to the bottomless pit
The f***** author da compared 9ice da great wit da lil davido was envious & I don’t knw problem !. Though I like davido’s single but who is davido when it comes to rating singers. Whether u like it or not 9ice is one of best nigerian singers. Leave him with his personal life & dance to his good music. And beside , he is really doing great with meaningful achievements. God go destroy d haters !
This Femi Adesuyi of guy is nothing but dumb ass and a moron of the highest degree….what is ‘opinionated’ about an Article that is based on uncomfirmed story(s) anyway 9ice said it all in PACE-SETTER FT VECTOR that u guys ”cokes, Benneath calling himself Benneth” wish he’s gone but to ur dissappointment he’s still there keeping it strong
@Ayokunle Nice one bro,its a pity some of us choose to compromise on d standard of professionalism cos of their personal interest.God bless u for dis article,I pray all dis haters will have a re think.
@Coke dat 9ice sold a million copy in 2days is no news again.It was everywhere on d web.D facts are there,no need for confrontation,support gud music and stop hating..
Dose of u that ar buzzy condeming his effort, what do u hav to offer, Poor people.
As usual, y’all are just being sentimental for 9ice. His career has gone on a low. STOP DENYING.
Toni Payne has about 20 comments on this post. we know how you act dear.
9ice stop smoking weed and drinking.Period!
PS: I heard the album….and i love it!
Pele, e dey pain u dat pple love him. lol
9ice lyrics are tight. I like his songs. I don’t know about his private life. But I’m sure say U no holy pass. I will rate 9ice 3rd, after 2face (1st) and Asa (2nd)
If you haven’t heard Davido then na you know ooo and I guess the writer has been paid to do PR abi? By the way, one of the greatest songs about weed in the country was sung by 9ice…”Ganja ft Jahbless.
If you must know, one or two of my friends started doing weed just because of that song. They say it inspires them to talk about sex, about weed about liquor. ‘bokiniyen’, ‘bluetooth’, ‘liquor’ just mention a few…:he sang about almost all the vices on the planet.
By the way, the ‘Ganja’ song was a classic! Nothing against 9ice and I believe the entire pro and anti 9ice articles was to bring him into the mainstream again.
BUT
Obviously, it seems his ‘Gongo aso era is over (he should forgerrit). And he should consult the likes of sound sultan who seems to have been on the B List forever on how they’ve been able to stay relevant (peace out to Ss, I love him die! BUT the fact is that he is a B list act thanks, Nigerians who refuse to appreciate good music).
if u like like him and if u like hate him, all i know is that that guy is one of the best in this country. and comparing him to davido and wizy, then u guys are jokes of the year. davido, are u serious? comeon guys wizy sings choruses all through.
U can come here and say that; 9ice is still one of the best, he isn’t B list.
I am suprised that some guys are comparing wizzy and davido to 9ice.i feel they are just been insincere.9ice sold one million copies in two days,p-square sold one million in four days.one of the haters said 9ice is not A-list,if 9ice is not A-list then who is A-list.before hating pls go and listen to beautiful ft tuface,everyday,everything ft tiwa savage,simple strategy,don’t go,on point ft wizzy and mu number.after listening to these songs you will agree that he is one of the best.pls next time let us be objective before beefing.
@Benneth, I guess ya one of dem ruggedman supporters. Ya d asskissing one here.d article aint abt who smokes weed or not,its abt talent and acknowledging one. Nice is a great singer and a unique one fr that matter,cn u point out 5 naija artistes who dnt smoke weed or drink. Learn to stick to d subject mata. Dunno y ppl run away frm truth and stick to lies.
9ice lost the ‘magic’ and a huge fan base when he arrogantly and ignorantly mismanaged his marital issue with Tony Payne. And this should serve as a lesson to some of our so called ‘nothin’ dey happen’ artistes! They need to always remember that; living a responsible life matters as an artistes because a huge fan base makes you a ‘hero’ while a less fan base reduce you to a ‘zero’ no matter how talented you are!
I will never buy a cd if after 2 yrs can’t pick it up n play it over n over again. Every moni spent on 9ice’s cds including BGS is a worthy investment and i careless abt ur personal life as u are not the only act with such even great Baba Fela kuti n have got mine as well.As a matter of fact u said it in the lyrics of Gongo aso so b4 anyone drops any stupid comment abt him, dey shld take time to listen to it again . I bless God for the talent giving to you. Remain bless
numero uno watch wat u say nd stop sayin rubbish
“Eei hii” or whatever your name is, u are the one who should shut up. If u hate 9ice, dats ur wahala. I am Ibo but yet, I know music when I hear it and 9ice Is synonymous to dat
9ice is outstanding and he is evergreen. If u hate 9ice, den, u hate gud mewsic. Dat is it shikena
As u haters of 9ice can see that majority carries the vote out of abt 41 comments only 4-5 are saying other wise….so from me to u(haters) typing with my middle finger and also saying u should go get a life
humanbeings are alwayz jealeous of their neigbour’s acheivment,notwithstanding 9ice is still a strong hold in d music world
yes boss u spilled it man….. U just described what i’ve bn feeling for so long ”bad press”……. U knw just because i can’t change who i am n what i like, my love for 9ice’s song never changed …..#ilovegoodmusic
pls i need a Facebook/ twitter link for this article ny peeps need to see this …#ilovegoodmusic
you could copy the address of dis page and paste it on your wall on facebook or twitter or get in touch with the author on 07031077051 or knuckleswithoddy@yahoo.com
Ayokunle u ar right. In this life I blvd dt once u bcum star in anything u no how 2 do best,dont xpect every body 2 luv u,cos sum pple dont pray 4 ur progress. Talkin about 9ice reconcilin wit his wife,beef wit ruggedman,2 me I tink dts his own private life.
i wonda y sm pple hte suces achievement progres n prosperity. u al haters of nice u beta pray God sd prosper u spdly lk hm. itsz bcos u r jst b zsentimenta. it is u pple dt c hm outsid n scream n wait 4. mny. jst rmba e cn pay d scho fees n upkp of ur lentire family. God ep.9ce. God bles us( fans only)
9ice is my no 1 4 9ja as long as good, cool, meaniningful, culture enriched music is concerned. 9ice is a good musician, please lets appreciate good tin. I can listen to his song over & over again witout getting tired.
Adigun ojuwonlo.
9ice baba is the bomb.he gat much talent 2 showcase 2 d world.
I dont know y some prefer bad music dan gud music.,wen it comes 2 music 9ice is d best nd i dnt knw y some idiot is comparing Davido wit 9ice,is it d album we will ague abt or award,money cause i dont know,d only artiste u can compare wit 9ice r psquare,2face,dbanj nd asa nd dis r d biggest artiste in nigeria.,haters go die..9ice is my no 1 musician artiste so far dat if i did nt listen 2 is song a day i wont b ok nd i won get tired of listen 2 is song..!!if u dey wish him bad ema gbepe,if u dey wish him gud ama jare,adigun ojuwon’lo..ALPO MEJI won bi iya eyan,gba fun oga 9ICE ni baba..
9ice is d best..haters shey u na don hear..9ice as been signed 2 ‘DIESEL RECORD’ wit d amount of 90million naira nd dat make a record of highest signing…up alapomeji