Nigerian musician Lanre Fasasi, popularly known as Sound Sultan, was a singer-songwriter, comedian, actor and producer.
He was widely regarded as one of the pacesetters of modern hip-hop in Nigeria, but what do you really know about the man who made music that was relevant, perfectly blending social commentary with humour? Here is everything you need to know about Sound Sultan:
- Sound Sultan was born on November 27, 1976 at Jos in Plateau State to Liadi Alarape Fasasi and Adeyinka Ajarat Fasasi.
- He had five siblings, one of whom is Dare Fasasi, the musician popularly known as Baba Dee.
- He had his primary school education at Stepping Stone Nursery and Primary School in Lagos from 1981 to 1987, and proceeded to Federal Government College Ogbomosho for his secondary school education.
- While in secondary school, Sound Sultan took interest in music. He would mime at secondary school parties and write lyrics in notebooks.
- In 1998, he won the Youth Award For Excellence In Music (YAFEM), an award ceremony organised by Ayeni Adekunle, founder of Netng, who at the time was an entertainment event planner and talent manager.
- In 1999, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Regional Planning from Lagos State University. By that time, he had picked up the guitar, and performed at several talent hunt shows. He used the money earned from those shows to pay for studio sessions as he pursued music full-time.
- In 2000, he released his first single, the socially-conscious “Jagbajantis”, which remains a classic to this day. At the time, he was signed to Dove, a record label owned by Nelson Brown.
The Plantashun Boiz – 2baba, Faze and Blackface – were signed to Dove in the early 2000s.
- In 2000, Sound Sultan performed as the Master of Ceremony at the Benson and Hedges Talent Hunt held at Jos in 2000, which was won by P-Square. He was tasked with the honour of presenting the award to them on the night.
- In 2001, he released his debut album, Kpsheeeeew – Sound of a Frustrated Mouth. Between 2002 and 2008, he would go on to release three other albums: Textbook (2004), Naija 007 (2007) and SS4 (2008).
- In 2004, he ventured into film for the first time, playing the lead role in Tunde Kelani’s college drama Campus Queen. He also composed music for the film.
- That same year, Sound Sultan appeared with 2baba and Faze on “Proud To Be African”, a track off Wyclef Jean’s album Welcome To Haiti: Creole 101. The track was recorded at Eko Reel Mix in Lagos, during Wyclef’s first visit to Nigeria, which was facilitated by Guinness. He would later collaborate with Wyclef on two other songs: “King Of My Country” (2009) and “People Bad” (2012).
- In 2005, he won the awards for Best Songwriter and Best Afro Song at the AMEN Awards organised by Encomium Magazine.
- In 2007, his contract with Kennis Music came to an end.
- Later that year, he teamed up with his brother Baba Dee to acquire “Naija Ninja”, a company that housed a record label, production outfit and clothing line. The record label was a loose collection of artistes, including himself, Baba Dee and Spydaman, among others. Under the label, he signed artistes like Karma Da Rapper, Young GreyC, Shawn and Blacka.
- In 2008, Sound Sultan collaborated with long-time friend 2baba and W4 on “Bushmeat”, a track that called out the government for its negligence. It has stood the test of time as one of his signature songs.
- In 2009, he married long-time girlfriend Chichi Morah, who later changed her name to Farida after converting to Islam. They would go on to have three children together.
- In 2010, he released his fifth studio album, which he named Back To The Future. One of the hit singles on the record was “2010”, a collaboration with Nigerian rapper MI Abaga. The album was nominated for Album of The Year at the 2012 edition of the Headies.
- In 2012, Sound Sultan was appointed by the United Nations as an Ambassador for Peace.
- Later that year, Sound Sultan released his sixth studio album Me, My Mouth And Eye. The record included hit singles like “Orobo” (a track that served to promote body positivity among women) the club-themed “Kokose” (a collaboration with Wizkid) and the light-hearted “Natural Something.”
- On November 11, 2016, Sound Sultan released his seventh studio album, Out Of The Box. The LP featured collaborations with 2baba, Olamide, Phyno, Patoranking, and Sarkodie, among others.
- In 2018, Sound Sultan hosted a three-day concert tagged Jungle Story, to commemorate the 18th anniversary of his entry into the music industry. The concert, which lasted from October 12 to October 14, 2018, included an entertaining musical that featured the likes of Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ali Baba, Kate Henshaw and Niniola, among others. The concert marked the first time a Nigerian musician was producing a musical onstage, and its estimated budget was over N400 million.
- In November 2018, he appeared as a panelist at the Lagos Book and Art Festival, which held at Freedom Park in Lagos.
- Sound Sultan was a lover of basketball; in a 2015 interview with Netng, he revealed that he had been playing the sport since 1991, and even lined up for Dodan Warriors at some point.
In 2014, he bought a significant stake in Lagos-based basketball club Lagos Islanders. In November 2015, he hosted an event in Lagos tagged “Face Off”, which featured appearances by Darey, Ikechukwu, Dr Sid and Vector, among others.
- Later on, he became a facilitator of the African Basketball League and was one of the special guests at the first NBA African Games.
After the fallout of the African Basketball League, the veteran singer sealed a deal with the organizers of the Continental Basketball League to become a team owner of the Lagos City Club.
- In 2020, Sound Sultan released his eighth studio album, 8th Wondah. 17 tracks long, the record featured collaborations with Wizkid, 2baba, Teni, Falz and Olu Maintain.
- He would go on to collaborate with alternative artiste Johnny Drille on two songs in 2020: “Area” (off the 8th Wondah album), and a modern-day remix of his 2002 classic “Motherland.”
- In December 2020, he appeared as a key member of the cast on Papa Benji, the comedy web series created by ace Nigerian comedian Basketmouth, where he played the role of Professor Aloy.
- On July 11, 2021, Sound Sultan died of complications arising from Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that affects the white blood cells. He was 44.