Bad Boy Timz, real name Olorunyemi Oloruntimilehin, scored his first Headies Award as the ‘2021 Rookie of The Year’. The 24-year-old was announced the winner at the virtual award show on Sunday, February 21, 2020.
The fast-rising rapper beat four other nominees to clinch the title. The Headies nominated him alongside some of the most sought-after names on the streets right now – Olakira, Jamopyper, Alpha P, and Zinoleesky.
Before his win, Bad Boy Timz was famous for his hit songs, ‘MJ’ and ‘Loading’. He started his music career while studying in college but signed his first record deal with Anonymous Music in 2019. He put out his debut song, ‘Check and Balance’, in June that year.
In 2020 alone, he released four hit songs and carved a niche for himself as one to watch. His most current hit, ‘Loading’, a feature on Olamide’s ‘Carpe Diem’ released in October 2020, currently has 6.7 million views on YouTube and 12.57 million plays on Audiomack. The song is also number 22 on the Apple Music Top 100 Nigerian chart. He also performed ‘MJ’ during the awards ceremony.
Receiving his award, he said, “Big shout out to the Headies. Big shout out to my fans. I call them ‘the shock waves’ because we are shocking them – all year, everywhere. I’d like to say my album is dropping this year, and it’s going to be one in town. I can’t explain. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I appreciate.”
He joins Barry Jhay, Teni, Mayorkun and Ycee in the coveted list of Headies ‘Rookie of the Year’ winners. Like the previous winners, he’ll hopefully leverage the opportunity that this win and the Headies platform has offered him to push his career.
Other winners of this same award have gone on to win the highly respected ‘Next Rated’ award at the Headies in previous years. Mayorkun, who won the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award in 2016, was crowned the ‘Next Rated’ at the 2018 Headies. He is now one of the biggest artistes in the country. Other past winners like Teni and Ycee are also leading their respective fields. Fans will expect Bad Boy Timz to tow the same line after becoming the fifth Headies ‘Rookie of the Year’.
The 14th edition of the Headies Awards will go down in history as the most engaging iteration yet, having broken social media engagement records. The success of this year’s award show is particularly remarkable given the prevailing global COVID-19 pandemic, which led to innovative changes in the show’s production process. Ahead of the ceremony, Headies Founder – Ayo Animashaun talked about the importance of changing the format while still creating a great show. He says, “We are aware of the importance of The Headies in the Nigerian entertainment calendar. It is not a concert. We are committed to continuously rewarding and encouraging artistic ingenuity. We will not cancel but proffer safe solutions as we have always done”.
The award ceremony aired live on Hip TV and online. It featured performances from African superstars – Stonebwoy, Joeboy, Fireboy, Oxlade, Omah Lay, Master KG, and dance group Imagneto Dance Company. There was also a noteworthy performance by Eedris Abdulkareem with renditions of his ‘Mr Lecturer’ and ‘Jaga Jaga’ hit song.
All eyes will be on Bad Boy Timz to see what he does next after this impressive win. Congratulations to him!