Media Talk Africa: Latest Headlines in Politics, Business, Sports, and More

Popular rapper Tobechukwu Ejiofor, aka Illbliss, has recounted an encounter with a Lagos radio presenter during his days as an underground artist.

The ‘Aiye Po Gan’ hitmaker shared that the radio presenter predicted that he wouldn’t be successful in the megacity’s music industry because he raps mainly in Igbo.

Speaking in a recent episode of the Real Shareholders podcast, Illbliss said, “When I came to Lagos, I made a record titled ‘Igbo Boy.’ Then, a radio presenter called me and said, ‘What are you trying to do? You can’t make it here. You’ve come here with an agenda. Omo-Igbo.’ Then he broke off into fluid Yoruba. At that point, I was already hearing Yoruba. He was like, ‘When you can’t beat them, you join them. The music is good, but it won’t go far.’

“The song wasn’t even offensive. It was about how Igbo people like to have a good time. Just looking at that guy, it made me feel terrible. And it made me feel that we can disguise all we want about being one nation, but the tribal divisions are incredible to handle.”