How Zlatan “Ibile” Dethroned Olamide “Baddo” To Become The King Of Nigerian Rap

One of the most coveted positions in the Nigerian music industry is the “King of Rap” throne and for over 8 years now Olamide Adedeji AKA Olamide Baddo has been sitting on that throne albeit too comfortably. After his initial debut in 2010, Olamide has released several hit songs which included plain rap songs like “Young Erikina” and melodic tunes like “Melo” and “Eleda”. Even at a time when Wizkid and Davido seemed to have the duopoly of the entire industry, Olamide forged out a niche for himself to undeniably become the 3rd leg of the industry by catering for a fan base that seek unique melody infused with the latest local slangs and street dance moves. Fast forward to 2019, a new force which seems to be eclipsing Olamide’s fan base seems to have risen, his name is Zlantan “Ibile” and his catch phrase “Kapaichumarimarichopaco” (which is totally meaningless by the way) seems to have risen to the heights and dominated the hearts of Nigerians both at home and in diaspora.

You might not know this, but Zlatan was initially a prodigy of Olamide and featured him in most of his song, the most obvious one was “My Body” which was a hit in 2018. Haven established that Zlatan was closely knitted to Olamide before, it is worth noting that his claim to fame, the now popular Zanku dance has also emanated from the “Shaku Shaku” dance step which was popularized by (you know who!), Olamide in 2018 through his hit single “Wo!” which was released in that year as well. The tables has however turned a fair bit, the fame and popularity of Zlatan “Ibile” has been northwise since the start of 2018 and his latest collaborative song with yet another breakout star in person of Burna Boy, “Killin Dem” has sent Zlatan’s stock through the roofs confirming his form as perhaps the second hottest artist in Nigeria in 2019, closely ranking behind his counterpart, Burna Boy who is perhaps the biggest Nigerian music star at the moment – given his similar meteoritic rise to the top, just like Zlatan, but unlike Zlatan, Burna boy has been able to gain alot more global and international appeal making him  bigger draw overall and a perfect specimen for a Nigerian international superstar.

This is not the first time that someone looked to have upstaged, Olamide in the Nigerian music industry. Reminisce had his time, when he briefly seized the throne from Olamide, but it was only a matter of time before Olamide steamrolled him out of the throne and reclaimed it, like it is a birthright, do you think Zlatan will suffer similar fate like the others that have tried before him? Surely only time can tell, but it will be brilliant to hear your opinion and what you think of the current brilliant landscape of the Nigerian music industry!