9ice, born Alexander Abolore Adegbola Akande (born 17 January 1980), is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

musician, songwriter and dancer. He is known for his powerful use of the Yoruba language in his music as well as his proverbial lyrics and unique style of delivery.

Early life

9ice was born into a

polygamous Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marrie ...

home of five wives and nine children, in

Ogbomosho Ogbomosho (also Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́) is a city in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria. It was founded in the mid 17th century. The population was approximately 454,690 in the 2006 census. It is the second largest city in Oyo State and also among ...

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland States of Nigeria, state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is b ...

in Western

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He grew up in the Shomolu

Bariga Bariga is a district and suburb in Lagos State, Nigeria. It was formerly under Somolu local government area of Lagos State but in 2013 it was upgraded by the State government as a Local Council Development Area. The local government secretariat is ...

suburbs of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

. He dreamed of being a musician. His parents discovered his singing talent, and decided to allow him become a musician.

Career

In 1996, 9ice recorded his first demo, titled "Risi de Alagbaja", but it was not until 2000 that he released his first official solo song, "Little Money". In 2008, 9ice released the single "Gongo Aso". With the song gaining popularity, 9ice was asked to perform at the

Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute The Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute was held in Hyde Park, London on 27 June 2008 to commemorate Nelson Mandela's ninetieth birthday (18 July). The concert formed part of the 46664 concert series to promote awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemi ...

concert in London in June 2008. He went on to win the Best Hip Hop Artist of the Year at the

MTV Africa Music Awards The MTV Africa Music Awards (also known as the MAMAs) were established in 2008 by MTV Networks Africa (now Viacom International Media Networks Africa) to celebrate the most popular contemporary music in Africa. The 2008 and 2010 events took pla ...

. "Gongo Aso" won him four further awards at the 2009 edition of the Hip Hop World Awards held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja: Album of the Year, Artiste of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Rap in Pop Album. In 2020, 9ice released another album, ''Tip of the Iceberg: Episode 1''. He is the founder and CEO of the record label Alapomeji Ancestral Record.

Discography

*''Certificate'' (2007) *''Gongo Aso'' (2008) *''Tradition'' (2009) *''Certificate and Tradition reloaded'' (2010) *''Versus/Bashorun Gaa'' (2011) *''GRA/CNN'' (2014) *''Id Cabasa'' (2016) *''G.O.A.T'' (2018)/Classic 50 Songs (2019) *''Fear of God'' (2020) Seku Seye (2020) *''Tip of the Iceberg: Episode 1'' (2020) *''Tip of the Iceberg 2'' (2022)

Awards

*Nigeria Entertainment Awards Most Indigenous Act 2007 *MOBO Best African Act 2008 *MTV Africa Music Awards Best Hip Hop Artist 2008 *Dynamix Awards Artist of the Year 2008 *Hip Hop Awards Best Vocal Performance 2008 *Hip Awards Revelation of the Year 2008 *Hip Hop Awards Song of the Year 2009 *Hip Hop Awards Best R&B/Pop 2009 *Hip Hop Awards Album of the Year 2009 *Hip Hop Awards Artist of the Year 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:9ice Yoruba musicians Nigerian hip hop singers Living people 21st-century Nigerian male singers 1980 births

Early life

Career

Discography

Awards

See also

References