Abiola Ahmed Akinbiyi (born 27 January 1996), professionally known as Bella Shmurda, 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 ...

singer. He rose to prominence with the release of the song "Vision 2020", and a follow-up remix which featured Nigeria rapper

Olamide Olamide Gbenga Adedeji (born 15 March 1989) is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. Widely regarded as one of the biggest and most influential artists in Africa, he has been instrumental to the launching of the careers ...

Early life and career

Shmurda rose to prominence after his debut single ''"Vision 2020''", and a follow-up (remix) to the single in which he featured

. He released several hit songs in 2020, some of which featured top musicians, one of which is ''"Cash App''" featuring

Zlatan Zlatan ( sr-Cyrl, Златан) is a male given name of Slavic origin meaning ''Golden''. The name is common amongst all South Slavic countries, namely in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia. The name is found i ...

. He was nominated for the Headies Award for the next rated in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. In 2020, Bella Shmurda won the awards ''"Next Rated Male"'' and ''"Street Music of the Year"'' at the

City People Entertainment Awards City People Entertainment Awards are an annual accolade presented by ''City People Magazine'' to honour Nigerian and Ghanaian entertainers. The first edition was held in Abeokuta, Ogun State on June 14, 2009. The event was hosted by Governor Gbe ...

, he was also nominated for ''"Revelation of the Year"'' award in the same year. In 2021, Bella Shmurda was nominated for the ''"Next Rated"'' award at the Headies Awards. In June 2021, his single, ''"Cash App"'' featuring Zlatan and Lincoln was nominated for ''"Most Played Song - Street Pop"'' at the NET Honours. Bella Shmurda was inducted into the 2021 YouTube Foundry Programme. He was the only African artist to be included in this class. On 10 June 2021, Shmurda revealed on his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

page that he intends to release the second volume of his debut EP titled “High Tension Vol. 2", which is scheduled to be released in July 2021 and the album artwork was also shared on his page. He released the EP on 7 July 2021. Shmurda made his debut at the 02 Arena in the United Kingdom, as a surprise guest performer, at singer

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afri ...

's ''Made in Lagos'' concert in November 2021. He also received the 2021 Youtube Foundry grant to invest in his content and channel development.

Philanthropy

In October 2021, a video of a pre-schooler performing rapper Olamide’s song ''“Triumphant”'' off his album ''“Carpe Diem”'' which featured Shmurda, caught the singer's attention, as it went viral on the internet. In response, Shmurda made a commitment to put the child on a scholarship throughout his primary school education. The scholarship came into effect in November 2021. On his birthday in January 2022, Shmurda announced that he would feed a thousand destitute persons every year on his birthday.

Discography

EPs

*''High Tension'' (2020) *''High Tension 2.0'' (2021)

Singles

Featured in

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shmurda, Bella Living people 21st-century Nigerian male singers 1996 births