Legendury Beatz (pronounced Legen-dury Beat-z) 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 jo ...

record producing and songwriting duo, composed of siblings Uzezi Oniko (born 17 February 1986) and Okiemute Oniko (born 27 May 1989). Their production style is deeply rooted in

afrobeats Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, a ...

as well as in several other genres, including hip hop,

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin. Origin Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as ...

moombahton Moombahton (, ) is an electronic dance music genre, derived from house music and reggaeton, that was created by American DJ and producer Dave Nada in Washington, D.C., in 2009. Nada coined the name as a portmanteau of "Moombah" (a track by Su ...

and

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Ao ...

. With less than a year as a music production duo, Legendury Beatz made international headlines in the Nigerian recording industry by producing the critically acclaimed single " Azonto", which was performed by afrobeats recording artist and MOBO Award winner

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 Afric ...

. Throughout their career, they have been noted for their extensive work with Wizkid. They have also been noted for writing and producing consecutive string of hits. The duo have produced many songs with vocal contribution from artistes such as American rapper Wale, British rappers

Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...

and

Yxng Bane Larry Cummings Kiala, better known by his stage name Yxng Bane (pronounced "young bane"), is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from East London. Early and personal life Kiala grew up in Custom House, an industrial district of East London' ...

, Urbano Latino artists

Bad Bunny Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (born March 10, 1994), known professionally as Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. His musical style is defined as Latin trap and reggaeton. He rose to prominence in 2016 with his song "Diles", w ...

and

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. He has been referred to as the " Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reggaetón"), and is one of the best-sell ...

, 2face,

Ice Prince Panshak Henry Zamani (born 30 October 1984) better known as Ice Prince Zamani or just Ice Prince, is a Nigerian rapper, hip hop recording artist and actor. He rose to fame after releasing " Oleku", one of Nigeria's most remixed songs of all t ...

Efya Jane Awindor (born April 10, 1987), better known by her stage name Efya, is a Ghanaian singer, songwriter, and actress from Kumasi. She is the daughter of Nana Adwoa Awindor, a filmmaker and celebrity host of the late television show ''Greeting ...

, Banky W,

Seyi Shay Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua (born Oluwaseyi Joshua; 21 December 1985), professionally known as Seyi Shay (pronounced Shay-yee Shay), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. She wrote and produced three songs for the soundtrack to Konami's vi ...

and

Chidinma Chidinma Ekile (born 2 May 1991), known professionally as Chidinma, is a Nigerian hip-hop turned gospel singer and songwriter. In 2010, she rose to stardom after winning the third season of '' Project Fame West Africa''. Following the release of ...

, amongst others.

Early life and career

Formation and early works

With no initial music industry contacts, connections or recording studio, the duo's production followed a simple system in which they created beats channeled to a certain artist for whom they scouted for in clubs, award shows etc. The system yielded little success until they met

Weird MC Weird MC (born Adesola Adesimbo Idowu on 9 July 1970) is a Nigerian-British rapper, songwriter, and producer. Known for her English/Yoruba lyrics, Weird MC, who is also known as Shola Idowu and The Rappatainer, is one of Africa’s most popula ...

, a female rapper, songwriter and producer who heard their content in 2009. They created the singles "Happy Day" and "Moving Up" for her, and also created an album with her that is yet to be released. In 2011, the duo produced "Ara", the lead single from Brymo's second studio album '' The Son of a Kapenta'' (2012). The song won Best Recording of the Year at

The Headies 2012 The Headies 2012 was the 7th edition of The Headies (known as the Hip Hop World Awards until the 6th edition). It was hosted by M.I and Omawumi. The ceremony took place on 20 October 2012, at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos. ...

. Furthermore, the music video for the song won Best African Pop at the

2012 Channel O Music Video Awards The 9th Annual Channel O Music Video Awards were held at Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown, Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa on 17 November 2012. The nominees were unveiled at an announcement party in Johannesburg on 21 September 2012. Kenyan hip ...

. The duo produced the song "Ko Ma Roll" for

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 ...

winner Mo'Cheddah. In 2012, the duo produced " Baddest Boy", the lead single from Empire Mates Entertainment's compilation album '' Empire Mates State of Mind'' (2012). Legendury Beatz also produced the song "Emi Ni Baller" for

Kora Awards The KORA All Africa Music Awards are music awards given annually for musical achievement in sub-Saharan Africa. The awards were founded in 1994 by Benin born businessman, Ernest Adjovi, after a discussion in Namibia with the country's President Ha ...

winner

. The song broke a record for Chidinma, as she became the first female musician to peak at number 1 on the MTV Base Official Naija Top 10 chart. Legendury Beatz produced the song “Drop” with vocal contributions from American rapper Wale and

. In 2013, the duo produced the song "Caro", which was included as a bonus on Wizkid's second studio album '' Ayo'' (2014). In 2014, the duo produced "That Could Be Us" for Nigerian rapper

. They also worked with other notable African artists, including Banky W,

and

Production work and record deal

Legendury Beatz and

's production catalog include songs like "Ginger", "Caro", "Talk", "Eledumare", "Number One Lover", Won Gbo Mi", "Juru" and "Emi Ni Baller" (Remix). On 29 April 2013, Legendury Beatz were signed to Wizkid's Starboy Entertainment. The duo produced four songs on his second studio album ''Ayo''. The song " Ojuelegba" was well-received across different social media platforms. It contributed to the overall success of the album, which received a positive review from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine. Wizkid added contributing vocals to the duo's first single "Oje". Legendury Beatz and Simi collaborated on "Ayo", the third single from her third studio album ''

Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1 ''Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1'' is the third studio album by Nigerian singer Simi. It was released to coincide with her thirty-first birthday on April 19, 2019. The 13-track album features guest artists such as Patoranking, Maleek Berry, Falz a ...

'' (2019).

Influences and style

Okiemute and Uzezi's production style is highly influenced by

fuji Fuji may refer to: Places China * Fuji, Xiangcheng City (付集镇), town in Xiangcheng City, Henan Japan * Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan * Fuji River * Fuji, Saga, town in Saga Prefecture * Fuji, Shizuoka, city in Shizuoka Prefec ...

, and all variations of Congolese music from African icons such as

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...

, Lagbaja, Awilo Longomba and Angélique Kidjo. The duo also had an ear for hip hop, pop and

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhy ...

genres.

Discography

;Mixtapes *''DJ Spinall Presents: Legendury Beatz Greatest Hits'' (2014) ;Singles produced ;Other production

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Legendury Beatz
at

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legendury Beatz Record production duos Living people Nigerian songwriters Nigerian music industry executives Nigerian hip hop record producers Sibling musical duos Songwriting teams 21st-century Nigerian musicians Musicians from Lagos The Headies winners Year of birth missing (living people)