Praise Ugbede Adejo (born 8 March 1985), better known by his stage name Praiz, 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 ...

multi award-winning R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. Praiz's music career hit the limelight after he finished second runner-up at the maiden season of ''

Project Fame West Africa ''Project Fame'', also known as ''Project Fame West Africa'' or ''MTN Project Fame West Africa'' (for sponsorship purposes), is a music talent TV reality show filmed in Lagos and aired in the West African subcontinent. It is a regional version of ...

''. He is best known for releasing hit singles like "Rich and Famous", "Sisi" and "I Love You". He contributed guest vocals to Bez's 2011 single "That Stupid Song"; the music video for the song mentioned was the first African video to make a world premiere on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

’s ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

''. He is currently signed to Cicada Music.

Early life and education

Praiz, a native of Igala in

Kogi State Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to the s ...

, was born in

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 ...

but later relocated to

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

in 1992 after his father was transferred there on missionary work. He is the second child out of five children. He has a National Diploma in

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

after graduating from

Kaduna Polytechnic Kaduna Polytechnic is one of the earliest polytechnics in Nigeria, located at Tudun Wada area of Kaduna South local government of Kaduna state, North-Western Nigeria. It was established in 1956 as Kaduna Technical Institute after the British ...

Career

Project Fame West Africa

Praiz had been doing well in music before he shot into the limelight after emerging second runner-up in the first edition of ''

'', a music reality T.V show which

Iyanya Iyanya Onoyom Mbuk (born 31 October 1986), known by his stage name Iyanya, is a Nigerian Afropop recording artist. Career He rose to fame after winning the first season of ''Project Fame West Africa'' and is best known for his hit single " Kuk ...

went on to win. His performance in the competition increased his fan base, making him one of the next-rated stars in the Nigerian music industry.

2010–present: ''Rich & Famous''

Praiz has worked with several artists, including

Awilo Longomba Awilo Longomba is a Congolese soukous musician. At first a drummer in Viva la Musica, Stukas, Nouvelle Generation and Loketo, he left drumming for singing and released his first album ''Moto Pamba'' with help from Shimita, Ballou Canta, Dindo ...

, Cobhams,

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 ...

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 ...

, Bez and MI. One of his many works is a song he collaborated with fellow Nigerian artiste Bez on the hit single "That Stupid Song", which went on to be the first African video to make a world premiere on

’s ''

''. On 22 July 2012, he released the hit single titled "Rich and Famous", which got positive reviews and massive airplay, thus getting him nominated in several award events. On 14 December 2014, Praiz released his debut studio album ''Rich & Famous''.

Style of music

Known to be a

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and R&B artiste, Praiz also has a diverse style in making other genres of music, switching up from R&B to Afropop with commercially appealing songs like "Oshe" and "Mercy". He cites

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, Carl Thompson and

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

as people who influence his type of music.

Personal life

Praiz is a brand ambassador for network service giants MTN. He is also involved with some charitable organizations, including Safe Motherhood Foundation and Little Big Souls, an organization geared towards helping to reduce premature maternal mortality and assisting women who cannot afford maternal care.

Discography

Albums

* ''Rich & Famous'' (2014) * '' 2 Minutes'' EP (2018)

Singles

* "Bubbling Under" (2010) * "The Lockdown" (2011) * "I Love You" (2011) * "Jekalo" (2011) * "A Woman's Need" (2012) * "Rich and Famous" (2012) * "For You" (featuring

) (2013) * "I Love You" (2013) * "Oshe" (featuring

) (2013) * "Sweet Potato" (featuring Chidinma) (2014) * "Mercy" (2014) * "Sisi" (featuring

) (2014) * "Heartbeat" (2015) * "Amazing Grace" (2015) * "Body Hot" (2016) Featuring Jesse Jagz & Stonebwoy * "2 minutes" (2018) * "Here and now (2018) * "Champagne and Flowers (2018) * "Hustle ft. Stonebwoy (2019) * "Under The Sky" (2020)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1984 births Living people 21st-century Nigerian male singers Nigerian male singer-songwriters The Headies winners