It might come as a surprise to some people, but the real Gs know that some of our favourite Nollywood celebrities did music for a while. Let’s break it down a little:
In September 2004, the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) banned 8 A-list Nollywood actors: Richard Mofe Damijo, Emeka Ike, Stella Damasus, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Nouah, Nkem Owoh (Osuofia), and Jim Iyke. Their offence, in summary, was that they were “exploiting their A-list status to make excessive monetary demands from producers.” And so, some of these actors turned to music.
1. Genevieve Nnaji
Queen Genny released her debut album titled “One Logologo line” under EKB records. It featured tracks such as
- “Ma Bre’Wo” (featuring Obour)
- “Thinking of You” (featuring Kojo Antwi)
- “Native Doctor” (featuring Dede)
- “One Logologo Line” (featuring V.I.P)
- “Bump it Up”
- “No More”
- “Missing You”
- “Genevieve”
Here’s a video of one of the tracks:
Tbh, I think it’s a bop.
2. Omotola Jalade
“Gba” was a 10-track album that Omotola blessed Nigeria with in 2005. There are other albums too, but it’s best to let sleeping dogs songs lie.
We hear that she’s planning to release a new album soon. May the odds be in her favour.
3. Jim Iyke
Jim Iyke went all out, tbh. He even featured TuFace Idibia. A jam!
Like we said, it’s a jam… that will jam your ears.
4. Nkem Owoh (Osuofia)
Osuofia did a hit with this song. But it didn’t do so well, because it was banned for its lyrical content. We won’t tell you what Osuofia said, but we urge you to listen for yourself.
5. Patience Ozokwor (Mama G)
Tbh, Patience Ozokwor would make a liberal president. Her manifesto in this song was enough ginger for all of us. Chop the national moimoi, divide the national cake and a lot of big big flex.
6. John Okafor (Mr. Ibu)
Yes, Mr. Ibu gave us a Grammy worthy track too. Too bad the gatekeepers slept on good music then. No wonder the music industry is the way it is today.
7. Tonto Dikeh
*sigh*
Other Nollywood actors that tortured blessed us with their music include:
Stella Damasus (She has a history of singing, and so maybe it’s not exactly torture)
Segun Arinze (Same as above)
Shan George
Anita Joseph
Lilian Bach
