A few weeks ago, music enthusiasts could not tell whether one of their favourite Nigerian rappers, Oldips, was dead or alive.
This was after the manager of the artiste, known as Oladipupo Oladimej, issued a statement saying they were in “shock” over the singer’s “death.”
A section of the public debunked the death rumours, saying that it was orchestrated to promote the musician’s new album. Well, the resurrected artiste has come out to speak for himself after a long silence.
In excerpts from a video online, he is heard apologising to his fans while attributing the death rumours to the unprofessional conduct of his managers.
Oldips said he was indeed sick but didn’t intend to play with the emotions of his fans.
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“To Nigerians and to my disciples, my core followers, I will never play with people’s emotions like that. It was never a prank; I was indeed sick. I’m really sorry for the confusion, the stress, the false alarm and everything and I take full responsibility.”
Contrary to claims that the statement was published to test his popularity, Oladips said that beyond his fans, he has a family and a daughter, and there is no way he will want to toy with their emotions.
According to him, the statement was issued at the discretion of his managers. There has not been any follow-up statement from his management yet.
Born on March 24, 1995, in Ogun State, Nigeria, the performer is said to have exhibited his love for music at a tender age.
Last month, Oladips announced his new album, Superhero Adugbo (The Memoir).
Rated one of the most streamed songs on Audiomack (Africa) as of the second week of November 2023, the album has songs like Can’t Sleep at Night, Mura, Die Young, Motivation, Legend, and many others.
At sixteen, he was involved in a series of rap battles and rose to become a formidable force on the rap scene. His career took off after he won the King is Here contest, hosted by Nigerian musician D’banj, in 2015.
The rapper’s net worth is estimated at $70,000 and is said to have made remarkable progress on the Nigerian music landscape. He has released several singles and collaborated with other musicians in his home country.