On July 11, 2021, the Nigerian music industry lost a music icon, Olanrewaju Fasasi popularly known as Sound Sultan. The Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor and comedian died at age 44 after a long battle with Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma. Sound Sultan is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of hip-hop music in Nigeria and he was a force to be reckoned with in the Nigerian music industry in the early 2000s, a period when he used his music to speak out against bad governance and social injustice in Nigeria. With his debut single Jagbantis hitting airwaves in 2000, Sound Sultan’s career spanned decades, spawning collaborations with the likes of Wizkid, M.I. Abaga and 2Face Idibia, to name a few. His last album, 8th World Wonder, was released in May 2020. While his death remains a shock to many, his legacy lives on. Below are five iconic songs by the music veteran that people can remember him by, and of course, each song has a unique message for the government and for the people.
- Mathematics (Jagbajantis): Sound Sultan’s first single, Jagbajantis was released in 2000, a time when Nigerians were grappling with bad governance and unemployment, among other ails. The song potently addressed the prevalent issues at the time. In the song, he redefines BODMAS, a popular acronym or mnemonic to mean:
B – Brotherhood
O – Objectivity
D – Democracy
M – Modification
A – Accountability
S – Solidarity
- Ole: Released in 2011 off the Bushmeat album, Sound Sultan expresses his displeasure with the Nigerian government in this song by referring to Nigerian citizens as bushmeats and the government as the hunters.
- Natural Something: This single is somewhat different from Sound Sultan’s usual style. In this popular song from the album, Me, My Mouth & Eye, Sound Sultan serenades an unnamed woman and promises to give her all her heart’s desires. The music video to Natural Something features Basketmouth, a long time friend of the dearly departed superstar.
- Kokose ft. Wizkid: Also from the Me, My Mouth & Eye album comes the single, Kokose featuring the Grammy award-winning singer Starboy Wizkid. The song became a street anthem at the time of its release and it had people, both young and old, using the slang “Show me your kokose” everywhere.
- Motherland: Motherland, a song that came off Sound Sultan’s Out of the Box album was released in 2016. Motherland reminds Nigerians in the diaspora not to forget their homeland, Nigeria. Sound Sultan teamed up with Johnny Drille in 2020 to produce a remix of the single.
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