Jeriq’s Ogbe music Takes A Life of Its Own in Nigerian Hip hop.
Nigerian hip hop, has since the 90s, undergone different eras, seen various emcees, and as one of the genres of music in which it is toughest to succeed, rappers have had to do a bit more than other artistes to win the hearts of their audience. From Modenine, to M.I, to Ruggedman to Mr. Raw to Olamide and to every emcee who has succeeded in the game at some point, there is one unifying factor and that is originality. The audience can only have as much as one Olamide or Illbliss at a time, and even at some point, a rapper is expected to innovate his sound to stay afloat in an industry like Nigeria’s.
To understand rappers, one has to pay attention to where they are coming from. Rap music has its essence in its locality of origin. A rapper from Abakpa in Enugu has to rap from the perspective of a person coming from that area. His sound, the psychology of his music and the image they wrought on the mind of the audience, can mainly be unique in how he captures his environment. If he decides to rap about somewhere else, chances are that there are people with authentic experiences from those places who will do it better. It is why in America, the east coast/ west coast binary is so strong because every rapper buys into the superiority of their own story. It is the reason in Nigerian hip hop, Jos is represented in M.I, Jesse Jagz and Ice Prince’s rap; and Phyno cannot keep 042 out of his mouth, same with Jeriq whose Ogbe music this piece seeks to explore. True and authentic rap is an art born from a rapper’s attempts to bring together, the sum of his influences into this genre of music.
From Ruggedman, to Mr. Raw, to Naeto C, to Illbliss, to Phyno, etc., rappers from the east of Nigeria have at the very peak of their games contributed to redefining hip hop in Nigeria and bringing it through the many phases it has been through. Mr. Raw was instrumental in popularizing rap in the local language in Nigeria; Ruggedman and Naeto C were top lyricists of the 2000s to the early 2010s, and Phyno has shown how melodious and poetic it could be to rap in Igbo language. The various contributions these rappers have made to the Nigerian rap sphere was integral to the demands of the eras which they broke into the limelight. And it is for their innovation that we remember them.
Presently in Nigeria, we have new artistes in the block, many of whom are in their various ways courting their audiences with their music. The style, however which seems to have spread farther like wildfire is the fusion of rap with trap and drill and rap with Igbo lingua as done by Jeriq. The rapper first came to limelight with his groundbreaking EP, “Hood Boy Dream” at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Jeriq has since gone ahead to collaborate with the Yoruba rapper, Dremo on an EP titled “East to West” which combines Yoruba and Igbo rap, put out his debut album, “A Billion Dollar Dream” and a deluxe version of the album, which have been even more widespread than his debut EP. But what is spectacular about the breakout of this rapper is his style of music, and how it easily differentiates itself from the normal culture in Nigerian hip hop.
Ogbe music, as Jeriq’s style can be referred to, is an irreverent style of music that combines the old hip hop with its new sub-genres and Igbo sounds and instruments. It combines drill music with trap and rap and more recently the ogene music which is very integral to his roots, to invent a whole new genre of music. The content of his music is largely his day-to-day experiences and his life story, as I have written elsewhere. As far as the music goes, storytelling is an essential part of it. But it isn’t just about the story, it is about how it is told, which explains why it has so much appeal among the people in the streets.
Trap music as it originated in America had found a bit of an audience in Nigeria before 2020, but not many people including hip hop fans had been able to relate to it in the way they did mainstream hip hop. But when Jeriq emerged with the Iyoo blueprint which contained local registers, he created a new brand of trap music that was instantly relatable and easily found listening ears and an awaiting audience.
Ogbe music has almost unlimited potential to what it could become as Jeriq grows in his artistry or more younger artistes tap into the genre. A bit of evolution already took place from Hood Boy Dream to A Billion Dollar Dream and the deluxe version. One sees an increase in melody from the EP, as Jeriq begins to redefine his sound and introduce indigenous sounds — which he has already began with the infusion of ogene, ichaka and oja into his music.
On the music front, “Iyoo” has now become synonymous with the street hip-hop culture of Nigeria. It has now become a blueprint with which musical artists identify with the new hip-hop subgenre in Nigeria invented by Jeriq. In the last ten years, this seems, by popularity rating, to be the most remarkable music export to have come from the southeast. The genre is fast becoming a national sensation with the potential of spreading across the continent with many other artistes adopting the style of music with a message and resonance which speaks to the consciousness for those in the same ecosystem of existence which the music came from.
In the first three years of drill music’s big break into the music industry, it had very little media coverage, and almost no support from the big wigs in the industry. In the southeast, Jeriq was popular in the street and had very little presence on social media, which went ahead to prove that perhaps, the world doesn’t fully revolve around social media as many people would have us think. The factor here was that this new brand of music as spearheaded by Jeriq spoke a language which the people in the streets could effortlessly relate to. It was music which spoke to the sensibility and the consciousness and aspirations of the people on the streets, so it naturally found its way to its natural audience even without the social media influencers or the wire of the media.
The beginning of Jeriq’s career was so challenging that he was ignored by the industry bigwigs who were hesitant to support his initial style of rap which borrowed from influential rappers like Zoro and Phyno who came before him. However, instead of being deterred, Jeriq took matters into his own hands and decided to invented Ogbe music. He drew inspiration from his Igbo heritage and fused it with contemporary rap and drill beats to create a fresh and distinctive sound that resonated with his audience.
What makes Jeriq spectacular with his role as a pioneer drill artiste is that for him, it was not just about the music. It was not just that the music was inspired by his story and experiences. It embodied the music, the culture around it, and created the Iyoo. blueprint which other younger artistes are tapping into. For Jeriq it has gone beyond the music for which he has released three music projects; it is also about the business. He has begun a clothing line which has the imprint “Iyoo Cartel” for which he has recently signed a partnership deal with Puma. And so on the streets, people are not just singing the music, they are putting on clothes and face caps with “Iyoo Cartel” written on them; they are mumbling along to the lyrics of the song and also, many new artistes are beginning to tap into this new culture.
Jeriq’s fashion line, “Iyoo Cartel” has become mainstream wear, not just for fashion savvy people all over the country, but has equally been rocked by stars like Psycho YP, Zlatan and Oxlade. The success of Jeriq’s fashion brand is a testament to how he is able to incorporate his other passions apart from music, like fashion into the culture. His affinity for fashion easily gives him out in his stylish outfits which is evident of the rising Generation Z sense of style. His strong brand image has earned him a sponsorship deal with puma and an ambassadorial deal with Hero Lager beer, the one most popular beer brands in Nigeria.
The most rampant criticism of Igbo musical artistes since the past two decades is their inability to create a suitable path for their successors to follow. This is by way of giving a lifting hand or by granting them record deals good enough to bring them at least to the limelight. This is what has led to many artistes of Igbo extraction becoming over-dependent on the Lagos industry which is not built to pander to them. It is too early to say that Jeriq has broken this bad streak, but at least he began from Igbo land and it is valid to say that he has contributed greatly to activating a cultural spark that has left some footprints for future drill artistes.
Today, Jeriq’s Ogbe music has become a movement, inspiring other artists and gaining recognition all over the country. He has collaborated with renowned artists, performed on prestigious stages, and won multiple awards, all while staying true to his unique style and staying grounded in his roots.
