iMullar takes a deep dive into the story of Nigeria’s newest Hip-Hop sensation, Odumodublvck, and highlights from his recent interview with Apple Music 1.
The name Odomodu itself represents a style or form of folk music originating from the Igbo people of Nigeria. Odumodublvck, whose real name is Tochukwu Gbubemi Ojogwu is a rapper and songwriter appreciated for his genre-bending style and highly energetic stage performances. Popularly known for his unique native hat (Okpu Agwu) he is deemed as a breath of fresh air into the Nigerian Hip-hop/Drill scene. His style of Drill employs High-Life-inspired melodies and Nigerian Pidgin English to tell vivid stories about his community and experiences. Big Kala or Big Gun as his fans often call him is regarded as one of the next top-rated artists to come out of Nigeria currently. He’s been consistent with back-to-back chart-topping hits in 2023. The latest to be added to the list is his single titled, “Declan Rice” named after the West Ham football player.
Odumodublvck sat down with Apple Music 1 radio presenter Dotty for an interview that aired this week to discuss his current trajectory. When asked about why he chose to focus on Declan Rice for his recent hit, he shared “Na God… I say, ‘Na God’ because it was… You know sometimes as an artist you know what you want to do before you enter the studio, even when you’re writing.”
Evidently, God truly is working in his favour as he continuously gains support from superstars like Skepta, Wizkid, and Zlatan, among others. He also attributes his current success to his underdog mentality as he states, “Normally people who play for England national team are from Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, but this guy is a West Ham player and his spot on the English team is undisputed. That’s an underdog mentality. He represents everything I represent now.”
Odumodublvck is also a member of the hip-hop collective Anti-World Gangsters. A crew comprising five rap artists and the team’s producer/engineer, Cross. They are bonded by a sense of irreverence and devoted to making music that’s not dictated by popular trends. On their debut album “Gang Business”, AWG took the listener through all of the layers of their dynamic sound, ranging from Drill, Trap and Hip-Hop. What’s riveting about Odumodublvck is his lyrical content, as each song he releases has its own unique perspective in addition to how it resonates with the average person.
In 2022, Odumodublvck released a joint studio album with B.O.C Madaki, titled “The Drop”, and later that same year signed a record deal with Native Records, in partnership with Def Jam. This followed quickly with his first single under the Native, titled “Picanto” featuring Ecko Miles & Zlatan. The song went on to earn him his first chart entry in the Nigeria Top 100 and peaked at number 65.
Shortly after surviving surgery that almost took his life, he chose to release “Declan Rice’, having created much anticipation at this point… ”I knew from the get-go when I put out the snippets. It was mad… Declan Rice commented everybody was going wild every day: comments, DMs, ‘Bro, when are you dropping this tune?’ And when it came out, it did more than intended.”
His prediction would prove to be spot on as the song did not disappoint. He demonstrated his versatility and consistency. He combines some fiery punch lines with commanding lines. Authoritative affirmations and declarations packed with his witty ABJ lingo, “Declan Rice” propelled Big Gun to own the number-one Hip-Hop record in Nigeria. His ability to shine in a league and be himself must be studied. He is currently recognized as one of the Nigerian artists who is paving the way for a new generation of Nigerian rap fans…”I’m grateful to God for giving me that kind of intuition or the spirit of descendants to translate this into the music.’
When asked about the challenges he faces as a rapper, especially in a country dominated by Afrobeats, he responds, ”I’m a Hip-Hop artist, I told my guys in Nigeria, I said, ‘What an Afrobeat artist is going to do, a Hip-Hop artist cannot do it he try it.” Because if an Afrobeat artist, let’s say Fireboy, drops “Peru”, in January, that song can last him the whole year, because that sound is more acceptable to society. But as a hip-hop artist, I should be dropping like five songs to match up to that Peru start.”
With this kind of mentality and drive, accompanied by his charisma, there’s truly no limit to the possibilities for Odumodublvck.
Author: Thomas-Moore Ayamga
