 |
| Iceberg Slim |
Iceberg Slim, born Olusegun Olowookere in New York City to
Nigerian parents, is an emerging Nigerian superstar.
Introduced to the sounds of Sunny Ade, Shina Peters, and
Obesere from a very young age, Iceberg Slim found a strong liking for music.
Iceberg Slim started writing his own music by the time he had reached High
School. It started as poetry, and served as an outlet, but then transformed into
Rap. “I was playing the keyboard and drums in my church CAC as a child. I also
sang in the choir. After high school I decided that music was my calling. So in
2009 I came to Nigeria to show that I’ve arrived.”
Influences like Jay Z, Drag-On, DMX and Eminem helped shape
his sound and style. “I want to be better than Jay Z and Eminem or as good as
them”. With such a love for music, there's no question on why he decided to
leave John Jay College of criminal justice after 2 years completed, to attend IAR
(Institute of Audio Research) to then pursue a career as an audio
engineer/producer.
He has tracks with the likes of international rapper and
singer Ja-Rule, Sauce Kid, Dagrin, Banky W, eLDee and the list goes on. As he
works towards his highly anticipated debut album, ‘New York to Lagos’, Iceberg
Slim have been hitting stages across the globe, from New York, Las Vegas,
Chicago, California, Philadelphia, Atlanta, New Jersey, Miami, Connecticut,
Pittsburgh, Virginia, Ohio, Baltimore, Boston, London, Nigeria and Toronto,
Canada. He has also shared the stage with the likes of many credible and
talented artists D'banj, 9ice, 2 Face Idibia, Banky W, Dagrin, Sauce Kid,
eLDee, and Blak Jesus.
Iceberg Slim has produced tracks for many rising stars, and
coming attractions Sauce Kid, Ezzie B., Rico White, Blak Jesus, AG Man, Bayou
and NL3.
Iceberg Slim, CEO of Afri-Gang Entertainment, has won Best
International Artist at the 2009 Nigerian Entertainment Awards. Iceberg Slim
was recently signed to Nigerian based 'Yes Records' and he has now moved to
Nigeria, to continue his pursuit for the Hip-Hop crown. He's worked with the
likes of eLDee, Sauce Kid, Banky W, DJ Zeez, J Martins, and the late Dagrin.
His first single ‘I Made It’ in which he featured Dagrin was set to be his
official entrance into the Nigerian market. “’I Made It’ was a motivational
song for youth to understand that no matter where you are from, the slum,
ghetto or urban lifestyle, you can still make it in life. You can be
successful, you can be somebody.”
Speaking on the misunderstanding between him and M.I, the
rapper explained that it is a normal thing for the music to grow. “The
so-called beef with M.I was seen like beef to me but its hip-hop, without
competition, the genre won’t grow.”
On his music …“So far I’ve got two mix tapes, 'The Fix' and
'Soul Food', From New York To Lagos is going to be my album, but we’re not
rushing it yet. Nigerians have to like pressure me to do an album first before
doing one. Champagne Showers featuring Rico White, is my latest single which
was released a couple of weeks ago.”
“The Nigeria music industry is in the form of a business, we
have woken up and started doing music in a more professional way. It is still a
growing process; our music is going overseas, which is a positive.”
He had an advice for upcoming talents, “For the upcoming
artiste; this music we do isn’t an overnight success, everything you see in the
video or the internet is not how it looks. It requires a lot of patience and
hard work so if you are not ready for that don’t waste your time.”
Here's Iceberg Slim's new Single - Champagne Showers (feat. Rico White).mp3
