Without 'Beef' there is no Hip-Hop – Iceberg Slim

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