Seven Popular Nigerian Musical Groups That Didn’t Stand The Test Of Time

Overtime there have been several reports in the media about the split of various music groups in the country. Together these talented young men and women brought smiles to the faces of many and entertained us. However with the passage of time, splits have come with members venturing out on solo careers or going ahead to pursue other dreams. While some have had success, others haven’t been so lucky, take a look at seven musical groups in Nigeria that didn’t stand the test of time.

The Remedies:

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      This music group was very popular in the 90s and they were a major household name in Nigeria. The group had the trio of Eddy Montana, Tony Tetuila and Eedris Abdulkareem as members. They were managed and promoted by Kennis Music. Together as group, they had major hits like ‘Shako Mo,’ ‘Omoge’ and Omode Meta Shere. Their split came in 1999 when Eedris Abdulkareem decided to launch a solo career. He started off well in his solo career and was able to release three successful albums with the Kennis Music label imprint between 2002 and 2004. Things went rough after his fracas with American rapper 50 Cent. Tony Tetuila on the other hand had smashing songs like “You Don Hit My Car” and “I’m in love with two women.” Eddy on his part was unable to make much impact in the music industry after the split and has an album “Leave Eddy Alone” to his credit. This group is one that many identified with as being among the pioneers of the hip-hop genre.

Plantainshun Boiz:

This defunct group comprised 2Face, Faze and BlackFace and they started in the late 90s. Together the trio were able to produce three albums together namely Body And Soul, Sold Out and Plan B. The first two albums were released in 2000 and 2003 respectively as the group split in 2004. They later collaborated on a reunion album in 2007 with the result being Plan B. Following the split, 2Face has had the most successful solo career as he gone on to release 5 multiple award winning albums and his music is recognized globally. Faze on his part has released three albums since with “Independent” which was released in 2006 churning out several hit songs.Blackface has had the most lackluster career of the trio with just one album ever since but to his credit he co-wrote 2Face’s breakthrough single- African queen.

Styl Plus:

This R&B group when they were together have been likened to America’s Boys 2 Men. It was made up of Shifi Omoefe, Zeal Onyecheme and Tunde Akinsanmi. The three met at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, in the late 90s. There, they forged a friendship and a music group that would redefine the R&B music in Nigeria. Notable of their songs were Olufunmi and Runaway which were released in 2003. The group’s success took a decline when they were unable to match the success of these two monster hits and the group’s debut album, ‘Expressions’ was released in February 2006, but only two tracks, ‘Imagine That’ and ‘Iya Basira’ were hits. The group released another album to put stop to speculations that they were on the verge of a split titled ‘Four Years’ but it didn’t make much impact. The split was said to have been caused by Tunde being disappointed with the group and deciding to venture put as a solo artiste, a sojourn he made with the single “In Your Eyes” and he also went ahead to change his name to Native Boy. He has gone on to establish his own record label B.A.T Records.

Trybesmen:

This group had five members including Eldee, Kaboom and Freestyle who were the pioneering members and later joined by OlaDele and TKO. They were also known as Da Trybe and they were an African Hip Hop group. They released their first album in 1999 and it was a massive success. Following the split of the group, Eldee and Freestyle later recorded solo albums and not much is heard of the remaining members.

Kush:

The quartet, Lara George, Emem Ema, TY Bello and Dapo Toromino, made up the Kinetically Ushering Salvation into Hearts and Homes (KUSH).  There was chemistry between them when they met in the University of Lagos at the Rock Solid Choir and their debut album “The Experience” was a major hit. Sadly the group split in 2004. As a solo artiste, Lara George has done well for herself with her debut album spurning the inspirational hit “Ijoba Orun and other singles.” TY Bello went ahead to be a professional photographer and also has the chart-topping song “Greenland” to her credit. Emem’s “Greenlight” was not much of a success on the other hand.

Infinity:

The gospel group, Infinity shot to stardom with Olorioko and is still trying to assert itself despite the fact that one of its pioneering members, Kore has left the group.

 Maintain:

The trio of Olu, Tolu and Big Bamo made up the defunct group Maintain and they rocked the music scene in the late 90s. In the space of six years (1998-2004), they released six albums together before their split in 2005. They had major hits like I Catch Cold, I am looking for a Wifey, Alo, Dormitilla and Nibo La Wa Gbe Lo. Following their spit as a group, they all launched individual music careers with Olu having the most successful one with his monster hit “Yahoozey” followed his other song “Nawty.”