Rapper, Modenine, announced the passing of his father in a Facebook post published in the early hours of Monday, November 13, 2017.
Adherent followers of the MC who occupies an esteemed position in Nigeria’s pop culture took to his timeline to offer warm thoughts as he processed the loss.
‘Modo’ is one of the tightest rappers to ever bless the mic. He is known for his heavy punchlines, elevated grammar and esoteric verses.
Factors that have made him only attractive to an exclusive type of audience – the savvy minds with an appreciation for intellectual prowess.
His influence in the rap game dates back to the mid ’90’s – a time when Nigeria was far from having a proper music structure and when Juju musicians were kings.
Modenine, alongside associated acts like Six Foot Plus known for his popular hit ‘E don do me’ , Overdose and Terry tha Rapman, all members of the hip-hop group Swat Roots, represented the complete idea of lyricism in Naija rap.
The combined efforts of this quartet, as well as early rapster Ruleclean brought on a unique appreciation for rap music based on their focus on conscious themes.
Some of these emcees have phased out mostly due to the difficulty associated with making an income off their skills.
It is 2017, Modenine owns a record label, Redeye Muzik following an exit from Question Mark Records which was once home to Asa, Silver Saddih, Street Monks, talented beat maker,
Cobhams Asuquo and is still flying the flag of quality rap with five albums, “E’ Pluribus Unum” –
2006, “The Paradigm Shift” – 2008, “Da Vinci Mode” – 2010, “Above Ground Level” – 2014 and “Insulin” released in 2016, to showcase for many years of activism.
Like most rappers, Modenine got involved in some beefs with his contemporaries.
One of such was with Ruggedman who was the subject of two diss tracks, ‘Death Blow Pt. 1’ and ‘Talking to you’ off “The Paradigm Shift” album.
The latter featured R&B singer Banky W, who provided a sweet melody that saw Mode spit lines like “This baba, that baba…
You are not a father, you’ve got intellect myopia. So when Addis Ababa, it’s not Ethiopia”.
Mode dropped a new track ‘Rectitude n justice’
produced by Black Intelligence in October 2017, while in London, United Kingdom . It featured soul singer Amuta Stone, making sure to keep his lean but devoted fans engaged with some fresh sounds.
