Abiola Ahmed Akinbiyi (born 27 January 1996), known professionally as Bella Shmurda, is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in 2019 with the release of the song "Vision 2020", and a follow-up remix which featured

Olamide Olamide Gbenga Adedeji (born 15 March 1989) is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is regarded as one of the most influential artists in Nigeria and Africa and has been crucial to the creative and commercial succe ...

. He is also the leader of Dangbana Republik; a collective of creatives in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

providing community and humanitarian contributions.

Early life and career

Bella Shmurda hails from a polygamous family in

Ikorodu Ikorodu is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the north-east of Lagos, along the Lagos Lagoon and shares boundary with Ogun State. With a population of over 1 million inhabitants, Ikorodu is currently the 12th largest city in Nig ...

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

and is the last child from a family of 10 children. His journey in arts began in his early days through being a part of his elementary school band and cultural dance troupe. He grew up in

, proceeded to have his secondary school studies in

Badagry Badagry, also spelled Badagri, (Gun language, Gun: Gbagli) is a coastal town and Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Po ...

, and earned a bachelor's degree in History and International Relations from

Lagos State University Lagos State University (LASU) is a state-owned university established by the Lagos State government in 1983. Its main campus is situated at Ojo, Lagos State, Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe. The university was set up "for the advanceme ...

. He gained public attention after his debut single ''"Vision 2020''", caught the interest of Nigerian rapper

who did a follow-up remix of the song. Poco Lee, who is a dancer and close friend to Bella Shmurda made a video with the song which made it viral and earned the interest of

, who invited the latter over to his studio for a remix. The support Bella Shmurda got encouraged him to release his first EP "High Tension" in January 2020. He released several other songs in 2020, one of which rapper Zlatan was featured in, titled "Cash App". In 2020, he was nominated for the Next Rated Award at The Headies 2020. He won the awards ''"Next Rated Male"'' and ''"Street Music of the Year"'' at the

City People Entertainment Awards City People Entertainment Awards are an annual accolade presented by '' City People Magazine'' to honour Nigerian and Ghanaian entertainers. The first edition was held in Abeokuta, Ogun State on June 14, 2009. The event was hosted by Governor G ...

, and was also nominated for the "Revelation of the Year" Award Category in 2020. In 2021, at the Global Music Awards Africa which held virtually in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, he won in two award categories, ''Global Collaboration of the Year'' and ''Global Most Popular Song of the Year''. Also in 2021, he was the only Nigerian beneficiary among twenty-seven acts, across fourteen countries who were inducted into the YouTube Foundry Programme facilitated annually by

YouTube Music YouTube Music is a music streaming service developed by the American video platform YouTube, a subsidiary of Google. The service is designed with an interface that allows users to simultaneously explore music audios and music videos from YouTu ...

to access and leverage resources aimed at artistes development to launch their music to a wider reach globally, create greater impact and promote a broad spectrum of musical heritage. Following his breakout in the Afrobeat music industry in 2021, Bella Shmurda was featured in an episode on the African music interview series "This is Africa" by

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Also, in 2021, Bella Shmurda was nominated for the ''"Next Rated"'' award at the Headies Awards. In June 2021, his single, ''"Cash App"'' featuring Zlatan and Lincoln was nominated for ''"Most Played Song - Street Pop"'' at the NET Honours. Bella Shmurda made his debut performance at

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...

in the United Kingdom, as a guest performer at

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), better known as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement. His music is a blend of Afrobea ...

's ''Made in Lagos'' Concert in November 2021. In March 2023, he released his first single of the year, ''"Ara (Gen Gen Tin)"'' after his album project rollout. His single ''"Philo"'' which featured

Omah Lay Stanley Omah Didia (born 18 May 1997), known professionally as Omah Lay, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. Omah Lay came into limelight and gained international recognition with his singles "Godly,” Understand," "Attention ...

was released off his debut album ''"Hypertension"'' in October 2022 and received global attention, causing South African rapper

Nasty C Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo (born 11 February 1997), known professionally as Nasty C, is a South African rapper, songwriter, and record producer. After releasing three mixtapes, and two Extended play, EPs, Ngcobo released his debut album ' ...

to make a remix of the song which dropped in March 2023. For his third release of the year, he collaborated with

Tiwa Savage Tiwatope Omolara Savage (born 5 February 1980), known professionally as Tiwa Savage (), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. Savage sings in English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, p ...

on a single titled "NSV" which dropped in May 2023 and was produced by Krizbeatz.

Philanthropy through Dangbana Republik

In October 2021, Bella Shmurda reacted to a viral video of a pre-schooler performing a song by

and himself titled ''“Triumphant”'' off

's ''“Carpe Diem”'' Album, by choosing to sponsor the kid with an elementary school scholarship. This scholarship came into effect in November 2021. Also on his birthday in January 2022, he declared that through his collective, he would begin a program to feed a thousand destitute persons in the Ojo community where he grew up every year his birthday.

Discography

EPs and Album

Singles

Featured In

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shmurda, Bella Living people 21st-century Nigerian male singers 1996 births