Legendury Beatz (pronounced Legen-dury Beat-z) 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 ...

record producing and songwriting duo, composed of siblings Uzezi Oniko (born 17 February 1986) and Okiemute Oniko (born 27 May 1989). Their production style is deeply rooted in

afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

as well as in several other genres, including

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a Music_genre#Subtypes, fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop music, pop, rock music, rock, hip hop music, hip-hop/rap, Contemporary R&B, R&B, jazz, funk, soul music, soul, disco ...

, moombahton and

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including ...

. With less than a year as a music production duo, Legendury Beatz made international headlines in the Nigerian recording industry by producing the critically acclaimed single "

Azonto Azonto is a dance and music genre from Ghana. Ghana News Agency cites their study which found out the dance is connected to the traditional Ga dance Kpanlogo, associated with the coastal towns in the country such as Chorkor, James Town, ...

", which was performed by afrobeats recording artist and MOBO Award winner

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 ...

. Throughout their career, they have been noted for their extensive work with Wizkid. They have also been noted for writing and producing consecutive string of hits. The duo have produced many songs with vocal contribution from artistes such as American rapper Wale, British rappers

Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie (formerly Tinie Tempah), is a British rapper and singer. He has been signed to Parlophone since 2009, now a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his ...

and Yxng Bane, Urbano Latino artists

Bad Bunny Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (; born March 10, 1994), better known by his stage name Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. Known as the " King of Latin Trap", Bad Bunny is credited with helping Spanish-language rap music achieve m ...

and

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to th ...

, 2face,

Ice Prince Panshak Henry Zamani (born 30 October 1986), better known as Ice Prince Zamani or just Ice Prince, is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after releasing "Oleku (Ice Prince song), Oleku", one of Nigeria's most remixed son ...

, Efya,

Banky W Olubankole Wellington (born 27 March 1981), popularly known by his stage name Banky W and credited in film as Banky Wellington, is a Nigerian-American singer, rapper, actor, entrepreneur and politician. Early life Olubankole Wellington was bo ...

Seyi Shay Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua (born Oluwaseyi Joshua; 21 December 1985), known professionally as Seyi Shay (pronounced Shay-yee Shay), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. In 2008, she became the lead singer for the now defunct pop girl gr ...

and Chidinma, amongst others.

Early life and career

Formation and early works

With no initial music industry contacts, connections or recording studio, the duo's production followed a simple system in which they created beats channeled to a certain artist for whom they scouted for in clubs, award shows etc. The system yielded little success until they met Weird MC, a female rapper, songwriter and producer who heard their content in 2009. They created the singles "Happy Day" and "Moving Up" for her, and also created an album with her that is yet to be released. In 2011, the duo produced "Ara", the lead single from

Brymo Ọlawale Ọlọfọrọ (born Olawale Ibrahim Ashimi; 9 May 1986), better known as Brymo, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, sound artist, sonic artist, actor and author who was born and raised in Okokomaiko. Brymo started recording music in ...

's second studio album ''

The Son of a Kapenta ''The Son of a Kapenta'' (abbreviated as ''SOAK'') is the second studio album by Nigerian singer Brymo. It was released by Chocolate City on November 15, 2012. Recorded in English and Yoruba, ''The Son of a Kapenta'' is primarily a mixture of Af ...

'' (2012). The song won Best Recording of the Year at The Headies 2012. Furthermore, the music video for the song won Best African Pop at the 2012 Channel O Music Video Awards. The duo produced the song "Ko Ma Roll" for MTV Africa Music Awards winner Mo'Cheddah. In 2012, the duo produced " Baddest Boy", the lead single from

Empire Mates Entertainment Empire Mates Entertainment (abbreviated as E.M.E) was a Nigerian record label founded by Banky W and Tunde Demuren in 2002. It was home to recording artists such as Wellington himself and Niyola. DJ Xclusive was the label's official DJ. Wizkid, ...

's compilation album '' Empire Mates State of Mind'' (2012). Legendury Beatz also produced the song "Emi Ni Baller" for

Kora Awards The KORA All Africa Music Awards are music awards given annually for musical achievement in sub-Saharan Africa. The awards were founded in 1994 by Benin born businessman, Ernest Adjovi, after a discussion in Namibia with the country's President H ...

winner Chidinma. The song broke a record for Chidinma, as she became the first female musician to peak at number 1 on the MTV Base Official Naija Top 10 chart. Legendury Beatz produced the song “Drop” with vocal contributions from American rapper Wale and

. In 2013, the duo produced the song "Caro", which was included as a bonus on Wizkid's second studio album '' Ayo'' (2014). In 2014, the duo produced "That Could Be Us" for Nigerian rapper

. They also worked with other notable African artists, including

and Efya.

Production work and record deal

Legendury Beatz and

's production catalog include songs like "Ginger", "Caro", "Talk", "Eledumare", "Number One Lover", Won Gbo Mi", "Juru" and "Emi Ni Baller" (Remix). On 29 April 2013, Legendury Beatz were signed to Wizkid's Starboy Entertainment. The duo produced four songs on his second studio album ''Ayo''. The song " Ojuelegba" was well-received across different social media platforms. It contributed to the overall success of the album, which received a positive review from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine. Wizkid added contributing vocals to the duo's first single "Oje". Legendury Beatz and Simi collaborated on "Ayo", the third single from her third studio album '' Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1'' (2019).

Influences and style

Okiemute and Uzezi's production style is highly influenced by

, fuji, and all variations of Congolese music from African icons such as

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...

, Lagbaja, Awilo Longomba and

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960) is a Beninese- French singer-songwriter, actress and activist noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Kidjo has won five Grammy A ...

. The duo also had an ear for

, pop and

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

genres.

Discography

;Mixtapes *''DJ Spinall Presents: Legendury Beatz Greatest Hits'' (2014) ;Singles produced ;Other production

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Legendury Beatz
at

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legendury Beatz Record production duos Living people Nigerian songwriters Nigerian music industry executives Nigerian hip-hop record producers Sibling musical duos Songwriting teams 21st-century Nigerian musicians Musicians from Lagos The Headies winners Year of birth missing (living people)