Babatunde Olusegun Adewale (born June 14, 1975), popularly known by his stage name Modenine, is an English-born Nigerian rapper. He is a seven times Headies lyricist on the roll winner and he is widely regarded by industry heads as one of the greatest African lyricists of all tim

In 2014, he released "Super Human" with Jamaican Americans, Jamaican-American rapper,

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-American rapper. First having gained recognition for his freestyling abilities, he signed with Universal Records to release his debut studio al ...

Early life and education

Babatunde was born in London on June 14, 1975, and his family relocated to Lagos during his preteen years. He is the third child of his parents who are from

Osun State Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...

. He has credited

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, ...

for inspiring his love for

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. Hi ...

. He attended Agboju secondary school. He earned a degree in Building Technology at

Federal Polytechnic Bida Federal Polytechnic, Bida is a polytechnic school based in Niger State, in north central Nigeria. It opened in 1977. History Federal Polytechnic Bida was established in 1977 following a decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to move ...

, Niger State, Nigeria.

Career

He worked with Rhythm 84.7fm in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, Nigeria as a radio presenter. In 2004, Babatunde released his debut project, Malcolm IX. In 2006 "Pentium IX" was released . In 2007, he released another album called É Pluribus Unum. The album's main single, 'Cry', won three awards at the

Channel O Music Video Awards Channel O Africa Music Video Awards, once known as Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards, are Pan-African music awards organised by South Africa -based Channel O television channel. The awards were first held in 2003 under the name Reel Music Video A ...

in 2006. It also won the award for "Best Rap Single" at

The Headies The Headies (originally called the Hip Hop World Awards) are honors established in 2006 by ''Hip Hop World Magazine'' to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry. The annual ceremony features performances by established a ...

. Modenine has eight studio albums. In 2018, Babatunde released a new album titled "Hence4th" which was produced by Black Intelligence. In 2019, he released an album titled The Monument

Accolades

* 2006: "Cry" won awards at the

* 2007: Won 'Best Rap Single' for "Cry" at

Discography

Single Albums *''Malcolm IX -2004 '' *''Pentium IX - 2006'' *''E' Pluribus Unum "One Amongst Many" -2007 '' *''The Paradigm Shift -2008'' *''Da Vinci Mode -2010'' *''Above Ground Level - 2014'' *''Insulin - 2016'' *''The Monument (By Stormatique) - 2019'' Featured Albums *''Modenine & Alias - Pay At-10-Shun - 2010'' *''Modenine & Mills The Producer - Golden Era Guevara New Era Mandela - 2011'' *''Modenine & XYZ - Alphabetical Order - 2013'' *''Modenine and DJ Papercutt - Look What I Found EP - 2016'' *''Modenine & Black Intelligence - Hence4th - 2018'' Mixtapes *''Malcolm IX - The Lost Sessions - 2004'' *''Pentium IX - The Mixtape - 2005'' *''Nigel Benn's KraftWork (Modenine and Kraft) - The Soul Edition - 2007'' *''09.09.09 The Mix Tape - 2009'' *''Occupy The Throne - 2012''

References

{{authority control Nigerian male rappers 1975 births English people of Nigerian descent Musicians from Osun State The Headies winners Living people Yoruba musicians English people of Yoruba descent Rappers from London Hardcore hip-hop artists