Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba (3 January 1996 – 12 September 2023), known professionally as MohBad, was 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 ...

rapper, singer, and songwriter from Lagos. Mohbad was formerly signed to

Naira Marley Azeez Adeshina Fashola (born 10 May 1991), known professionally as Naira Marley, is a British-Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper. Education At the age of 11, Fashola moved to Peckham, South London, England. He graduated with a distinctio ...

's Marlian Records and left the label in 2022. He was best known for his hit songs "Ponmo," "

Peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

," "Beast and Peace," "Sorry", "Feel Good," and "KPK (Ko Por Ke)" (You Will Always Be Remembered) with

Rexxie Ezeh Chisom Faith (born 10 November 1994), professionally known as Rexxie, is a Nigerian record producer, DJ, and songwriter. He is popular for creating the Zanku sound, and producing Naira Marley's ''Soapy'', ''Tesumole'' and the song ''KPK'' wi ...

, which was nominated three times for

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 ...

awards 2022. On 18 September 2023, he ranked number 1 on ''

TurnTable A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...

'''s Official Artiste Top 100.

Early life

Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba was born on 3 January 1996 in Ikorodu, Nigeria. During his early childhood and adolescence years, MohBad seemed to be "hugely talented and in tune with the very spirit of music".

Music career

MohBad released his debut album, ''Light'', in the fourth quarter of 2020 as a follow-up to his viral song "Ponmo," which featured

and

Lil Kesh Keshinro Ololade (born 7 March 1999), known professionally as Lil Kesh, is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. He rose to the limelight after releasing the hit single "Shoki" in 2014. Early life and education Ololade was born and raised ...

. MohBad was nominated five times for The Beatz Awards 2021. MohBad was listed in

Audiomack Audiomack (often stylized as audiomack'')'' is a music streaming and audio discovery platform that allows artists to upload music and fans to stream and download songs. It is especially popular among emerging artists, offering a space to share th ...

's top 21 Afrobeat artists of 2021. In 2022, he released ''Peace,'' produced by

. It peaked on the ''TurnTable'' top 50 in 2021 and top 100 in 2022. After the announcement of his death, "Peace" became a major hit, reaching number one on

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

in Nigeria and was accompanied by his single "Ask About Me," at number two. As of 15 September 2023, "Beast & Peace," the opening track on ''Blessed'' was at number four and "Feel Good" at number five. Between 12 and 14 September, his streams increased by 702%, from 990,000 to 8.02 million. For the week of 23 September 2023, "Peace" debuted on ''Billboard'''s Hot Trending Songs chart at number two. On 18 September 2023, ''Blessed'' reached a new peak at number four, and ''Light'' made its first chart entry at number 20 on the Nigerian Official Top 50 Albums chart. On 21 September, streams of ''Blessed'' increased by over 530%. On 23 September he became the 46th best-selling digital artist, surpassing international artists such as

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

, and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

. He was later described as "one of the greatest rappers".

''Blessed'' (EP)

Mohbad's EP ''Blessed'', his first after leaving Marlian Records World, was released in June 2023 under his own label, Imolenization. The eight songs on the 20-minute EP featured Nigerian artists Zlatan and

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

, and producers Niphkeys and Timi Jay. The album charted at number one on Apple Music in Nigeria the week it was released, and subsequently, immediately after his death.

''Light'' (EP)

MohBad issued his first EP, ''Light'', after agreeing to a record deal with Marlian Records World in 2019. The eight songs on the EP feature

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), known professionally as Davido, is a Nigerian American, Nigerian-American singer, songwriter and record producer. Davido was born in Atlanta, U.S, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He made his mus ...

, Naira Marley, and

. Naira Marley served as executive producer for the eight-track EP, which also bears the production stamps of SB,

, P.Beat, and Austin Sinister.

Controversy

NDLEA arrest

In February 2022, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) arrested MohBad,

Zinoleesky Oniyide Azeez (born 21 April 2000), professionally known as Zinoleesky, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper. His rise to fame began with the launch of his debut album ''Chrome Eccentric'' featuring hit tracks like "Ma Pariwo" and "Kilofes ...

, and four others at their home in Lekki, Lagos for possession of illegal substances that included

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy (tablet form), and molly (crystal form), is an empathogen–entactogenic drug with stimulant and minor Psychedelic drug, psychedelic properties. In studies, it has been used ...

and

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

. Some

viral video Viral videos are video, videos that become popular through viral phenomenon, a viral process of Internet sharing, primarily through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhon ...

s on social media showed NDLEA operatives breaking into the musicians’ home in the

Lekki Lekki is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the south-east of Lagos city. Lekki is a naturally formed peninsula, adjoining to its west Victoria Island and Ikoyi districts of Lagos, with the Atlantic Ocean to its south, Lagos Lag ...

district of Lagos State in the early hours of Thursday morning. According to witnesses, the officials carried out the arrest without any search warrants and mistreated the Marlian singers. The NDLEA officers were seen hitting the musicians with clubs and shooting into the air, forcing them into waiting trucks. NDLEA confirmed the raid, stating "our men raided an area in Idado estate where Naira Marley’s boys stay." According to a spokesperson for the NDLEA, cannabis and

was found in their apartment and car. MohBad,

, and four others were later released.

Allegations against Naira Marley and Sam Larry

After two years, he announced his departure from Marlian Records. On 5 October 2022, MohBad accused his manager, singer Naira Marley, of assault and stated that his former boss ordered people to beat him up after he announced his intention to employ a different manager to handle his music and business affairs. After MohBad's death, it was reported that he had filed a police report in June 2023 alleging that Samson Erinfolami Balogun, a music promoter nicknamed "Sam Larry" and a known associate of Marley's, had assaulted him and destroyed some of his property. In the report, MohBad said that Larry had interrupted a video shoot, leading a group of 15 men armed with firearms and cutlasses who claimed to work for monarch Oba Elegushi.

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

later said MohBad had not attended a subsequent meeting to address the allegations, and that Balogun and others accused of the assault had then filed a

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

complaint. Elegushi released a statement distancing himself from Balogun and expressing condolences on MohBad's death.

Personal life and death

MohBad and his wife, Omawunmi, had a son who was born in April 2023. On 12 September 2023, MohBad died at the age of 27 after being treated for an infection by an unlicensed nurse, who was later arrested. Police subsequently announced they would investigate the circumstances of the singer's death after his body was exhumed on 21 September 2023.

Discography

EPs

As lead artist

Awards and nominations

References

{{reflist 1996 births 2023 deaths Rappers from Lagos Singers from Lagos 21st-century Nigerian musicians 21st-century Nigerian singers