Chibuzo Nelson Azubuike (; born 9 October 1986), who is known professionally as Phyno, 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 ...

rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Phyno was born and raised in Enugu State but is a native of Anambra State. He started his music career as a producer in 2003 and primarily raps in Igbo. His debut studio album '' No Guts No Glory'', which was released in March 2014, yielded the singles "Ghost Mode", "Man of the Year", "Parcel" and "O Set".

Early life and music career

A native of Anambra State, Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike was born and raised in Enugu State. His stage moniker came from the word phenomenal, which one of his friends from secondary school gave him. Phyno developed an interest in music production during his secondary school days. He initially wanted to become a pilot, but was told that he could be a doctor. He learned to play the drums and piano throughout secondary school and created his own rendition of every recording he heard. He studied

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

at the Institute of Management and Technology in Enugu, and started profiting from music during his second year there. Phyno told Ifeoma Onoye that

Mr Raw Okechukwu Edwards Ukeje, better known as Mr Raw, is a Nigerian rapper and songwriter who was born and raised in Enugu (city), Enugu. A native of Abia State, he previously went by the stage name Dat Nigga Raw and is a pioneer of Igbo rap. Early ...

was one of the few people he looked up to. He started rapping in 2010 and relocated to

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 ...

to further his music career. Phyno started recording his debut studio album, '' No Guts No Glory'', in 2012. The album featured guest appearances from Stormrex, Omawumi, Olamide, Efa, P-Square, Timaya,

Flavour N'abania Chinedu Okoli (born 23 November 1983), better known by his stage name Flavour N'abania or simply Flavour, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He began his musical career as a drummer for a local church. Flavour is popularly known across Africa ...

, Mr Raw, M.I, Ice Prince and Runtown. It was primarily recorded in Igbo and

Nigerian Pidgin Nigerian Pidgin, also known simply as Pidgin or as Naijá in scholarship, is an English-based creole language spoken as a ''lingua franca'' across Nigeria. The language is sometimes referred to as ''Pijin'' or ''Vernacular''. Coming into existe ...

. The Olamide-assisted track "Ghost Mode" was released on 25 September 2012, as the album's lead single. The song won Best Collabo at both The Headies 2012 and 2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. On 7 December 2012, Phyno released the music video for "Ghost Mode", which was filmed in Lagos by Clarence Peters. Sputnet Records released the album's second single, "Man of the Year (Obago)", on 23 March 2013. The song won Best Rap Single at the 2013 Headies Awards. In June 2013, Phyno performed for 25 minutes in

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Nigeria, Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Loc ...

as part of the Star Music Trek tour. As a supporting act on the 2013 Hennessy Artistry Club Tour, he toured with

D'banj Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo (born 9 June 1980), known professionally as D'banj ( ), is a Nigerians, Nigerian singer, rapper, music executive, event host and television personality. He signed with American rapper Kanye West's record label GOOD Music ...

, Burna Boy, Chidinma,

Vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

, Pucado, Seyi Shay,

Show Dem Camp Show Dem Camp (SDC) is a Nigerian rap duo composed of Wale Davies (Tec) and Olumide Ayeni (Ghost). Personal lives The duo were born in Nigeria but lived and grew up in European cities and the United States before returning to Lagos to pursue a ...

, Kay Switch and Sean Tizzle. The music video for "Man of the Year (Obago)" was uploaded to YouTube on 20 August 2013. It was also directed by Clarence Peters in Abakpa Nike and features a cameo appearance from Illbliss. In September 2013, the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation banned the music video from being broadcast. The album's third single "Parcel", originally titled "Parcel (a Big Nwa)", was released on 11 October 2013. The music video for "Parcel" was recorder by Peters and released on 19 February 2014. "O Set" was released as the album's fourth single on 4 March 2014. The song was produced by WizzyPro and features vocals by P-Square. The song's music video was directed by Jude Engees Okoye. On 22 May 2014, Phyno released the music video for "Alobam", which was directed by Clarence Peters. "Alobam" was produced by Major Bangz and is an Igbo slang for "My Guy". On 2 September 2014, Phyno released the video for his "Authe (Authentic)" song with Flavour. On 7 October 2014, he released the Major Bangz-produced track "Yayo", which debuted at number 8 on the Pulse Music Video chart. Phyno performed at the 2014 edition of the Star Music Trek tour in Nsukka, Enugu State. The Peters-directed music video for "Yayo" premiered on 5 January 2015. Opeoluwani Akintayo of '' The Daily Times of Nigeria'' gave the video an overall rating of 8 of 10, commending its use of props. Phyno's collaborative album with Olamide, titled '' 2 Kings'', was released on 1 April 2015. Both rappers announced plans for the album's release on social media. Phyno announced plans to release his third studio album, ''Deal With It'', in March 2019. Supported by the singles "Agu" and "The Bag", the album features guest appearances from Olamide, Falz,

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 ...

, Don Jazzy, Zoro, Runtown and Teni. In July 2021, Phyno released the single "Bia".

Artistry

Phyno told the ''Nigerian Tribune'' he raps in Igbo because he respects his culture and loves being himself. Although he primarily raps in Igbo, he incorporates a bit of Nigerian Pidgin and English into his music. Phyno believes the elements of music make it borderless.

Discography

Studio albums * '' No Guts No Glory'' (2014) * '' The Playmaker'' (2016) * ''Deal With It'' (2019) * '' Something to Live For'' (2021) * '' Full Time Job'' (2024) Collaborative albums * '' 2 Kings'' (with Olamide) (2015)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

MTV Africa Music Awards !Ref , - , 2015 , Himself , Best Hip-hop , , Channel O Music Video Awards !Ref , - ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, "Alobam" , Most Gifted Hip-hop , , City People Entertainment Awards !Ref , - , rowspan="2", 2014 , Himself , Rap Artiste of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , '' No Guts No Glory'' , Rap Album of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 2013 , "Ghost Mode"
(featuring Olamide) , Best Collabo of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , Himself , Best Rap Artiste of the Year , Nigeria Entertainment Awards !Ref , - ,

, rowspan="2", Himself , Best Rap Act of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2",

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, Best Rap Act of the Year , , , - , "Ghost Mode"
(featuring Olamide) , Best Collabo , , African Muzik Magazine Awards !Ref , - , rowspan="2", 2013 , rowspan="2", Himself , Best Newcomer , , rowspan="2", , - , Best Rap Act , Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA) !Ref , - , 2013 , "Man of the Year" , Best Afro Hip Hop Video , , The Headies !Ref , - , rowspan="6",

, Himself , Artiste of the Year , , rowspan="6", , - , Phyno for "Alobam" , Best Street-Hop Artiste , , - , rowspan="2", ''No Guts No Glory'' , Best Rap Album , , - , Album of the Year , , - , "Parcel" , rowspan="2", Best Rap Single , , - , "Dope Money"
( Olamide featuring Phyno) , , - , rowspan="7",

, rowspan="2", Himself , Next Rated , , rowspan="2", , - , Lyricist on the Roll , , - , "Ghost Mode"
(featuring Olamide) , rowspan="2", Best Collabo , , , - , "Ezioku"
(Lynxxx featuring Ikechukwu, Illbliss, and Phyno) , , , - , "Man of the Year" , rowspan="3", Best Rap Single , , , - , "Anam Achi Kwanu"
(Illbliss featuring Phyno) , , rowspan="2", , - , "Ghost Mode"
(featuring Olamide) , , - , rowspan="2",

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, "Shutdown" , Best Rap Single , , rowspan="2", , - , Phyno (for "Shutdown") , Lyricist on the Roll , NET Honours

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 ...

Music Awards

References