Michael Chimeruche Alozie (born 28 March), known professionally as Snazzy the Optimist or simply Snazzy, is a Nigerian-born singer, songwriter and rapper. An alumnus of International College of Creative Arts, he began as a rapper, covering songs and began his music career professionally in 2021.

Early life and education

Alozie was born in

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo River which flows al ...

, a state in the

south eastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

region of Nigeria. According to him, his mother's dream for him was to study Medicine and has described his father as his biggest musical influence. He graduated from high school in 2018, prior graduation he moved to

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Benin ...

the following year.

Career

Growing up, Alozie began

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

as a young boy at home and in school where he often battle rapped with his friends and often participated in school competitions, he initially began as a rapper before singing. In late 2017; he officially started covering tracks. He covered tracks by diverse artists and also recorded on beats he downloaded from

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. One of the established tracks he covered is Teni's 2018 award-winning single "

Case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods), a package of related merchandise * Cartridge case or casing, a firearm cartridge component * Bookcase, a piece of furniture used to store books * Briefcase or attaché case, a narrow box to ca ...

". In 2021, two years after moving to Lagos State, he began his career with “Seluna”. He received mainstream attention the same year following the release of "Seluna" as part of his Mars extended play in 2021 which is yet to be released. "Seluna" debuted on ITunes Chart, and peaked at number #35. It also received support and gained airplay on radio stations including

Cool FM Cool FM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. The station is owned and operated by Bauer and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio Network. The station began broadcasting in 1990 when its parent station ...

both in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

and Abuja,

Beat FM Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

and the Nigerian Info. The following year, ''GBA Africa'' in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

profiled him as an artiste set to make a name in the country's music industry. In January 2023, he was listed by '' P.M. News'' as one of the "musicians to look out for". The following month of that same year, he was shortlisted by

Audiomack Audiomack is an on-demand music streaming and audio discovery platform that allows artists and creators to upload limitless music and podcasts for listeners through its mobile apps and website. In February 2021, ''Billboard'' announced Audiomack ...

as one of the most streamed artists for Nigeria of that week alongside

Asake Ahmed Ololade (born 13 January 1995), known professionally as Asake, is a Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter. He is signed to YBNL Nation and Empire Distribution. His stage name pays homage to his mother, whose first name is Asake. To pro ...

1ucid Kwadwo Bedihene, known professionally as 1ucid (stylized as 1UCID), is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter, creative and record producer based in the United States. He is known for his single ''Miss You'' which peaked on US, Netherlands, Ghana, Nigeria ...

and

Kizz Daniel Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe, (born 1 May 1994) better known by his stage name Kizz Daniel, is a Yoruba singer and songwriter. He is best known for his singles " Woju" and "Yeba". He went by the stage name Kiss Daniel prior to changing it in May ...

. In February 2024, Alozie released "Asa", gaining traction on social media and achieving airplay, produced by platinum record producer Eternal Africa. A fusion of the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...

's Ọjà and

Amapiano Amapiano ( Zulu for "the pianos") is a style of house music that emerged in South Africa in the mid 2010s. It is a hybrid of deep house, jazz and lounge music characterized by synths and wide percussive basslines. It is distinguished by high-pi ...

which is in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

and Zulu languages and features non lexical vocables. Ifeanyi Ibeh, writing for ''The Guardian'', describes the song as original, unique, nostalgic, fresh and a tone that is up for future musical samples.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Optimist, Snazzy the Nigerian musicians 21st-century Nigerian male singers Nigerian rappers Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Imo State English-language singers from Nigeria Living people Nigerian soul musicians Igbo singer-songwriters Afrobeats musicians Igbo people