Omoniyi Temidayo Raphael (born 19 December 1994), known professionally as Zlatan Ibile or simply Zlatan 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 and singer. He is the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and founder of Zanku records. In 2014, he won the

Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited is an Indian multinational telecommunications company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Currently, Airtel provides 5G, 4G and LTE Advanced ...

-sponsored One Mic talent show held in 2014,

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State located at the south western part of Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokut ...

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

. Towards the end of 2018, Raphael released a single titled "Zanku", with a new dance routine of the same name. On 3 November 2019, he released his debut studio album ''Zanku'', an acronym for Zlatan Abeg No Kill Us. He named himself after

Zlatan Ibrahimović Zlatan Ibrahimović (born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Ibrahimović is known for his acrobatic strikes and Volley (association footba ...

, as he wanted to be a footballer.

Early life and career

Omoniyi Temidayo Raphael was born and raised in

Ikorodu Ikorodu is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the north-east of Lagos, along the Lagos Lagoon and shares boundary with Ogun State. With a population of over 1 million inhabitants, Ikorodu is currently the 12th largest city in Nig ...

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

but has family roots in Ijurin,

Ekiti State Ekiti () is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the North by Kwara State for 61 km, to the Northeast by Kogi State for 92 km, to the South and Southeast by Ondo State, and to the West by Osun State for 84 km. Named for the Ekiti ...

. In 2011, he graduated with a national diploma in business administration from

Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Moshood Abiola Polytechnic also known as MAPOLY is a tertiary learning institution in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The Ojere campus is in the South-Eastern part of Abeokuta, covering about 960 hectares of rolling land bounded by the Ogun River ...

. Raphael decided to pursue a career in music after graduating secondary school. When he was 19 years old, he won the

-sponsored 2014 edition of "One Mic Campus Tour" music competition, which was held in

. He gained recognition in 2017 after releasing "My Body", which features

Olamide Olamide Gbenga Adedeji (born 15 March 1989) is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is regarded as one of the most influential artists in Nigeria and Africa and has been crucial to the creative and commercial succe ...

. In 2018, Lawrence Irabor, co-owner of Alleluyah Boiz Entertainment, signed Zlatan to the record label after hearing "My Body". Zlatan gained further exposure following his collaboration with

Chinko Ekun Oladipo Olamide Emmanuel (born 13 September 1993), known professionally as Chinko Ekun, is a Nigerian rapper and songwriter. Early life Chinko Ekun was born in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, into a family of three, where he is the second child. H ...

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 ...

on the 2018 hit single "Able God". Shortly afterwards, he dropped "Zanku", a song that was accompanied by a viral dance routine of the same name. Towards the end of 2018, Zlatan released the

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 ...

-assisted track "Osanle". In early 2019, he released "Glory" before being featured on

Burna Boy Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He gained recognition in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album '' ...

's "Killin Dem", a track from the latter's fourth studio album ''

African Giant ''African Giant'' is the fourth studio album by Nigerian singer Burna Boy. The album was released on July 26, 2019, by Spaceship Entertainment, Bad Habit, Atlantic Records and Warner Music. The album is a mixture of Afrobeats, Afrobeat, danceha ...

''. Shortly afterwards, he was featured on Lil kesh "Flenjo" and

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 "Am I a Yahoo Boy". On 26 July 2019, Zlatan signed an endorsement deal with

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

2020–present: Zanku Records and EndSARS protest

On January 1, 2020, Raphael took to his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

page to announce the launch of his record label 'Zanku Records' with no artists unveiled. Down to February 25, he celebrated his birthday while he announced the numbers and names of acts he signed. He listed three artists named: Papisnoop, Oberz and Jamopyper. He also announced the official signing of a Videographer/Cinematographer named Visionary Pictures, his Manager 'Manager Jiggy', his Music Producer

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 ...

and a PR Consultant

Biesloaded Biesloaded or Biesloaded NG, is a Nigerian street music platform founded in 2013 by Adewumi Adeyanju and Ojimi Ayomide on Instagram. In 2017, the platform launched its website. Its also known as one of Nigeria's top street music platforms. In 20 ...

'. He made this announcement with a picture of him and seven other people via his Instagram page. In October 2020, during the

EndSARS End SARS, widely written as #EndSARS, was a decentralised social movement and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria that mainly occurred in 2020. The movement's slogan called for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robb ...

protest, Zlatan released "Soro Soke" to express his concern over the alleged massacre of innocent youths at the

2020 Lekki shooting On the night of 20 October 2020, at about 6:50p.m., members of the Nigerian Army opened fire on unarmed End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate (Admiralty Circle Plaza) in Lagos State, Nigeria. Amnesty International stated that at least 12 ...

Personal life

Arrest and release

In May 2019, the EFCC arrested Zlatan, Naira Marley and a few others in connection with an alleged case of internet fraud and money laundering. A few days later, he was released on administrative bail.

Discography

Studio albums *''Zanku'' (2019) *''Resan'' (2021) EPs *''Omo Ologo'' (2023)

Singles

;As lead artist ;As featured artist

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zlatan Living people 1994 births 21st-century Nigerian male singers Yoruba-language singers of Nigeria Moshood Abiola Polytechnic alumni Singers from Lagos