Divine Uzama (born December 4, 2002), known professionally as Zerrydl or Zerry DL, is a Nigerian rapper and singer. He embarked on his musical career in 2015, sharing freestyles on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. He first gained major recognition in 2023 following the release of his single " Puff & Pass," which marked his first entry on the ''TurnTable'' Top 100. He signed with Plutomania Records to release his debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) ''Danger Zee'' (2023). The following year, he released the single " Back to Back"—marking his first ''Billboard'' appearance.

Early life

Uzama was born on December 4, 2002, in

Benin City Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

. He was raised by his parents. His older brother is

Afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

singer

Shallipopi Crown Uzama (born April 12, 2000), known professionally as Shallipopi, is a Nigerian singer, rapper, and songwriter. He gained recognition in 2023 with the release of his single, "Elon Musk". He followed up with the extended play ''Planet Pluto ...

. His younger brother Famous Pluto is also a singer.

Career

Uzama began his

music career A musician is someone who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate a person who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters, ...

alongside his elder brother Shallipopi, sharing freestyles and song covers on

in 2015. In 2022, Zerrydl released his first single, "Ifeoma", although it did not chart, it garnered some attention. In 2023, Zerrydl signed a recording contract with Shallipopi's Plutomania Records. That same year he released the

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

"Puff & Pass" on July 9, 2023. The single debuted at number 39 on the Nigeria ''TurnTable'' 100 charts, making it Zerrydl's first entry on the chart. On October 20, 2023, Zerrydl released the remix of "Puff & Pass" with Shallipopi. Its accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was released that same day and currently has 5.4 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, as of November 2024. On November 10, 2023, Zerrydl was featured on Shallipopi's " Wet on Me". On December 15, 2023, Uzama released his debut

''Danger Zee'', which debuted at number 14 on the Official Top 50 Albums Chart. In 2024, he released the single "O.U.A.T" on May 23, which became the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

for his second EP, ''Wara Wara Szn'', featuring

Seyi Vibez Balogun Afolabi Oluwaloseyi (born 12 July 2000) known professionally as Seyi Vibez, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is known for his breakthrough single "Chance (Na Ham)" from his second studio album ''Billion Dollar Baby'' which debuted ...

, and Tega Boi Dc, released on May 31. In July 2024, Uzama performed alongside his brother Shallipopi and Nigerian rapper Rema at the 2024 Wireless Festival, a prominent music event held in various cities across the UK. Uzama also released the single " Back to Back" on September 23, 2024, which debuted at number 40 on the ''TurnTable'' charts 100. On October 19, 2024, Uzama's single "Back to Back" reached its peak position at number 16 on the UK Official Afrobeats Chart. "Back to Back" debuted at number 42 on the ''Billboard'' U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart, marking his first ''Billboard'' appearance.

Discography

EPs

Singles

* "Ifeoma" featuring Iamemzyfrush1 (2022) * "Puff & Pass" (2023) * "Puff & Pass (Remix)" featuring

(2023) * "O.U.A.T" (2024) * " Back to Back" (2024)

Awards and nominations

References

{{Reflist 2002 births Living people Musicians from Benin City 21st-century Nigerian male rappers Nigerian male singers 21st-century Nigerian rappers Nigerian Afrobeats musicians Nigerian singers Nigerian male singer-songwriters Nigerian male songwriters Musicians from Edo State