In a recent interview with the CTRL Room, popular rapper Odumodublvck, born Tochukwu Ojogwu, shared his perspective on the state of hip-hop in Nigeria and how he chose to navigate the music industry.

The “Declan Rice” crooner expressed his belief that Nigerians don’t show enough respect for the hip-hop genre and its artists.

Odumodublvck recounted his early struggles in the music industry, revealing that during that time, award event organizers wouldn’t even provide him with seats.

He emphasized the challenges hip-hop artists face in the Nigerian music scene, where the dominant genre is afrobeats.

The rapper also mentioned a pivotal moment when a suggestion was made by his team to approach afrobeats superstar Davido in 2019.

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However, he rejected the idea, as he believed that even if he were to perform alongside Davido, the audience might not connect with his hip-hop style.

Instead, Odumodublvck chose to align himself with UK grime artists whose musical style resonated with his vision.

He elaborated on this decision, saying, “But these guys: Teezee, BOJ, and Sholz, are the pipeline to the UK market. And those are the closest guys I sound like internationally. So why don’t I follow that route to get to wherever I want to get to?”

Despite the challenges faced by hip-hop artists in Nigeria, Odumodublvck expressed his determination to remain true to his vision and the musical path he had chosen.

He shared how his collaboration with artists whose genre aligned with his own had contributed to his success, stating that he didn’t need Davido to achieve his goals.

In addition, Odumodublvck commented on Wizkid’s statement that “hip-hop is dead,” indicating his agreement with the sentiment. He concluded, “I was tremendously happy about Wizkid’s statement… Hip-Hop was dead.”