Ice Prince breaks silence, speaks on why he dumped and denied his love child...face-off with Brymo

Ice Prince and son, Jamal

Fire of Zamani exponent and rave hip hop act, Ice Prince, in this engaging chat candidly spoke on why he initially abandoned and denied his love child and carbon copy, Jamal. He also spoke passionately about his latest work, future plans, war with Brymo among other trending issues.

We would like to know more about your new album, Fire of Zamani and how much have you grown after your debut album E.L.I

God has been great because from my first album till now, I have done more shows, my bank account is not the same anymore, my music is more popular than before, and so they were obvious growths on my side.

You featured some American stars in your album like Wale and French Montana, have you been accepted over there?

We have not been accepted yet. Nigerian music is not yet huge in America like the Caribbean music. But with collaborations like this, we will become very popular in America. I know that some day we will have African and Nigerian music on air in popular radio stations in America. I dream of a day that Nigerian music will be played on a very popular radio station in America like the Jamaican music.

What inspires you?

God inspires me. He brings everything to me; he gave me my first hit song Oleku.

Did criticisms from your debut album affect the recording of FOZ?

Yes I had it in mind that is why I made sure I had a hand in everything on my album. I made sure I delivered and hopefully FOZ will be a better album.

How much do you put into your live performances?

Live performances are very important to me as a rapper. I love performing with a live band as you may have noticed at my E.L.I and FOZ shows. But you can’t actually perform everywhere with a Live Band so I still try to add a lot of creativity in my performances.

Which song from FOZ was most challenging for you?

I think it was “On My Knees”, the song I did with Jeremiah Gyang. It was a really Jeremiah type of song, but getting him to the studio to do a song with me was kind of difficult so collaboration with him was challenging.

We would also like to know more about your collaboration with Sunny Neji?

I wrote and recorded the song and we were discussing about whom to put on the record. Sunny Neji’s name came up, we called him and he invited us to his house and it was a wonderful experience. He has some lovely daughters who treated us well and were very happy to have us.

You featured Jesse Jagz in a song from the album; do you miss the old Choc Boyz?

No, I don’t miss it because we are still together. I see Jesse Jagz almost every day, we all live in Lagos and I live like only a 10-minute-drive from Jesse Jagz’s house. We still discuss music and hopefully more collaborations from him. Brymo’s case is a little different, though, but you never know what happens in life, we’ll see how it goes.

What is that achievement that you think will make you satisfied in the music industry?

I will never be satisfied, I will always strive for bigger things, and no matter how big I become, there will always be a bigger thing to achieve.

You have come a long way since your debut album, take us back memory lane, how did music start for you?

As a child, I wasn’t that musically inclined, I never was interested in music, and I just wanted to be a soldier.  Music came during my teenage years when I started to listen to music and when I became close to my uncle.  He was one of my early musical influences. I would say that was where I inherited music, from my uncle Dantala.  The skills were harnessed when I met Jesse Jagz and from there everything just kicked up.
 

How has life been since then?

It has been fine, I released Oleku and everything changed. I released my debut album and everything went to the next level, I started having shows, traveling round the world, now I have my second album. I feel blessed, I feel opportune to be able to do what I do and that is it. Life as a star is interesting because it opens you to a lot of things.  You have access to a lot of things, you go to certain places and you are treated special. You are able to speak and people listen.
What has been the key to your success?

I think I have been hardworking and humble. Humility can take you very far in life only if you work hard.  I have been humble all through my career as an artiste. You have to be humble, you have to be hard working and you have to be wise.  Always make sure you save more than you spend.  

A lot has changed since then, there is also a baby; how has fatherhood changed you?

It has taught me to save my money. It is a huge difference and a huge change in lifestyle. You become more matured.

How much time do you get to spend with him?

 I have been one of the busiest Nigerian artistes for two years now. I don’t get to spend much time with him like I would want to but I try. I try to make sure I spend time with him when I’m free but unfortunately I don’t have much free time.

You initially denied having a baby?

It was complicated back then, I didn’t really know what was happening and I wasn’t sure of certain things. So the best I had to do then was denying it and sort out things first. Now I know he is my child and I have done everything as a father ever since.

What is the relationship like with his mother?

I speak with her often and it is usually about the baby. That is all for now.

Have you started thinking about marriage?

No, I’m fully focused on my music.

 
By STEVE DEDE