For every exceptional person, there is a unique story that illustrates their journey towards attaining success. Sometimes fun, sometimes painful; but most times, a perfect blend of both. For artists in Nigeria, this is a familiar story. That “grass to grace” narrative, scaling several hurdles in the quest for stardom, and the eventual arrival at their desired destination. This is the story of the super talented OG rapper, Tobechukwu Ejiofor, popularly known as Illbliss.
If there were ever conversations about the greatest rappers in the history of Afrobeats; taking into cognizance their catalog, continuous relevance, impact and the gamut of their artistry, he should be seated gracefully at the tops of that list.
But like every other human being, Illbliss has had his fair share of life’s hurdles, the most recent of which would be the stories surrounding the release of his 2020 album, Illy Chapo X, after which he had to take a four-year break.
“So I put out my album around that period as well, but my wife was pregnant with our second daughter who came at 5 months, so she was a proper premature baby,” he said over the call we had, with his nostalgic emotions very evident in the tone of his voice. In the background, we could hear children run around and scream for their father’s attention. These moments would typically describe Illbliss’ life post-COVID – a well-decorated rapper who life is training to make the best out of fatherhood.
“She came out and threw our lives into major tensions, because the fight was about her survival. I had to abandon the album, then run to the hospital.”
In this interview, he takes us down memory lane, way back to his university days. Stating how it all started, the challenges that plagued his musical career and personal life at different times, and the build-up to his 7th studio album, Sideh Kai.
The name illbliss is quite paradoxical, where does it come from?
It is something that is blissful, yet ill. But also remember that ‘ill’ in hip-hop language means something that is nice. My name was always ‘Bliss’ from my university days and some of my friends added ‘ill’. They would get together, make posters reading ‘Illbliss performing tonight’.
So, all your friends were rap heads?
They were. Most of them were rap heads, while others were businessmen.
Your last album before this one was released in 2020. What exactly was happening during that four-year hiatus?
The last album is called ‘Illy Chapo X’. I put out that album in May, 2020, but I had some many other things going on in my life at that point. First of all, that was right in the middle of COVID, so everyone was at home trying to put out music. It was in this era that I discovered artists like Omah Lay, ODUMODUBLVCK, Jeriq. So I put out my album around that period as well, but my wife was pregnant with our second daughter – the same girl screaming in the background of this call right now.
She came at 5 months, so she was a proper premature baby. She came out and threw our lives into major tensions, because the fight was about her survival. I had to abandon the album, then run to the hospital. So, I was doing my promos from the rooftop of the hospital. I would just go to the 7th floor of the hospital and be like ‘What’s up, this is Illbliss. Brand new album, Illy Chapo X, get it, get it.’ And do you know the funny thing? Because it was on the rooftop and it had other skyscrapers and tall buildings around the hospital, everyone thought I was abroad.
How did you manage to stay sane through all of that?
It was a lot, but God really came through for us. We stayed in the hospital for a while, up until we finally gave birth to my kid. She is gonna be four this June and her name is Kachimside, which means, as my God has written. So after that album and now two kids deep in, I decided to take a break. I was a bit fulfilled after that album because I had put in so much work into that album. I had some great records on it like the one featuring Phyno, Fever with Yemi Alade, 40FT Container with Olamide, Superman featuring Niniola and lots of other records.
But when I didn’t have time to promote them properly, I just decided to chill and from just taking a break, it became four years. I started doing other things and other businesses within the entertainment space through my production company called ‘The Goretti Company’.
Like I said, God came through and now you can see my kids on the Sideh Kai album cover. My first child came after eight years of marriage and I felt that these were babies that were coming miraculously into our lives. I saw the need to share this moment and testimony with the world, soI put them on the album cover. ‘Sideh Kai’ is a coinage of my kids’ names – Sochikaima and Kachimside. I had to share my life with the fans and the streets, and that’s why it is probably the most authentic album I have ever put out.
If there’s something you are very familiar with, it is waiting, do you agree?
Absolutely. I always feel like sometimes, God just wants to strengthen you and your faith and teach you things. Because we are very impatient as humans, and we want everything sorted out immediately and done, but it doesn’t always happen that way.
My entire career I have been a child of waiting because I had my first album in 2009 and that was the album that had U Go Wound O, and it took a minute before things started to come together for me in the music business. I wasn’t always a top of mind artist and I had to fight my way up in hip-hop. I had to stay consistent and it took a lot of waiting and putting out albums consistently just to get to that destination that I was headed. Album after album, I grew in strength, I grew in relevance and I grew in confidence in my art and kept evolving and repositioning myself.
Can you tell us what the creation of this album was like? How were you able to put these experiences into the project and why do you have new names like Fave and ODUMODUBLVCK, on it?
Well in these four years break, another thing I went through was a creative block. Kids were in my life, I was trying to grow my content production company, and anytime I wrote music it wouldn’t connect. I moved through a couple of producers and I just wasn’t getting the vibe that I was seeking. Up until I met this incredible dude called Skitter. He made 14 out of the 16 songs on the album. He would have made all 16, but he got really busy towards the tail end of the project so I had to recruit Major Bangz, who is a producer that I have a lot of history with.
Skitter and I decided to do a session to see what we could create. So we went to the studio and made the first record, “Full Chest” with ODUMODUBLVCK. It was a beautiful process. Skitter totally understood my direction: the kind of artist I was; how I am an OG MC that has had several projects in the past and has made big records as well.
I explained to him where I was mentally and where I was headed and he did his thing.
Who is Yukel?
Gen Z was supposed to feature Blaqbonez, but that was around the time he dropped his album and we couldn’t wait. So one day, Yukel – Skitter’s sister – was in the studio humming the song and I just looked at her and asked her to sing the hook. She did and I loved it. I told Ski to record her and that was it.
People often say it is easier to rise to the top than to stay at the top. As an OG, how true is that?
Staying at the top is one of the hardest things to do because you can have a meteoric rise and hit the top, but if you can’t sustain it at that level, then you come crashing down. And then everyone compares you to your last work. So it’s tougher to stay at the top. It takes a lot of consistency, creativity and anxiety all mixed in one.
Between Dat Igbo Boy & Sideh Kai, what is that change that has happened in the Nigerian music industry that you are most grateful for?
People can listen to what they want to listen to. When I was coming into the game, rap was in its very infant stage. There was very little following for rap, and radio wasn’t really that supportive. The show promoters looked at it like a borrowed culture that wasn’t ours. Except of course, if you dumbed it down to a very localized level. But now the rappers have a circle – like a sub-sector in the business. With hardwork, you can create your fans and sell to your fans, so that has changed. Of course, streaming as well has globalized music and opened up income opportunities for the business.
At the end of the day, what would be that benchmark of fulfillment for you?
I am already seeing it through the kind of comments people write about Sideh Kai everyday. When they tell me ‘bro, I was going through shit in 2012, and your record took me out of it,’ ‘I played this album when I was hustling, and didn’t have paperwork in England, but this album was steady stuck in my headphones, and today, I am in a better place.’
Honestly, the music is already doing the legacy work. I am 100% satisfied with it and I just want to be remembered as a legacy artist; as an artist that touched people through the music. It is just the humane part of it – how the fans feel – is what I want to take away from this business. Let me be remembered fondly in the way you remember a Biggie, a Nas, a Jay. That’s how I want to be seen.
Do you have any plans of touring North America or going to Canada anytime soon?
Yes o! I am just building the music and I need help. I am reaching out to you guys as well – any way we can get the music to play out there, let’s do it.
Chukwuebuka Mgbemena is a writer focused on the Nigerian & African entertainment industry. He loves fashion, art and is a staunch chess player.
