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10 Nigerian Musicians Who Died At The Prime Of Their Career
By watching them on TV, listening to them on radio, or following them on social media – we develop an emotional connection with celebrities.
Through their work of arts, their songs, movies, etc., we get familiar with them and pick up a lot of knowledge about them.
So, when celebrities die, their death is never easy to comprehend. It is extremely difficult to accept, very painful to believe, and very challenging to let go of.
When life takes them away, especially at such a young age, we are so heartbroken and we wonder what their lives and careers would have been like.
In this article, I’m going to mention 10 well-known Nigerians musicians who, sadly, died at the peak of their careers.
So, here goes.
Dagrin
One of the most well-known entertainers in Nigeria was Oladapo Olaitan Olaonipekun, better known as Dagrin.
Dagrin was propelled into stardom after the release of the smash hit, “Pon pon pon”.
Both young and old adored his ghetto lifestyle and rap prowess, all these made him quickly achieve success in the music business.
Sadly, on April 22, 2010, the unexpected occurred when Dagrin was reported dead following a car accident. This happened just as his career was about to reach its zenith. He was age 25.
MC Loph
Obiajulu Nwaozor, better known by his stage name MC Loph, was a well-known rapper.
The rapper was one of the two people killed on September 14, 2011, in a fatal car accident on the Benin-Ore road.
According to reports, the late rapper was traveling with his brother and fiancé to his native state of Enugu State when tragedy struck. MC Loph and his sister perished in the collision, but his fiancee survived it.
Goldie
Susan Oluwabimpe Harvey, better known by her stage name Goldie, was a Big Brother Africa contestant from Nigeria who was also a fast-rising singer.
In 2013, shortly after returning home from the 2013 Grammy award in Los Angeles, she complained of a headache, and was taken to the hospital where the doctors later declared her dead.
There were rumors that the popular musician died from heavy drugs use. However, the rumour was dispelled by her husband who disclosed that Goldie doesn’t do drugs. She died on Valentine’s day of 2013. She passed away at age 31.
Kefee
The passing on of Kefee Obareki Don-Momoh, known famously as Kefee, came as a huge shock.
The outstanding gospel singer while traveling to Chicago for an event, collapsed during a 14-hour journey and fell into a coma.
On June 13, 2014, after spending several weeks in coma in an unnamed American hospital, Kefee suddenly died. She was 34-years old at the time of her passing.
Nomoreloss
In 2016, Olumuyiwa Osinuga, better known by his stage name Nomoreloss, was admitted to an unnamed hospital in Opebi, Lagos. He was admitted for Typhoid Fever. The “Iyawo Asiko” crooner later passed on due to the illness.
The artiste Nomoreloss is credited as the co-writer of the singer Jaywon’s biggest single, “This Year.”
OJB
On June 14, 2016, Babatunde Okungbowa, better known by his stage as OJB Jezreel or OJB, passed away at the age of 49 after a protracted struggle with kidney disease.
After receiving numerous donations from friends and musicians, Jezreel, who had renal disease in 2013, underwent a successful kidney transplant in the same year. He tragically departed in 2016 one month before his 50th birthday.
Eric Arubayi
Gospel singer Eric Arubayi rose to fame after placing fourth at the 2007 West African Idols music competition.
The musician passed away in February 2017 as a result of complications arising from using an expired malaria medicine, which worsened his already precarious liver conditions.
Eric left behind a wife, Chinonso, and a child. He died at the age of 34.
Slim Joe
Nigerian singer, Joshua Olonitan, popularly known as Slim Joe, has died in January 2022 at the age of 30.
The ‘O ti Yanyan’ singer reportedly died after a prolonged battle with kidney disease.
The versatile entertainer, who hails from Odo-Ayedun in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, had been on dialysis before his death after he was diagnosed with kidney failure.
Osinachi
Osinachi Nwachukwu was a Nigerian gospel musician and lead singer with Dunamis International Gospel Centre.
She rose to stardom with her song “Ekwueme” which she did with Prospa Ochimana.
The singer was declared dead on April 8th, 2022. Osinachi’s death was allegedly caused by marital abuse, according to reports at the time. But the husband,Peter Nwachukwu, has denied such. He was detained in connection with this, and he is still being tried at the Abuja High Court.
MohBad
Rapper, singer, and songwritter MohBad, real name Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, was from Lagos. Before leaving the label in 2022, he was signed to Naira Marley’s Marlian Records. He was best known for his hit singles “Ponmo, Feel Good”, and “KPK (Ko Por Ke)” .
MohBad died after being treated for an ear infection on 12 September 2023, at the age of 27.