Veteran Nigerian singer Alexander Akande, popularly known as 9ice, recently opened up about the early days of his music career, revealing that he used to mimic the sound of Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean. The Photocopy hitmaker admitted that he wasn’t the only Nigerian artist influenced by Wyclef at the time, but he believed his imitation stood out from the rest.
In a candid interview with SPS, 9ice shared that he eventually moved away from copying Wyclef’s style after discovering his unique musical identity. He highlighted that his current sound is a fusion of influences from legendary artists like Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Bob Marley, Ayinde Barrister, Kwan1, and Pasuma.
“My inspiration was Wyclef [Jean]. If anybody listened to me at the beginning, there was a time I was sounding like Wyclef 100 percent. And there were other people that were sounding like him, but they felt that I sounded better than them when it comes to sounding like Wyclef,” 9ice explained.
He further elaborated, “And from sounding like Wyclef, I got to my own original sound. Bob Marley, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Ayinde Barrister, Kwan1, Pasuma, and Obesere are the people that I listened to while growing up, and they formed my blend in music.”
9ice’s journey from imitation to originality has solidified his place in the Nigerian music industry, with a sound that is distinctly his own.
