By CHINEDU HARDY
NWADIKE | @HardyNwa
In the past five years, no Imo State based artiste could
actually boast of being as popular as Golden Chinedu Okafor aka XBusta. At
first, it was difficult to say if he really had what it takes to be a great
artiste but time saw him mature into rap beast.
Xbusta should be ever grateful to the best music family
in Imo State, which happened to be his fans at Imo State University, Owerri.
Even without a song, the rapper was still more famous than artistes who were
getting more airplays on the radio stations in Imo State.
He only needed a crowd and a microphone to do his thing.
He only needed to know words in the environment to form his freestyles and
while other artistes were struggling to match up with what he does to the
crowd, it was always easy for him to win the hearts of people any time any day,
even when they are not really fans of rap music.
Without having an official single to his name, Xbusta
signed his first professional music contract, a feat no one is yet to achieve
at the moment and when some artistes and music analysts saw it to be unfair
that someone without a single to his name could be rated as the best artiste,
they call for him to be rated on the same platform with other artistes and that
was when he released the single ‘Shomo’ featuring Icz Money.
Even when ‘Shomo’ was loved by the people, they still
preferred his freestyles to anything he does and aside the early waves by the
likes of Acharaman, no other artiste in Imo State has been on more shows and more
features than XBusta.
With ‘Shomo’ making waves, the myth of the Freestyle King
died, making way for an artiste that was surely on his way to stardom. And
through his days at Imo State University, everything was easy for him; he was
more of a University Ambassador than a student. Aside his political exploits
that saw him become the director of socials in his time, Xbusta was still ‘as
popular as the Vice Chancellor of the university’. You must know his face,
because if you have not met him, you must have seen him on posters and on
stage.
Imo State University will have it in history that they
have never produced any artiste like him and his rise to fame will surely be a catalyst
to others struggling to make it from the same unit. It is important to note
that the IMSU community alone pulls more crowd of music lovers than then entire
Imo State, a reason why most tours are held in the campus and a reason why most
of the good artistes in the community are known around the state more than
their counterparts in other tertiary institutions in the state as well as the
streets.
His performance and parley with the likes of MI Abaga and
other top class artistes at Star Trek in Owerri and other states, were also
evidences that that he really had something in him. Being Xbusta is not
different from the story of every studio rat. It is same with the story of
every street child hoping to be a star someday. Step by step, he lived his
dreams, doing everything possible to overcome every obstacle on his way.
Many thought he would end up as a local legend whose
achievement will be in an ordinary myth, but he never ceased to push on; that
is his uniqueness. From ‘Shomo’ he did other songs until he found himself on
‘Chom’, which won the public back to him. But one thing about being XBusta is
that you always have a two-edged sword. If your songs doesn’t move the crowd,
then you have to give them a mind blowing freestyle. That was what made him
unique; an edge he had over other folks he was rolling with. He even influenced
his friends to do freestyles before their main performances, and even when most
of them are not too good at it, they still pushed for the two-edged sword.
When YBE Castor picked him for his label, it was also
another big hit and they hold a record of hosting the most expensive and
successful album launch in the Imo State so far. He was already becoming a
brand backed up with the influence Mr. Castor was commanding.
Everyone was looking up to the YBE family to shoot him
up, only for pictures of him with Kcee and Harry Song in an airplane heading to
Johannesburg to be seen online. It was rumours and now it is true and official,
Golden Chinedu Okafor aka Xbusta has signed for Five State Music, one of the
most prosperous record labels in Africa at the moment.
He has released a message to the industry, which will not
be called a single, just to show the world what he is made of and that he can
also perform at the highest level. ‘Mother Any Body’ was just a message to the
industry and artistes who are yet to release the songs they featured him can
now wait for few months and do it when he would be blazing hot because as it
stands, nothing can stop him.
Who would have believed that the Freestyle King who
studied Estate Management in Imo State University would be on continental news
for signing for Five Star Music? Who would have known that he would be doing
his thing at this level within this short time? Only God can make a man a king.
Chinedu Hardy Nwadike is an author of books, journalist, blogger and
publicity strategist.
He writes from Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria.
chikisnow@yahoo.com
| 08038704454 | Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: HardyNwa
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