Welcome to this week’s edition of our Artist Focus and today we will be focusing our lens on the President of the Marlians, Naira Marley. We chart the success of 30-year-old Azeez Adeshina Fashola from his musical start to his incredible rise in the Nigerian music industry.
Born in Agege Lagos, he moved to London, England at the age of 11. He grew up in Peckham and it had a massive influence on his lifestyle and music. He studied at Porlock Hall then at Walworth school, obtaining a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Naira graduated from Peckham academy.
He was part of the infamous No Mannaz Gang that brewed around Peckham. At one point, Naira Marley claimed to have been arrested 124 times in England.
Naira Marley discovered his musical talent unintentionally. As his story goes, he had just hit his first “big money” (250,000 Pounds) and he was looking to invest it in his friends whom he felt were very talented. There was a blank space on one of the recordings and his friend asked him to fill it.
In true Naira Marley fashion, people got hooked to his verse and it became popular within his clique. They had made about 10 songs but Naira’s verse was stuck in people’s heads. A friend with a camera came around and they coerced him into shooting a video with a bad camera. It hit 4 m views in 3 weeks.
Naira Marley went on to make “Marry Juana” and he exploded into the limelight. Mixmag described the single as an instant UK street classic. It was a blend of trap, rap, afro, and bashment. A style Naira would brand “Afrobashment”
“No one was doing this before I started. There was no Kojo Funds, no J Hus, no Mostack. I kinda set the afro-whatever. Now everyone’s on it and it sounds proper.” He dropped his first EP titled Gotta Dance in 2015. He was featured on Frenchie’s single “Cele” in the same year. His next single “Back2back” was also a street hit.
Naira Marley started 2016 with a video for his cover of Wizkid’s “Baba nla” and then days later, released the video for his “Hang with me” freestyle. NM also released “Money on the road” & “Do it for the gang”. He released “Magic” after and the video has over 1.2 million views on YouTube.
Naira had broken into the UK scene but his next scene helped him to make a splash back home in the Nigerian industry. NM teamed up with legend Olamide for “Ko Si Werey”. It was his last release of the year. He released “Jurulo”, “Money on the road”, and then “Flying away” in 2017.
His last release of 2017 was “Issa goal” and it aligned him for an amazing breakout year (in Nigeria). Two factors played a major part in the song’s success. Number 1 was the emerging shaku shaku dance wave that was sweeping the nation and the song piggy-backed on that. Number 2, the Nigerian National team was going for the World Cup and it became the unofficial anthem of the campaign.
Before he shot the video, Naira Marley had some issues as he was arrested for a “driving offense” that was minor on its own but coupled with previous charges, became a serious offense. He was lucky to beat the case but he survived without jail time.
The song catapulted Marley to a recognizable figure in the Nigerian Music industry. There was a Coca-Cola-sponsored remix that featured Lil Kesh, Olamide, Simi, and Slimcase. After a few months, fans would get Marley’s first controversial moment in Nigeria.
Singer Simi made a video criticizing “Yahoo Boys” and internet fraudsters. Naira Marley weighed in. countering that anyone who understood the history of slavery would understand. Naira Marley took to social media to allege that Simi snubbed him at an event.
She claimed she saw him at the said event but had no reason to interact with him. Simi said she had no reason to snub him as they were neither friends nor enemies. He doubled down & insisted that she saw him & made a face at him. He stated how she acted differently around him. It was different from how other artists acted. Slyly quipping that singer Teni is bigger than her.
He released “Japa” towards the end of 2018 and it was another hit to his name. It was the first collaboration between him and Rexxie but it wouldn’t be their last. In fact, it was the beginning of a glorious musical relationship that would bring incredible hits.
“I was already killing it in England before then, ‘Issa Goal’ just dropped at the right time. People say Issa Goal blew me. People say Marry Juana blew me. People say EFCC blew me. But it was me the entire time. I didn’t stop, I kept going. If I stopped after Issa Goal, I wouldn’t be here talking to you now.” he said in an interview.
Naira Marley made a song toiled “Am I a Yahoo boy?” in response to all the talk about cybercrime. “See me see trouble, am I a yahoo boy?” See me here was considered as a cheeky reference to his beef with Simi. The video and the lyrics did not go down well with Nigerian authorities.
He was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged involvement in cyber-crime. NM claimed he was innocent. He spent a month in jail before he was granted bail. Then came the mother of all hits. Combining again with Rexxie, they made “Soapy” and it transformed Marley.
It was a massive hit on the radio with a vulgar dance to back it up. He represented mischief, folly, and became a hero against the big bad government (for some reason). “Opotoyi”, “Puta”, and “Mafo”. They were all hits in their own rights with “Mafo” dominating airplay.
He released “44-4 Foti” in 2019 too. There was another case against him as he and his siblings and cousins were accused of conspiring to steal a car. Again he managed to beat the charges. He was featured on Davido’s hit single “Sweet in the middle”
He released his Lord of Lamba (Lol) EP in December 2019 with more singles like “Isheyen”, “Tesumole” and “Tingasa” popping off. His Marlain fest concert was a huge success and he used it to announce his new label Marlian Records. He announced Zinoleesky, MohBad, Fabian Blu, and C-Blvck as the first signees.
In 2020 he released ‘Aye”, “Didi Lobo”, “As e dey go”, “Idi Oremi”, “Chi chi”, and “Koleyewon”. The last two were major hits and received massive airplay. Naira Marley has managed to hit popularity in his two countries. England & Nigeria. It is no easy feat. In 2021, he released “coming” featuring Busiswa.
As usual, he was criticized for the song’s explicit and lewd lyrical content. It does not matter to him. You are simply not his target market. Censor yourself and your precious kids away from his music and his lifestyle.
Naira Marley is here to stay. He can’t stop. He won’t. He does not respect society enough to let them influence his thoughts or mellow his music. It is rough, rugged, raw, and abrasive. Deal with it. Naira Marley is set to release an album titled “God’s timing is the best”.
