Mode 9 Biography: Inside The Life Of The Nigerian Rapper

Babatunde Olusegun Adewale, better known as Mode 9 (Modenine), is an English-born Nigerian rapper. He first appeared on the Nigerian music scene in 1999 and quickly rose to prominence before releasing his debut album in 2004. He and Jamaican-American rapper Canibus collaborated on the 2014 single “Super Human.”

Early Life and Education

Mode9 was born in the City of London, England, on June 14, 1975. He is the third child of his Nigerian parents, who are from Osun State. There is no information available about his elementary education. He, on the other hand, went to Agboju Secondary School before attending Federal Polytechnic Bida in Niger State, Nigeria, where he earned a degree in Building Technology.

Career

Modenine began his music career by rapping with friends in high school. Artists such as KRS-One, Roy Ayers, Kurtis Blow, and Big Daddy Kane influenced him greatly. In 1991, he decided to make a rap album just for fun. He worked part-time as a radio host for Rhythm 84.7fm in Abuja (a sister station to Rhythm 93.7 Lagos), which featured upcoming rap artists such as Terry Da Rapman and Six-Foot Plus. In a 2013 interview with TuTu Adeoba and Cheezy Charles on Hot FM’s breakfast show, the musician lamented that Nigerians weren’t fans of his style of music. He claimed to have released an album, but no one appeared to be interested. But he maintained that he wouldn’t alter his musical direction as long as his true fans continued to love him.

When Malcolm IX was released in 2004, all hip-hop heads rejoiced because it performed well. The lead song, Elbowroom, won an AMEN Award. The following year, Mode 9 took home three [The Headies HipHop World Awards] and three Channel O Music Video Awards for best rap song in Nigeria (The Biggest Win of the Night). In the same year, while signed to Question Mark Entertainment, he released Pentium IX, the blueprint for authentic hip-hop in Nigeria. E’Pluribus Unum, released in 2007, was hailed as one of the best hip-hop albums to come out of Africa, receiving airplay on New York’s Hot 97 and high praise from DJ Cocoa Channel. Modenine has brought underground sound to the attention of the general public.

Modenine is known for his great wordplay and unmistakable lyricism, and he has won the Lyricist on the Roll Award seven times. He’s fought some of the best singers, including Wyclef Jean, Guru of Gangstarr, and Junior Reid. He opened for Akon in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in 2005. Modenine collaborated with Nas, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, T-Pain, and LL Cool J in 2007. The Paradigm Shift and DaVinci Mode are two classic albums released in 2008 by the independent label Redeye Muzik.

Mode 9 has worked with many musicians both in Nigeria and abroad, including Illbliss, Str8buttah, Swatroot, Tribes men, Ice Prince, Jesse Jags, Jonah the Monarch, Kraft, Alias, Black Intelligence, Cobhams Asuquo, 2 Face Idibia, Jeremiah Gyang, Chopstix, Mills the producer, Cashino NDT, Gold Lynx, Terry the Rapman, Overdose, B

He attributes his love of hip hop to Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978.