Nigerian rapper Odumodublvck has come under heavy fire after making a controversial claim about hip-hop.

The ‘Declan Rice’ crooner sparked fresh controversy after re-echoing Wizkid’s infamous claim that hip-hop music is no longer relevant.

While reacting to a list of Nigerian artists with the most monthly listeners on Spotify currently via X, Odumodublvck boldly declared, “Hip Hop is dead,” alluding to the conspicuous absence of Nigerian rappers from the list.

His post elicited mixed reactions, with many berating him for disrespecting the genre while arguing that hip-hop is still much relevant outside Nigeria.

Despite Nigeria having both veteran and thriving rappers, hip-hop artists are absent from the list of Nigerian artists with the most monthly listeners on Spotify currently, with singers occupying the entire top 10.

Burna Boy leads with 40.68 million listeners, closely followed by Tems with 40.64 million listeners.

Rema ranks number 3 with 29.43 million listeners, while Ayra Starr and Wizkid take the numbers 4 and 5 spots with 16.84 and 16.81 million listeners, respectively.

Omah Lay (11.24m), Davido (10.83m), CKay (10.71m), Fireboy DML (9.23m), and Asake (8.69m) complete the top 10.

Reno Omokri, the Nigeria ambassador-designate to Mexico, has reacted after singer Davido called him Bingo.

Reno had attributed the delay in his resumption in Mexico to the ongoing World Cup.

Reacting to Reno’s claim, Davido in a now trending post on social media, knocked the ex-presidential aide. “Umu Bingo @renoomokri fowl,” the singer posted.

In response, Reno who described Davido’6 post as feedback, also tagged it most shocking.

Sharing screenshots of Davido’s insult on his Instagram page on Tuesday, Reno said the singer was angry because he faulted him for wearing a customized jacket bearing the abducted Oyo school children’s names to perform at the World Cup.

Reno wrote, “Dear Mr. David Adeleke AKA Davido, thank you for your feedback. I was rather surprised by your response to my post. Most shocking is your insult.

“You are an international celebrity whom Nigeria is proud of. Coming to insult me on my Instagram profile with such vulgar words should be beneath you. Yes, I’m aware that you were upset at my appeal to you not to use an international platform, such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to give publicity to bandits and terrorists. I am also aware that Peter Obi praised you for doing that, which may have made you feel compelled to defend him.

“I did that because while your intention may be good and you think you are pressuring the government, the actual effect of what you did is to give publicity to the terrorists and help them spread fear, recruit new members, and raise funds.

“Meanwhile, IShowSpeed an American at that same event used the global stage of the World Cup to market Nigeria by wearing the jersey and speak well about Nigeria.”

Organisers of The Headies have announced that the 18th edition of Nigeria’s premier music awards ceremony will take place in Toronto, Canada.

The announcement was made on Monday by Headies founder, Ayo Animashaun.

Although the exact date for the ceremony has yet to be unveiled, Animashaun confirmed partnership with another organisation to enhance the experience for attendees travelling from Nigeria to Canada.

Explaining the rationale behind taking the awards ceremony abroad, Animashaun stressed the need for The Headies to diversify its revenue streams in line with leading international award platforms.

“Most of the awards in the world that you see that are big, that you talk about, they have four or five sources of revenue. Here we have only one, everybody talks about sponsorship,” he said.

Drawing parallels with the Grammy Awards, he added, “They have state funding. During COVID, Grammy left Los Angeles and went to Madison Square in New York because LA was shut down.

“LA fought to bring Grammy back because it does something to their economy and it is part of their DNA. What events would you say are part of our DNA as Nigerians?”

The move signals a new direction for The Headies, which returned to Nigeria in 2024 after staging two consecutive editions in the United States.

The 15th and 16th editions of the awards were both held at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since its launch in 2006, The Headies has evolved into one of Africa’s most prestigious music award ceremonies, recognising outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry.