Ill Rhymz — I’m searching for a wife

Don’t mistake Ill Rhymz for anchoring reality shows or events alone. He is actually a hip hop artiste. A Persian by birth, he talks about his musical career

A lot of your fans are confused about what you actually do?

I own Contagious Collective, an entertainment company, and we create content for radio and television. I have this radio show, ‘Radio Aloud’ and it runs on six stations across the country. I should be starting my own television programme very soon. The other big thing is that I have gone back to my number one passion- music.   I am going to release a mixed tape next month. 

This will give music lovers the opportunity of choosing the kind of music they want to listen to.

Has there been a change in music compared to what it was 10 years ago?

What most people listened to 10 years ago was foreign music.  Now, the situation in Nigeria has changed. Though musicians are making music, everybody is making the same sound. But that is not Nigerian music, if you look back to the days of Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti and others, they were making original Nigerian music. Then, you could tell the difference between one artiste and the other. 

They say it’s the trend and people are dancing to it but the problem is that music is not meant solely for dance. It is a form of communication, you are meant to talk about social issues with your music and that is why Fela is still relevant till date. He empowered people with his music. 

The current crop of musicians is interested in the commercial success and that’s why people are singing just anything. Even the market has become so saturated that people no longer make money from music.  People just feel that they can sing because other people are singing. There is no emphasis on lyrics, there is no quality but we have quantity.

Are you still free styling?

There will be free style because that is an element of music but there are songs targeted at certain things. There are songs about my personal life which a lot of people don’t know about. If you listen to my music, you can have an idea of my love life and the kind of woman I like.


What do you want in a woman?

I am looking for a strong lady who can handle my kind of schedule. She has to be busy like me. A girl in the industry? No, I am not sure I want somebody like that. I don’t like mixing business and pleasure. I am all about connection. If I find the right connection, I would go for it. I like an intelligent and pretty woman. Above all, she has to be sophisticated and well put together.

So, what has been happening to you?

Life has been exciting and filled with work. It is fun. I have about four programmes that I am handling at the moment. Although there are some beautiful and interesting women in my life, I am not in a relationship with anybody right now. I have a bunch of great friends and most of them are females. I am single and searching. I might be exercising; I might be going to the gym but I am not in a relationship because my schedule is too erratic for that.

What was your childhood like?

It was fun. I was a child model and modelled for Kesingsheen, an American beauty product. Then, I was two years old and very cute! Growing up, I always wanted to be a model and I found myself singing all the time. My father is Yoruba, while my mother is Persian. I remember visiting Persia between 1996 and 1997.

My modelling career kicked off fully when I was 16 and I was doing billboards for multinational brands all over the world.  Currently, I am returning to music. I know a lot of people will be surprised to know that I am more of a musician than a show host.

You were a member of a musical group, what happened to it?

The timing was wrong. My friends were all very busy and successful. We were all corporate people who did not have time because of our day jobs. Also, the industry then was not ready for us because our sounds were futuristic, everybody was doing Pidgin English while we did core hip hop.

You seem to love wearing dreadlocks?

They are natural. Original Africans would have had dreadlocks because there were no combs in the past. It is convenient for me, I don’t want to stress myself because my hair is straight and curly, I would have to be combing it all the time if I did not lock it.

What determines your dressing?

The occasion. Whenever I am presenting a show, I am always formally dressed because that is a formal occasion but when I am playing music, I simply put on my T-shirts. I don’t have tattoos because I do not believe in them. I don’t believe in wearing 50 necklaces because that does not make me hip hop. I wear traditional dresses as well- it is my way of promoting the Nigerian culture. I do not feel that I have to over-accessorise.

Is everything working well for you?

No. A lot of people think I have everything but that is not the case. I have been focussed on what I want to do for a while. I went to the University late-three years after I started working because I was trying to build a career first.  This humbled me a lot because I started making money at a very young age. I was earning more money than my lecturers but that did not make me go around with an attitude.