THISDAY

Bella Shmurda Makes New Entry, Hits 2.0

- Ferdinand Ekechukwu

As you read this, Bella Shmurda’s debut EP, titled “High Tension 2.0” is out and streaming across major music platforms. The sophomore EP, a follow-up to his Àrst EP, High Tension 1.0, dropped hours ago and has eight solid tracks all by him. Although it wouldn’t have been out of place he made it a full album. He’s capable and lyrically proliÀc. More so, owing to expectatio­ns that he takes it a notch higher for his teeming ‘Republikan’ fans had expected more from him.

The afropop star had earlier announced the Àne body of work on his Instagram page. He wrote: “There are people who are born to shine. Stars, you cannot dim their light. No matter what happens, no matter what life throws at them. They stand tall, they chase the bag. They continue to break stereotype­s, they break standards. Successful people equal High Tension. As lightening is forever due to strike, they will do whatever it takes for them to shine ..... July something! 2.0.”

Released under his Dagbana Republik and OneRPM, ‘High Tension 2.0’ has the following songs: Out There, Rush, World, Soldier Go, Far Away, Lako, Party Next Door, and Champion. In fact, this seems like another starting point for the Nigerian artiste. The Àrst part of his critically acclaimed “High Tension” EP had hit tracks such as Amope, Omnipotent, Upgrade, Ginger Me and more. Recall that Bella Shmurda Àrst came into limelight when his 2019 single, Vision 2020 got a remix with Olamide.

The street hit became the lead single for his EP, which was released not long after in 2020. Since the release of

his Àrst EP, Bella Shmurda has gone on to release some very successful jams, including “Dangbana Orisa”, “Only You”, “Cash App”, and the latest “World”.

It has taken Akinbiyi Abiola Ahmed, known by his stage name Bella Shmurda, approximat­ely two years to set the Nigerian music scene ablaze.

Fans will remember it as being less than that, while those who doubted him will wonder what took them so long to join his camp.

Bella Shmurda had instantly caught the attention of Afrobeats listeners who loved element of street sounds in their songs. The Headies 2020 NextRated nominee continued to prove his quality by dropping the ‘High Tension’ EP to further deÀne his full potential to the music industry.

Aided with his story telling abilities, the singer and songwriter is deÀnitely one of the best among his peers. What makes him stand out is the fact that he is unique in his own way. “I tried to put myself in the music, you know, using my personal experience to speak because there is no new word out there, the thing wey you won sing, person don sing am before, it is just for you to put yourself in that shoe and that’s where I think I am unique because I put my own life story in it. And I think my voice is nice…”

 ??  ?? Bella Shmurda
Bella Shmurda

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