9ice Says Burna Boy Fulfilled His Grammy Prophecy

Kehinde Adeleye

Nigerian singer 9ice has stated that his much-discussed “prophecy” about winning a Grammy, made in his 2008 track Street Credibility featuring 2Face, has been fulfilled through Burna Boy’s achievement.

Burna Boy became the first Nigerian solo artist to win the Best Global Music Album category at the 63rd Grammy Awards in 2021 for his album Twice As Tall.

During a recent appearance on The Nancy Isime Show, 9ice addressed the longstanding criticism he faced for declaring in his song that he would one day win a Grammy, despite not having done so himself.

He argued that critics misunderstood the essence of his lyrics, explaining that the verse could be seen as a prophetic statement that eventually came true with Burna Boy’s success.

According to him, at the time the song was released, winning a Grammy was nearly impossible for Afropop artists.

He said, “I was talking about Grammy and I wasn’t given, Burna [Boy] got it. We [Nigerians] never get am?

“At the time I was talking about it, it wasn’t even attainable for Afropop artists at all. That’s why I said when artists sing, they can be passing messages. That’s why it’s also important for artists to be very careful of their lyrics because music is spiritual.”