Zlatan Ibile whose real name is Omoniyi Temidayo Raphael is a fast growing Nigerian hip hop singer, rapper, song writer, street music sensation, stage performer and a recording artiste.
He was born on the 19th of December 1994 in Lagos state but hails from Ekiti state in the south western Nigeria. He had his up-bringing in Lagos state.
Educational Background
Zlatan had his primary and secondary education in Lagos state where he obtained his first and secondary school certificates respectively.
He later went to Moshood Abiola Polytechnics in Abeokuta, Ogun State for his Higher National Diploma (HND) in Business Administration.
His Musical Career
His musical journey kick-started after graduation from Polytechnics in 2011. He was 19 years old when the epitome of talents won Airtel’s “One Mic Campus Tour”, a music competition which was staged in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
His debut album “My Body” Single came into Nigerian music scene in 2017 and it featured the sensational rapper Olamide.
The music became more popular with a video of Davido dancing to the music on the internet. This did not only create a good relationship with Davido, but helped to promote the song and galvanized him to wider recognition and acceptance by millions of Nigerian fans and a huge commercial boost for Zlatan.
Zlatan’s popularity grew unabated when in 2018 a hit song “Able God” was released by Chinko Ekun. The song was successful as it rented the air featuring Nigerian rapper Li Kesh.
The hard working Nigerian star improved on his music and shortly afterwards came up with another song “Zanku”. The song has a comic style of crazy dance move known as “Leg Work”.
He went further to release other hit songs like “Osanie”, featuring Davido, “Glory” in 2019, a music he featured alongside Burna Boy.
In July 2019, he announced his endorsement deal with Coca Cola, producer of Coca Cola soft drinks. The deal is said to have run into millions of Naira.
Zlatan is creative, skillful and highly talented artiste currently making waves in the Nigerian music industry.
Challenges
In the course of any man’s journey in life, there must be a huddle to cross. This was the case of Zlatan who saw talents in a young boy and decided to help him.
He created an instagram account as a comedian. He equally sent the boy to a private school as was revealed. However, things turned on the contrary when in 2018, Zlatan Ibile was accused of using the boy as an instrument to defraud people and was subsequently arrested alongside Naira Marley and were arraigned by Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
He was finally released when discovered that he was innocent.
Awards and Nominations
Zlatan Ibile has within short time of his music career earned some nominations. They are:
- A two time nominee of the Headies Award but did not win. This unfortunate loss did not go down well with his fans, who blamed it on the Headies manipulation.
- 2019 nominee for the next Rated at the Headies Award and unfortunately lost to Rema.
His Net Worth
Zlatan Ibile is another fast growing Nigerian artiste, rated one of the richest and most influential with a net worth of about $1.5 million dollars.