Of all of today’s Street-Pop stars, Seyi Vibez and Zinoleesky are two of those artists expanding the sonic scope of street pop, amongst others like Barry Jhay, Balloranking with the tag: ‘Afro-Adura’. The release of Seyi Vibez’s ‘Billion Dollar Baby’ album in 2022 marked the turning point in his career. New fans flocked to him and he also accumulated streaming numbers. Meanwhile, Marlian’s poster boy, Zinoleesky has been capturing the zeitgeist of ghetto gospel music on a mainstream level since the days of ‘Ma Pariwo’ and ‘Kilofeshe‘ to ‘Gone Far‘ and other several hits records.
Seyi Vibez’s music, on the other hand, has survived in comparison to Asake’s ever since it gained mainstream attention. The discussion has always revolved around ‘who’s better?’ and ‘who’s copying who?’. It took a different dimension when Seyi Vibez threw direct jabs at Zinoleesky after the latter intended to drop a snippet of his new music, calling him a label slave while he prides himself on being an independent artist who, in his words: ‘did it alone’.
In his story on Instagram on June 2nd, Zinoleesky threw shade at Seyi Vibez, reigniting his infamous beef with Seyi Vibez. The IG story reads: “Zino’s just better. Be factual. You are signed distribution to Dapper and Published by Mr. Eazi at Empawa. Respect your Oga. Tell Dapper to give you advance money to buy the interior for your audio house!”. Seyi Vibez didn’t let it slide, instead he hit back afterward saying “Talk to me when you can afford my house, Slave”.
Oftentimes, when feuding artists hurl uncouth words at each other, it’s orchestrated for promotion’s sake: to become a trending topic, to gain traction and media influence. However, with the look of things, this seems like a fight to finish in 2023. Dapper Music and Marlian Records are ready, the Netizens are prepared for the trend and counter-trend, and the fans can’t wait to devour their music.
Now it begs the questions; Does Seyi Vibez’s claim that Zinoleesky’s record label privilege explains his success hold water? It is true that record labels offer artists plethora of opportunities, but is that also why Zinoleesky keeps scoring hit after hit? Why is Seyi Vibez’s claim to be an ‘independent artist’ worthwhile?