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The “Arise O Compatriots” national anthem is 46-years-old, but instead of commissioning a new one, city boy Jagaban had the not-so-grand idea of reverting to one that dates back to 1960.
In the rare event that the FG decides to give us an entirely new national anthem in the future, Portable should write it. Before you roll your eyes, here’s why.
First, it’ll be easy to dance to
Since we’ve all agreed most Nigerians don’t care about lyrics, doesn’t it make sense to have a danceable anthem? We don’t know about you, but Omo Lalomi knows how to get people’s groove on.
And it’ll motivate you
The other half of Nigerians who pay attention to lyrics know that Portable really be spitting some aspire to maguire shit. I don’t know about you, but I’ll sing the shit out of “Who go help you no go stress you”.
Might scare the shit outta your opps
“Kala, Daju, Ma, Rerin Wuwa Ika” doesn’t sound like what’ll give your opps the balls to cross you. And to be frank, what’s a national anthem that cannot offer lirru protection?
Have you heard his voice?
Agreed it might not be the best thing after soft agege bread, but even though! The grating effect of the Portable+autotune combo is all you need to stay alert. Always stay guiding, yunno.
Nigeria will finally blow
As a country, I don’t think we’ve had our proper blow era. Afrobeats has done its part in putting us on the map, but we just might need that Portable-type “everywhereness” to get the full attention of the world.
Who knows? Maybe a Grammy nod
Never say never because if there’s one thing about Portable, he has shocked everybody with his wins post Zazu blowup.
Portable, AKA Dr. Zeh, is one of the most talked about artist in the Nigerian music scene at the moment, after he made a random appearance at the British Fashion Awards 2023 with Skepta.
Since he burst into the industry in December 2021, he’s kept his name in the news and on people’s lips. Born Habeeb Okikiola, Portable is a controversial figure, but that’s exactly what feeds his continued relevance. To understand how he’s captivated a mainstream audience, this is a timeline of his journey.
December 2021: Sango Ota to Lagos
It was a different December for Portable in 2021. A social-media personality known as Don Blu posted a video of Portable singing ZaZoo Zehh, a freestyle, on Instagram and Snapchat. Many viewers found it funny and thought he was just another local artist looking for fame. But the freestyle made the rounds on the internet and reached popular street-dancer, PocoLee, who heard a potential end-of-year jam. Upon request, Don Blu facilitated the link-up between Portable and Poco Lee. Next thing, YBNL boss, Olamide, asked Portable to pull up to Lekki, Lagos.
On December 14, 2021, they dropped the audio (produced by P.Priime) and music video (directed by TG Omori). ZaZoo Zehh became one of the breakthrough Nigerian songs of 2021, and barely 72 hours later, Portable climbed the Livespot X stage to perform his hit with Olamide and PocoLee. Wizkid joined them on this stage to spray Portable with dollar bills. Four days after, Portable was dragging Poco Lee online for “ripping” him. He stated that he owns the song and should rightfully be credited as the primary artist instead of “PocoLee feat. Portable & Olamide”. Portable also claimed that Poco only gave him $600 out of the $3000 Wizkid sprayed.
Image source: X.com
Next thing, Kogbagidi (born Quadri Taored), a show promoter Portable used to call his “helper” sent him packing from his house. In the video Kogbagidi posted on his page, he called the “$3000” Poco Lee’s money and told Portable to return to his village in Sango Ota, Ogun State. As some guys packed Portable’s belongings out, Kogbagidi blamed them for not monitoring Portable in his absence.
The drama generated online sympathy from music lovers and artists like Slimcase, who took to Instagram to plead for Portable.
Portable apologised to Poco Lee, Kogbagidi and Olamide, asking them to forgive him for the earlier flare-up. Kogbagidi and Portable made up, but soon after, they had another clash about cars and contracts. In a video that surfaced online, Portable held a baseball bat, complaining about being cheated, while Kogbagidi begged him. They made up yet again. But on Jahbless’s “Original Intelligence” podcast in January 2022, Portable announced that the relationship ended.
January – April 2022: Billboard charts and U.K. debut
On January 5, 2022, ZaZoo Zehh debuted at number 14 on Billboard Top Triller Global Charts. On January 19, he released All Eyes On Me featuring Barry Jhay, and Neighbour with Small Doctor on the 29th. On February 11, Portable released his Zazuu Zeh EP and spent the next two months consistently putting out songs and features. In April, Portable performed at AY’s Easter show and went with socialite and 5-Star Records owner, E-Money, to the U.K. for shows in Peckham, Birmingham and Manchester.
May – July 2022: Zeh Nation is born and Headies drama
In May, Portable posted a certificate of incorporation for a new record label called Zeh Nation Limited on Instagram. The Headies 2022 nominee list came out on May 24, and Portable was in the Rookie of the Year category alongside Fave AV, Ugoccie and Magixx. He was also nominated for the Best Street-Hop category with Bella Shmurda, Mohbad, Naira Marley and Goya Menor.
On May 25th, Portable threatened to cause harm to other nominees if he didn’t win the awards. The Headies asked him to retract his statement and tender an apology. Instead, he offered a back-handed apology, claiming they knew his attitude before they nominated him.
On July 18, Portable called himself the founder of cult group, One Million Boys, and The Headies swiftly disqualified him from all categories.
August 2022: Chief of Zeh Nation
On August 22, Oba Olabode Thomas-Fagbayi (Onitigbo of Tigbo-Ilu) conferred upon Portable the chieftaincy title, Amuludun of Tigbo, Aworiland, an area in Yewa Local Government, Ogun State. He posted videos of his coronation ceremony on Instagram, and days later, he signed his first artist, Olamzzy, to Zeh Nation.
September – December 2022: International shows, album drop and coffin entrance
Portable went from losing a South African gig due to his social media fights in September, to performing in Germany and Italy in October, where he claimed to have faced extortion and escaped death. On November 25, he released his album, Ika of Africa, a few days after he signed Youngy Duu to Zeh Nation. And on December 28, Portable arrived in a coffin to Portable Live In Concert at Fela’s Shrine, Lagos — his debut show as the main act.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyCvIcbhAgs\
April 2023: A prison-inspired hit
On March 30, police officers were at Portable’s Odogwu Bar in Sango Ota for unspecified reasons. The artist took to his IG story and claimed they came to assault him. The following day, he ended up in police custody. On April 3, the court granted bail after he met some conditions.
Four days after his release, he put out the viral hit, Am Not a Prisoner.
August 2023: Terry G link-up and U.S. tour
Portable and Terry G released Ogbafia on August 16, 2023, after their viral link-up. Soon after, Portable and his wife, Omobewaji, hosted a ceremony to celebrate the first anniversary of his chieftaincy title. He later announced his United States tour to run from September 8, 2023 to March 23, 2024.
November 2023: The sophomore album
Portable released his second studio album, Anikuleti Street Don Jazzy (meaning the Don Jazzy of Anikuleti Street), on November 24, 2023. Although there’s no noise around it, Dr. Zeh is still on his U.S. tour as of the date of publishing.
December 2023: Skepta link-up and Brit Fashion Award
It came as a surprise to many when Nigerian-British artist, Skepta, asked for Portable’s whereabouts on his IG story and X. On December 5, the rapper posted a photo of Portable’s reserved seat at the 2023 British Fashion Awards before they both pulled up to the function.
Image source: X.com
Knowing how Skepta moves, he ended up making a record titled “Tony Montana” with Portable. The music video was released on March 1st on YouTube.
These last three weeks on social media, we’ve seen an interesting back-and-forth between Nigerian street-pop musicians, Seyi Vibez and Portable, with Zinoleesky somewhere in the mix.
In these episodes, they get into a dick-measuring contest about who has the better music, biggest cars, most money and street credibility. You know, the usual beef topics; but do you know how it all started?
What started the fight?
2023 started hard, and it wasn’t hard to tell people were too frustrated for drama. But not for Portable, who anytime he turns his camera to himself, chooses “chaos”. On January 30, 2023, he posted some video on his IG page where he subtly called Seyi Vibez a beta version of Asake.
Using Seyi’s Chance music video as a point of comparison, Portable pointed out that it was an obvious play on Asake’s style. He didn’t stop there. He went ahead and accused the video director, TG Omori (director of most Asake MVs) of working with a copycat, then warned artists to leave music alone if they can’t be authentic.
In the aftermath, fans began to air their views about Seyi Vibez, supporting Portable, and even started a “who is better (Seyi vs Asake)?” poll.
While Seyi Vibez was giving Portablebaby the silent treatment, he was getting into a battle of words with Zinoleesky. How did that start? In December 2022, Zino posted his new house and two cars on IG. In May 2023, Seyi posted his own new crib and two rides too, sparking a debate among their fans, about who’s the better and richer musician. Before we knew it, the two artists were throwing subs.
Zino went off first:
Seyi Vibez called Zino a chained Django. This is Seyi’s way of saying he’s independent and has all his creative control unlike Zino who’s under a contract has to get his boss’ approval first before releasing a song.
And even reminded Zino that he doesn’t have chart-topping projects like his debut album, Billion Dollar Baby, its deluxe version and EP, Memory Card.
Then it turned into a snippet war.
Zinoleesky drops new snippet to continue sparring with Seyi Vibez. ⤵️
Zino said he’ll never have a number one record — then Seyi Vibez got his number one record with his single, Hat-trick, surpassing Young John’s Aquafina, Asake and Olamide’s Amapiano, and particularly, Zinoleesky’s A1.
Then, he dropped his first album of 2023: Vibez Till Thy Kingdom Come.
Two weeks after, Seyi Vibez released his second album of the year, Thy Kingdom Come.
On Flakky, the eighth track off the second album, he opened by talking about an artist’s car being pushed on the street just three days after purchase:
“G-Wagon, Brabus B
Ojo keta ni won pada ti Brabus B”
You know who has a Brabus B (even though he calls it a G-Wagon)?
“Your whole career is a debt,” Portable fired back.
You can’t talk about Nigerian slang without talking about Nigerian music. Right from time, Nigerian artists have intentionally or unintentionally coined new words or provided a platform for niche slang to make their way into regular pop culture. Zule Zoo did it with Kerewa, 2Baba did it with Nothing Dey Happen, and Olamide did it with Baddo and Who You Epp?
With new music dropping every day, the shelf-life of slang has reduced. So befpre the current crop of popular slangs fade away, let’s find out the artists responsible for them.
1. E Choke
Yes, Shakespeare wrote about two annoying lovers who drank sniper. But did he come up with one of the most iconic slangs of all time? No. Once you like something, the first thing that comes to mind is E Choke. It could be a song or a bomb ass outfit; omo, anything can choke you these days. If you’re feeling like a baddie, follow it with E restrict airflow or Who dey breet? Once again, Davido >>>>>>>Shakespeare.
2. Ma Fo
Naira Marley made this slang popular with his 2019 song of the same name. Yoruba people will tell you Ma Fo means “don’t break it”, but marlians will look you in the eye and tell you it means “Don’t be intimidated or afraid”, and honestly, I’ll go with the latter.
3. Zazoo
No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative, and it gets the people going! If you know the meaning of Zazoo, please step forward and teach me. Portable, how far? Let’s run these extra moral lessons.
4. Opor
This list has so many people attached that it’s crazy. From the Naira Marley song of the same name that features Zlatan and Lil Kesh to the other Rexxie version that features Zlatan (again) and Ladipoe, collaborations with this word, omo, o por.
Making a massive comeback on features with Wizkid on Fake Love, Tiwa Savage on Lova Lova and Davido on Aza, 2018 was undoubtedly the return of Duncan Mighty. While all these songs slapped, Aza featuring the DMW was the one that introduced us to this slang. Apparently, saying the word account is too much work for us these days, so we had to shorten it.
6. E Be Tins
You’ve probably said E be tins once or twice and sighed right after if you live in Nigeria. Even though this was already common, it took Dremo making a song about it for the slang to actually stick. Truly and truly, e really be tins on the streets these days.
7. Gege
You must hear someone shouting Gege anywhere you see people dancing. While its origin is debatable, it sounds like the short form of another slang, Mayorkun’s “This bread no be Agege.” If it is, then Mayrokun needs to get his flower for introducing us to this sick hype sound.
8. Watimagbo
Davido strikes again! Gen Zs have been rinsing Watimagbo and who can blame them. Dropping this gem on High with Adekunle Gold, Davido reminds us that he’s not our mate, and we should’ve heard about his doings by now. But for those who aren’t familiar, they’ll soon find out.
9. Gbe body e
Nigerians love a good motivational slang, and Gbe body e provides peak motivation. Made popular by Zlatan on Killin Dem with Burna Boy, this slang provides ginger that goes beyond dancing or having fun. When life hits, it’s necessary to gbe body no matter what.
