Bella Shmurda turns 29 today, and we celebrate with one of the most amazing voices of street music. From being the next street kid on the block, Bella has gone on to become one of the best music execs in the game right now.
From the days of his Risky freestyle to the point where he was co-signed by Olamide, Bella has always been one to be wary of. A couple of years down the line, he’s shown why Wizkid said he’s one of the most important voices in Afrobeats.
Bella rose to fame on social media when his cover of Davido’s Risky broke the internet. This got the attention of people in the industry and put him on the radar. He then released Vision 2020 and this caught the attention of YBNL boss Olamide who jumped on the remix and took the song to a new level nationwide.
Poco Lee, who is a dancer and close friend to Bella Shmurda made a video with the song which made it viral and earned the interest of Olamide, who invited the latter over to his studio for a remix. The support Bella Shmurda got encouraged him to release his first EP “High Tension” in January 2020.
He released many other songs that year and had one of the biggest hits we’ve had in a while with Cashapp featuring Zlatan. This got him nominated for the Headies Next Rated Category in 2020 and also won a lot of other awards.
Bella Shmurda made his debut performance at The O2 Arena in the United Kingdom, as a guest performer at Wizkid’s Made in Lagos Concert in November 2021.
In October 2021, Bella Shmurda reacted to a viral video of a pre-schooler performing a song by Olamide and himself titled “Triumphant” off Olamide’s “Carpe Diem” Album, by choosing to sponsor the kid with an elementary school scholarship. This scholarship came into effect in November 2021.
Also on his birthday in January 2022, he declared that through his collective, he would begin a program to feed a thousand destitute persons in the Ojo community where he grew up every year his birthday.
Bella has done well for himself in the Nigerian music space. Now, he owns Dangbana Republik, a record label that houses one of the hottest acts in the country in Fola. He’s gone on to transition properly from a young street act to a fine-label executive. Much like Olamide, he’s showing that street acts can go on to become fine music execs with proper planning and branding. We celebrate with Bella today, and we are eager to see what 29 brings. Happy birthday Dangbana.
