“Wyclef Inspired Me, But I Found My Own Sound” – 9ice Spills

Alexander Akande, often known as 9ice, a veteran Nigerian artist, has said that in his early career, he sounded similar to Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean.

The ‘Photocopy’ singer admitted that he wasn’t the only Nigerian artist who tried to emulate Wyclef’s sound at the time, but he was better.

In a recent interview with SPS posted on X Wednesday, 9ice remarked that Wyclef inspired him, however he quit mimicking him after discovering his own sound.

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He underlined that his music is a mix of his key influences, including Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Bob Marley, Ayinde Barrister, Kwan1, and Pasuma.

“My inspiration was Wyclef [Jean]. If anybody listened to me at the beginning, there was a time I was sounding like Wyclef 100 per cent. And there were other people that were sounding like him but they felt that I sounded better than them when it comes to sounding like Wyclef,” he said.

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“And from sounding like Wyclef, I got to my own original sound. Bob Marley, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Ayinde Barrister, Kwan1, Pasuma and Obesere are the people that I listened to while growing up and they formed my blend in music.”