Interviewed by Eche N. Onwugbenu [ Travel Editor, Say What! magazine] and Imafidon OmoAibangbee{Editor in Chief, Say What!

In an era where Rap/Hip-Hop has come into the limelight on the Nigerian entertainment scene, there comes a knight in shining amour, a lyrical King and he doesnt even have an album out yet! He calls himself The Wordsmith. Why? because he literally plays with words. 1.Say What!: Youve come into the game claiming the best rapper alive! Can you please enlighten us on that. Wordsmith: My work will speak for itself. Nigeria is one the most populated Nations in the world & I am on of the best rappers in Nigeria if not the best. That automatically gives me a shot at the world title. 2. Say What! Dont you think comments like that can cause aggravation with other established rappers? Wordsmith: To he who dares Glory. By being the best people will generally get aggravated. Its human nature and it cant be helped. I am here to take Hip-Hop to new heights to a new level that has never been seen before. My name is self-explanatory, its what I do. If they dont like it they should take it like that. Thats real. 3. Say What!Whats your Flavor? Is it poetic, underground, commercial or is it just a mix of everything? Wordsmith: I am the Underground King. Im primarily a poet. But as a Wordsmith I have to be versatile and I am Versatile. Which means I can basically enter anything. 4. Say What! Which artist would you liken yourself to. Wordsmith: I wouldnt liken my self to anyone. Im just me. Just joking. A lot of people have likened me to Jay-Z but I generally see me self as a mix. 5. Say What! A mix? Wordsmith: Well Im basically a mix of Jigga (Jay-Z), Common, Nas and Ludacris. 6. Say What! Who would you love to take on in a one on one batlle? Wordsmith: The late great Notorious B.I.G. and as hes not here today, the only option left is to battle life and the charts. 7. Say What! Why B.I.G. Wordsmith: The first freestyle I ever heard was Biggie and It totally blew me away. To me Biggie was the epitome of rap. He was everything an M.C should be, Vicious when he needed to be and cool when he needed to be. He was the greatest M.C of all time. 8. Say What!:Your following the footsteps of great rappers before you talking about Family, War, Hunger and Famine i.e. Darfur. What prompted you in this direction? Wordsmith: Ive been called the King of Nigeria. Nigeria is known as the Giant of Africa.Its my God given right to speak on such issues. I cant stand by and watch things like that happen. In 1994 referring to the genocide in Rwanda Clinton said The world did not know because of

lack of information. Besides Darfur could be right here in Nigeria. Look at the Niger-Delta. The bible says help your brother and Im doing just that. 9. Say What!What got you into music? Wordsmith: I grew up with a taste for all kinds of musics. In secondary school I found out I had a thing for words and rhyming. I also had family that listened to rap and at that time it was M.C. Hammer and Big Daddy Kane etc. Ive been spitting rhymes since I can remember. When I was born the doctor said my cry came in a rhyme scheme. 10. Say What!Every rapper has their own Ghetto story. Either theyve been shot or something else. Whats your Ghetto Story? Wordsmith: I grew up in PH Garden City and lets just say there were more guns than roses. I was young and dabbled in some unsavory things. I wont say I was proud of them but as they say a man has got to do what a man has go to do. My story is still an ongoing one. I went from trashy to classy.