Oga Boss is the second studio album by Nigerian rapper Illbliss. It was released on 24 September 2012, by Capital Hill Music. The album features guest appearances from Chidinma, Tha Suspect, Ice Prince, Phyno, Del B, Timaya, Banky W., Silvastone, Naeto C, Wizboyy, Stormrex and R Cube. The album's production was handled by Tha Suspect, Phyno, Legendury Beatz, XYZ, Silvastone, Wizboyy, Wazzbeat, and Del B. Oga Boss was supported by the singles, "Illyminate", "Emi Ni Baller", "Anamachi Kwanu", "My Heart Beats", and "Naalu Ekene". The album was primarily recorded in English, Pidgin English, and Igbo.
Singles and music videos
The lead single "Anamachi Kwanu" features Phyno and was also produced by Phyno. "Anamachi Kwanu" was released on 17 October 2011[1] and was nominated for Best Rap Single at The Headies 2013.[2] The music video for "Anamachi Kwanu" was released on 30 July 2012 and was directed by Clarence Peters.[3] The second single, "Illyminate", features vocals from Tha Suspect and was produced by Tha Suspect. "Illyminate" was released on 2 January 2012.[4] The music video for "Illyminate" was released on 2 October 2014 and directed by Clarence Peters. The third single "Emi Ni Baller" features Chidinma and Tha Suspect and was produced by Legendury Beatz. The song was released on 14 September 2012, while the music video was released on 13 June 2013. The video was directed by Clarence Peters.[5] "Emi Ni Baller" was nominated for Best Collaboration at The Headies 2013. The fourth single is a remix of one of Illbliss's earlier singles, "My Heart Beats". The remix features Banky W. and Silvastone and was produced by Silvastone.[6] The fifth and final single, "Naalu Ekene", features vocals from singer Stormrex and was produced by Phyno. The music video for "Naalu Ekene" was released on 2 October 2014 and directed by Clarence Peters.[7]
Critical reception
Ayomide Tayo of Nigerian Entertainment Today rated the album a 4, saying that "Illbliss doesn’t make an attempt to please everyone. He is comfortable where he is at in the game. His sophomore album is a testament of hard work, ambition, determination and success. With a confident and solid second album, Illbliss reigns as the boss of all bosses."[8] Adebayo Adebiyi enjoyed the album, describing it as "sensational body of work that thematically brands Illbliss as the Big boss of Nigerian Hip Hop".[9]
