Everybody Loves Ice Prince
Encyclopedia
Everybody Loves Ice Prince is the debut studio album
by Nigerian recording artist Ice Prince
, first released on October 9, 2011 by Chocolate City Music
. The album was recorded predominantly in 2010.The Abaga brothers, Jude and Jesse
worked to produce the album along with Audu Maikori
, Yahaya Maikori, Paul Okeugo, among others. The album featured several guest vocalists, including Wizkid
, Tuface Idibia and Brymo
, who is featured on the hit single Oleku
.
The album is predominantly Naija Hip hop in genre, but incorporates elements of other musical styles such as dancehall
, and afrobeat
.
The album was the most anticipated Nigerian release of 2011, as Ice Prince had collected a huge amount of popularity from his critically acclaimed number 1 singles Oleku
and Superstar
.
Everybody Loves Ice Prince received mixed reviews from music critics, who thought it was a generally good album, but did not live up to the hype surrounding it, seeing as it was the most anticipated Nigerian release in 2011.
label back in 2009. He spent the next year featuring on the tracks of other artists, some very prominent, including Naeto C
and Banky W. In the meanwhile, behind the scenes, he was working on his debut album with labelmates, Brymo
, M.I and Jesse Jagz
. On June 8 2011, with the release of the first single from the album; Oleku, Ice prince was catapulted into superstardom. Oleku went on to become the biggest hit in Africa for the year and created great anticipation behind Ice Prince’s debut album. Work continued on the album into 2011. On April 22, 2011, the second single from the album was released. Superstar became a chart topping hit, but was not as successful as Oleku had been. On September 9 2011 it was announced that the title of the now much anticipated album was Everybody Loves Ice Prince and that it would be released on October 9 2011 at the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island
in Lagos
.
After the death of his mother, Ice Prince received an outpouring of love and support from his fans. In writing the album, Ice Prince wanted to create a work that would not let his fans down after all they had done for him. Because of this he has put all his time and effort into creating what he hopes will be a "masterpiece" album.
Until just days before the release, the album was known simply as E.L.I., and the full title was kept under wraps. There was much speculation as to what E.L.I. might stand for until Chocolate City announced that it was an acronym for Everybody Loves Ice Prince. When asked in an interview with Nigerian Tribune
how he came about the title, Ice Prince replied "At first, I wanted to name the album after the street I used to live in Jos but when I lost my mother, ‘the mad love’ I got from everybody around the world made me change it to Everybody Loves Ice Prince".
record, but incorporates elements of R&B
, dancehall
, raga
, afrobeat
, reggae
, highlife
and soul
. Ice Prince deliberately moved in this direction to avoid being seen as “just another rapper”. In an interview with Naija Entertainment, Ice Price said Everybody Loves Ice Prince is a fusion of many genres. I don’t want to be seen as just a rapper; in fact, I love singing more than rapping.”
According to the Chocolate City Label, Everybody Loves Ice Prince is an album centred around and influenced by love and music. Ice Prince cites that his work drew a lot of influence and motivation from his mother’s death, and the outpouring of love and encouragement that he received as consolation from his fans.
All songs on the album are written by Panshak Zamani except where the track features another artist, in which case that artist was also involved in the writing for that track.
Some critics found that, In a bid to appeal to the popular demographic by mixing in many genres, Ice Prince had lost the direction and unifying sound of a pure hip hop record. Others have commended Ice Prince on adding other genres because they feel that it creates a new sound and adds variety to the listening experience. The variety of styles reflects on the full scope of the music Ice Prince writes, rather than just one section of it.
Another criticism of the album was that it varies greatly in the quality of the music. Some critics found that the album was made up of several excellent songs, strung together by a fleet of bad ones. A common complaint was that the lyrics were full of cheesy lines, which do not not help his (Ice Prince’s) credibility. The album was commended on its catchy singable tunes and public appeal.
Generally, Everybody Loves Ice Prince was praised for being a great shot at a debut album, if not slightly over hyped.
and Superstar
, both number one singles. Oleku was the most critically acclaimed of the two, becoming the number 1 song across Africa for 2010. It was estimated that it was the most downloaded and mixed single of 2010. Superstar was a moderately successful follow up to Oleku that, while not reaching the same levels of popularity as its predecessor, still managed to top the charts in many African countries.
labelmates and producers Jesse Jagz
and M.I on drums and keyboard respectively. The Chocolate City boys were assisted by a starstudded cast of performers, including some of the most reputable in Africa such as Tuface Idibia, D'banj
, Wizkid
, Naeto C
, D'Prince, Tiwa Savage, Samklef, Brymo
, Hip Hop Pantsula
and Sarkodiewere.
DJ of the night was Beat FM and Chocolate City in-house jockey DJ Caise, while the concert was hosted by radio personality Ikponmwosa Osakioduwa and actress Funke Akindele
. The show started four hours behind schedule, but the delay did not in any way dampen the expectation of the elated audience who waited patiently for the show to take off.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Nigerian recording artist Ice Prince
Ice Prince
Panshak Zamani, better known by his stage name Ice Prince, is a prominent Nigerian Hip hop Artist and the winner of Hennessy Artistry 2009 . He is signed to Chocolate City music label .-Early Life:...
, first released on October 9, 2011 by Chocolate City Music
Chocolate City Music
Chocolate City Entertainment Company is an international award winning 360 degree Entertainment Company that administers a record label, events planning/management and media consultancy company based in Nigeria with offices in Abuja and Lagos...
. The album was recorded predominantly in 2010.The Abaga brothers, Jude and Jesse
Jesse Jagz
Jesse Garba Abaga, popularly know as Jesse Jagz born August 10, 1984 is a Nigerian hip hop artist, rapper, singer, producer and songwriter...
worked to produce the album along with Audu Maikori
Audu Maikori
Audu Maikori was born on 13 August 1975 in Kaduna. He is a lawyer and the founder/CEO of Chocolate City Entertainment, which is a record label, artiste management, recording studio and events consultancy company...
, Yahaya Maikori, Paul Okeugo, among others. The album featured several guest vocalists, including Wizkid
Wizkid
Wizkid is a computer game for the Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PC computers, developed by Sensible Software and released by Ocean Software in 1992.Wizkid is officially the sequel to the earlier game Wizball, developed and released by the same companies....
, Tuface Idibia and Brymo
Brymo
Brymo is a Nigerian singer, composer, songwriter and recording artist signed to the Chocolate City music label.-Early life:...
, who is featured on the hit single Oleku
Oleku (Ice Prince song)
"Oleku" is a hip hop song by the Nigerian rapper and recording artist Ice Prince, who released it late in 2010 as his third single overall, and his first release on the big stage with recording company Chocolate City. The song features upcoming Nigerian artist Brymo, also new to the label...
.
The album is predominantly Naija Hip hop in genre, but incorporates elements of other musical styles such as dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
, and afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
.
The album was the most anticipated Nigerian release of 2011, as Ice Prince had collected a huge amount of popularity from his critically acclaimed number 1 singles Oleku
Oleku (Ice Prince song)
"Oleku" is a hip hop song by the Nigerian rapper and recording artist Ice Prince, who released it late in 2010 as his third single overall, and his first release on the big stage with recording company Chocolate City. The song features upcoming Nigerian artist Brymo, also new to the label...
and Superstar
Superstar (Ice Prince song)
"Superstar" is a song by the Nigerian recording artist Ice Prince. It was released by Chocolate City Music in April 2011 as the second single from Ice Prince’s debut studio album; Everybody Loves Ice Prince, which was released in October 2011...
.
Everybody Loves Ice Prince received mixed reviews from music critics, who thought it was a generally good album, but did not live up to the hype surrounding it, seeing as it was the most anticipated Nigerian release in 2011.
Background and recording
Ice Prince Dick was signed to the Chocolate City MusicChocolate City Music
Chocolate City Entertainment Company is an international award winning 360 degree Entertainment Company that administers a record label, events planning/management and media consultancy company based in Nigeria with offices in Abuja and Lagos...
label back in 2009. He spent the next year featuring on the tracks of other artists, some very prominent, including Naeto C
Naeto C
Naetochukwu Chikwe , stage name Naeto C, is a Nigerian rapper, Afrobeat artist and record producer. He was born in Houston, Texas and is of Nigerian origin.-Early life:...
and Banky W. In the meanwhile, behind the scenes, he was working on his debut album with labelmates, Brymo
Brymo
Brymo is a Nigerian singer, composer, songwriter and recording artist signed to the Chocolate City music label.-Early life:...
, M.I and Jesse Jagz
Jesse Jagz
Jesse Garba Abaga, popularly know as Jesse Jagz born August 10, 1984 is a Nigerian hip hop artist, rapper, singer, producer and songwriter...
. On June 8 2011, with the release of the first single from the album; Oleku, Ice prince was catapulted into superstardom. Oleku went on to become the biggest hit in Africa for the year and created great anticipation behind Ice Prince’s debut album. Work continued on the album into 2011. On April 22, 2011, the second single from the album was released. Superstar became a chart topping hit, but was not as successful as Oleku had been. On September 9 2011 it was announced that the title of the now much anticipated album was Everybody Loves Ice Prince and that it would be released on October 9 2011 at the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island
Victoria Island (Nigeria)
Victoria Island is an affluent town that encompasses a former island of the same name that sits between Lagos Island and the Lekki Peninsula in the Lagos Lagoon. It is the main business and financial centre of Lagos, Nigeria. Victoria Island is one of the most exclusive and expensive areas to...
in Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
.
After the death of his mother, Ice Prince received an outpouring of love and support from his fans. In writing the album, Ice Prince wanted to create a work that would not let his fans down after all they had done for him. Because of this he has put all his time and effort into creating what he hopes will be a "masterpiece" album.
Until just days before the release, the album was known simply as E.L.I., and the full title was kept under wraps. There was much speculation as to what E.L.I. might stand for until Chocolate City announced that it was an acronym for Everybody Loves Ice Prince. When asked in an interview with Nigerian Tribune
Nigerian Tribune
The Nigerian Tribune is an English language newspaper published in Ibadan in Nigeria.It was established in 1949 by Obafemi Awolowo and is the oldest surviving private Nigerian newspaper....
how he came about the title, Ice Prince replied "At first, I wanted to name the album after the street I used to live in Jos but when I lost my mother, ‘the mad love’ I got from everybody around the world made me change it to Everybody Loves Ice Prince".
Influence and sound
Everybody Loves Ice Prince incorporates many genres of West African music. It is predominantly a hip hopHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
record, but incorporates elements of R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
, dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
, raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
, afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, highlife
Highlife
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
. Ice Prince deliberately moved in this direction to avoid being seen as “just another rapper”. In an interview with Naija Entertainment, Ice Price said Everybody Loves Ice Prince is a fusion of many genres. I don’t want to be seen as just a rapper; in fact, I love singing more than rapping.”
According to the Chocolate City Label, Everybody Loves Ice Prince is an album centred around and influenced by love and music. Ice Prince cites that his work drew a lot of influence and motivation from his mother’s death, and the outpouring of love and encouragement that he received as consolation from his fans.
All songs on the album are written by Panshak Zamani except where the track features another artist, in which case that artist was also involved in the writing for that track.
Critical reception
Everybody Loves Ice Prince received mixed reviews from music critics. The general gist is that it was a generally good album, but did not live up to the hype surrounding it, seeing as it was the most anticipated Nigerian release in 2011.Some critics found that, In a bid to appeal to the popular demographic by mixing in many genres, Ice Prince had lost the direction and unifying sound of a pure hip hop record. Others have commended Ice Prince on adding other genres because they feel that it creates a new sound and adds variety to the listening experience. The variety of styles reflects on the full scope of the music Ice Prince writes, rather than just one section of it.
Another criticism of the album was that it varies greatly in the quality of the music. Some critics found that the album was made up of several excellent songs, strung together by a fleet of bad ones. A common complaint was that the lyrics were full of cheesy lines, which do not not help his (Ice Prince’s) credibility. The album was commended on its catchy singable tunes and public appeal.
Generally, Everybody Loves Ice Prince was praised for being a great shot at a debut album, if not slightly over hyped.
Singles
The album has produced two singles so far; the hits OlekuOleku (Ice Prince song)
"Oleku" is a hip hop song by the Nigerian rapper and recording artist Ice Prince, who released it late in 2010 as his third single overall, and his first release on the big stage with recording company Chocolate City. The song features upcoming Nigerian artist Brymo, also new to the label...
and Superstar
Superstar (Ice Prince song)
"Superstar" is a song by the Nigerian recording artist Ice Prince. It was released by Chocolate City Music in April 2011 as the second single from Ice Prince’s debut studio album; Everybody Loves Ice Prince, which was released in October 2011...
, both number one singles. Oleku was the most critically acclaimed of the two, becoming the number 1 song across Africa for 2010. It was estimated that it was the most downloaded and mixed single of 2010. Superstar was a moderately successful follow up to Oleku that, while not reaching the same levels of popularity as its predecessor, still managed to top the charts in many African countries.
Release
Everybody Loves Ice Prince was launched in Lagos on Sunday the 9th of October at the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotels and Suites. The launch concert was incredibly anticipated and starred Ice Prince with a live band consisting of Chocolate City MusicChocolate City Music
Chocolate City Entertainment Company is an international award winning 360 degree Entertainment Company that administers a record label, events planning/management and media consultancy company based in Nigeria with offices in Abuja and Lagos...
labelmates and producers Jesse Jagz
Jesse Jagz
Jesse Garba Abaga, popularly know as Jesse Jagz born August 10, 1984 is a Nigerian hip hop artist, rapper, singer, producer and songwriter...
and M.I on drums and keyboard respectively. The Chocolate City boys were assisted by a starstudded cast of performers, including some of the most reputable in Africa such as Tuface Idibia, D'banj
D'banj
Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo , is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and harmonica player. He has won several music awards including the awards for Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007, Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009. and BET Awards of 2011 for Best International Act; Africa...
, Wizkid
Wizkid
Wizkid is a computer game for the Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PC computers, developed by Sensible Software and released by Ocean Software in 1992.Wizkid is officially the sequel to the earlier game Wizball, developed and released by the same companies....
, Naeto C
Naeto C
Naetochukwu Chikwe , stage name Naeto C, is a Nigerian rapper, Afrobeat artist and record producer. He was born in Houston, Texas and is of Nigerian origin.-Early life:...
, D'Prince, Tiwa Savage, Samklef, Brymo
Brymo
Brymo is a Nigerian singer, composer, songwriter and recording artist signed to the Chocolate City music label.-Early life:...
, Hip Hop Pantsula
Hip Hop Pantsula
Hip Hop Pantsula, born Jabulani Tsambo, is a popular South African Motswako hip-hop MC who frequently performs in ethnic languages, though mostly in Setswana.- Career :...
and Sarkodiewere.
DJ of the night was Beat FM and Chocolate City in-house jockey DJ Caise, while the concert was hosted by radio personality Ikponmwosa Osakioduwa and actress Funke Akindele
Funke Akindele
Akindele Olufunke Ayotunde is a Nigerian actress...
. The show started four hours behind schedule, but the delay did not in any way dampen the expectation of the elated audience who waited patiently for the show to take off.
Track listing
Personnel
- Panshak Zamani – vocals, art direction, composition
- Jesse Abaga – background vocals, production
- Jude AbagaJude AbagaJude Abaga, better known by stage name M.I, meaning Mr Incredible, is a Nigerian Hip hop Artist. He has won Several Awards including the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009 and was Nominated for BET 2010 Awards for the Best International Act Category. He rose to prominence in 2006, when his song "Crowd...
– background vocals, production - Ogbonnaya “Big Meech” Chukwudi – Design
- Augustine Victor Udoh – Photography
- Bishmang Nanle – A & R / Management
- Doosuur Tilley Gyado – A & R / Management