Abiola Ahmed Akinbiyi (born 27 January 1996), known professionally as Bella Shmurda, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter from Ikorodu, Lagos. He is also the leader of Dangbana Republik; a collective of creatives in Lagos providing community and humanitarian contributions.
Bella Shmurda hails from a polygamous family in Ikorodu and is the last child from a family of 10 children. His journey in arts began in his early days through being a part of his elementary school band and cultural dance troupe. He had his early days in Ikorodu, proceeded to have his secondary school studies in Badagry, and earned a bachelor’s degree in History and International Relations from Lagos State University.
Four: Vision 2020 Ft Olamide
He gained public attention after his debut single “Vision 2020“, caught the interest of Nigerian rapper Olamide who did a follow-up remix of the song which we are playing for you today. The remix garnered over 14M views on its official music video on YouTube which was released on 12th of September, 2019. The track was produced by ID Cabasa.
FYI
- Bella Shmurda got featured in an Episode on the African music interview series “This is Africa” facilitated by BBC.
- 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.
- In 2021, he was the only Nigerian beneficiary among twenty-seven acts, across fourteen countries who was inducted into the YouTube Foundry Programme facilitated annually by YouTube Music.
Three: Triumphant by Olamide Ft Bella Shmurda
With over 12M views official music video, the track “Triumphant” comes from Olamide 2020 album tagged ”Carpe Diem” which embeds 12 amazing tracks, featuring Nigerian trending singers and rappers namely, Peruzzi, Bad Boy Timz, Fireboy DML, Phyno and Omah Lay. This particular track featuring the Raving Star Bella Shmurda was released on the 8th of October , 2020 and it was produced by Pheelz.
Two:My Brother
Nigerian singer-songwriter and music star, Bella Shmurda, known for his incredible talent and captivating melodies, has once again graced us with his latest single titled “My Brother“. He dedicated the new mind-blowing tune as a tribute to his late friend Mohbad. The song which was released on the 6th of October has garnered over 537k views on its official music video on YouTube and 685k streams on Spotify.
The song resonates with listeners on a deep level, touching upon themes of brotherhood, loyalty, and the unbreakable bond between friends and this track was written by Bella Shmurda himself
Awards / Nominations
- In 2020, he was nominated for the Next Rated Award at The Headies 2020.
- He won the awards “Next Rated Male” and “Street Music of the Year” at the City People Entertainment Awards, and was also nominated for the “Revelation of the Year” Award Category in 2020.
- In 2021, at the Global Music Awards Africa which held virtually in Ghana, he won two award categories, Global Collaboration of the Year and Global Most Popular Song of the Year.
- Also, in 2021, Bella Shmurda was nominated for the “Next Rated” award at the Headies Awards.
- At the 2021 AFRIMMA Awards, He was nominated for Best Collaboration on the song “Cash App” and at the NET HONORS for Most played Street Hop Song
- “Cash App” won the Award for Street Music of the Year at the City People Entertainment Awards
- At the Gbedu Music Awards in 2021, won Artist of the Year
Discography
- High Tension EP (2020)
- High Tension 2.0 EP (2021)
- Hypertension Album (2022)
- DND EP (2023) (Yet to be Released)
Bonus:Philo Ft Omah Lay
With over 10M views on its official music video on YouTube and over 16M streams on Spotify, Philo features the vocals from the talented Omah lay who laid his sweet rhythm and lyrics to this track! This song was released off his debut album “Hypertension” in October 2022 and has received some attention globally causing South African rapper Nasty C make a remix of the song which dropped in March 2023.
One: Cash App Ft Zlatan & Lincoln
With over 23M views on its official music video on YouTube, having features from Zlatan and Lincoln, Bella Shmurda released this track on the 9th of October, 2020 and produced by Dopesticks. This track was written by all artists on the song. The track has been nominated for several awards. At the 2021 AFRIMMA Awards, He was nominated for Best Collaboration on the song “Cash App” and at the NET HONORS for Most played Street Hop Song. “Cash App” won the Award for Street Music of the Year at the City People Entertainment Awards.
