It seems like every few months, there’s a pastor somewhere in Nigeria who claims to have raised a member of his or her congregation up from the dead. Most of those claims usually go unproven but the stock of those pastors rises nonetheless. Interestingly, arguably the most remarkable Lazarus act in recent memory wasn’t performed by a pastor but by a pop star; who must have been disappointed when he didn’t receive a similar reward for a similarly dubious miracle.
Former Five Star Music act Skiibii reportedly slumped and died on 14 August 2015. There is a picture of the singer sprawled out on the floor of what was reportedly his living room. Skiibii’s manager at the time Soso Soberekon confirmed the singer’s death to the media; he even posted a mournful picture of a candle on Instagram which he later deleted. Skibii was 22 at the time of his purported death.
Tributes started to pour in for the upcoming singer. While he hadn’t found any success of his own yet, Skiibii was on the same label as established stars like KCee and Harrysong and benefited from being close to them. Astonishingly, a few hours after the announcement of his death, reports began to filter through that there was some kind of miscommunication and Skiibii was indeed alive. According to KCee, the singer was discovered in his house without a pulse. He was quickly rushed to the hospital where he was brought “back to life”.
Concern for the singer’s wellbeing immediately gave way to skepticism. Skiibii had released a new single “Sampu” a few days prior to this episode and was in promo mode. The suspicion that the singer had just pulled off the most morbid of publicity stunts, therefore, wasn’t farfetched. Journalists also put a microscope on Skiibii’s social media activities to draw out questionable patterns in the weeks leading to the event. Indeed, he had a lot of explaining to do.
Death isn’t a topic that Nigerians take lightly, and Skiibii found this out the hard way. First, after feeling duped, most fans stopped investing any more time and energy into the singer’s budding career. Second, Skiibii would lose respect within the industry. Journalists wrote him off summarily and some of his peers did the same. On his hit song “Soft Work”, Falz rapped “If you fake your own death, you fit still no blow”, a line that many believe was aimed at the outcasted singer.
Curiously, the two artists would go on to work together in the future. In the meantime though, the single “Sampu” got drowned out in the ensuing noise and ultimately flopped, as would most singles that Skiibii released in his 3 years signed to Five Star Music. The one exception was 2016’s “Ahh Skiibii”, a song that relied so heavily on a feature from Olamide to carry it that, even though it contained his own name in its title, it left Skiibii undistinguished.
The singer would exit Five Star Music in January 2018. He started his own record label More Grace Music World (MGMW) with the hopes of reviving his moribund career. But things would get worse before they got better. Shortly after, Skiibii was in the news again for the wrong reasons after he was accused of copying his label’s logo from Davido’s Davido Music Worldwide (DMW). More unremarkable singles would follow. But before the end of the year, the singer would finally find the song that would change his career: “Sensima”.
Interestingly, “Sensima” almost never happened. According to Skiibii, he met the song’s producer Tuzi for the first time at a Lagos recording studio when he went to get a different song mixed. Tuzi followed Skiibii around the studio, hoping to get the chance to work with him. At first, Skiibii found this persistence annoying, but after the two men were properly introduced, Tuzi was able to share some of his work with him. The moment Skiibii heard the infectiously rhythmic beat for “Sensima”, his mind was made up. Skiibii would add his close friend and frequent collaborator Reekado Banks to the single, and together they’d produce one of the biggest party records of 2018.
As if to prove that “Sensima” was no fluke, Skiibii returned a few months later with “Omeama”, a song that showcased two things: first, that the singer had found his own sound and second, that he could deliver hit songs without a star guest. Skiibii followed those songs up with “Daz How Star Do”, a collaborative effort that featured DJ Neptune, Teni and Falz, a rapper who only a couple of years prior was believed to have dissed the singer. What a remarkable turnaround.
These days, whenever Skiibii is quizzed in interviews about what actually happened in 2015, he is understandably reluctant to talk. That episode is behind him and the pop star would like for the public to move on too. Besides, nothing gives people amnesia better than back-to-back hit songs. Skiibii might have stunned the world by coming back to life once before but the fact that he’s now a prosperous artist, even after everything he’s been through, is arguably an even bigger miracle.