Table of Contents
Who is 2Baba?
Born September 18, 1975, Innocent Ujah Idibia popularly known as 2Baba is a legend in the African music scene and beyond. He is one of the most respected Nigerian Singer, Songwriter, and Record Producer. He is also an entrepreneur and philanthropist. 2Baba hails from Benue State.
He is often described as one of the first people to elevate pop sound in Nigeria and contribute to the shaping of Afrobeat.
2Baba’s family
2Baba’s parents
2Baba’s Father is Michael Idibia and his mother is Rose Idibia. Both parents are from Benue State. 2Baba’s dad died on the 23rd of August 2014 leaving 2Baba and his sibling to their mom.
Who is 2Baba’s wife?
2Baba is happily married to Annie Idibia. They tied the knot on the 2nd of May 2012 in a private ceremony and later had an open ceremony in Dubai on the 23rd of March 2013. Annie Idibia is an actress, movie producer, model, and serial entrepreneur.
How many children does 2Baba have?
He has a total of seven children. Two from Sumbo Ajala and three from Pero Adeniyi (both of whom are his baby mamas not wife)
2Baba’s first five kids were born while he was still dating Annie. Currently, he has two daughters from his wife Annie: Olivia and Isabel.
2Baba’s educational background
Actually 2Baba’s parents wanted him to pursue a career in banking, medicine, or law. So they enrolled him in Mount Saint Gabriel’s Secondary School in Makurdi, Benue State, after which he was admitted into the Institute of Management & Technology, Enugu (IMT), where he did his preliminary National Diploma course in Business Administration and management though he eventually dropped out to fully pursue his musical career.
The beginning
How did 2Baba start music?
According to his mom, he started mimicking songs at the age of five. While attending IMT, 2Baba was even performing at school-organized shows and parties. Then he was known as ‘Lord Elly’. He also used to perform in other schools like ‘University of Nigeria’ and ‘Enugu State University of Science & Technology’.
At the same time, he was also composing and singing jingles at the GB Fan Club at Enugu State Broadcasting Services (ESBS) in 1996.
What genre of music inspired 2Baba while he was an upcoming artist?
2Baba was mostly impacted by everything African, from soft rock to hip hop, reggae, highlife, and dancehall. If you listen to his earliest albums like ‘Face 2 Face’ and ‘Grass to Grace’, you’d even notice the soft rock elements intertwined in the sound.
What artists influenced 2Baba while he was coming up in music?
At the center of all influence in 2Baba’s musical career was Bob Marley. However, there are other artists and groups that influenced his musical moves too. His dad had different collections of albums at home so he kind of picked up influences from here and there. Some of the artists and groups his dad listened to included The Temptations, MJ, Jimi Cleeve, ABBA, and Bonny M.
What’s 2Baba’s process of creating songs?
Song creation process for 2Baba is dependent on where he is mentally. However, he mostly creates songs alongside the melody and the beat before he starts working with the Producer. There are also few times when he hears a beat and gets inspired to write a song out of it.
2Baba in Plantashun Boiz
When 2Baba left school and moved to Lagos he joined forces with Blackface Naija. Blackface is also from Benue State and his birth name is Ahmedu Augustine Obiabo.
In 1997, 2Baba formed a trio band which included himself, Blackface, and Faze (Chibuzor Orji). The band was called ‘Plantashun Boiz’ and together, they defined entertainment from the late 90s till early 20s when the band was disjointed.
During their time together, the band was able to release two hit albums ‘Body and Soul’ in 2000 and ‘Sold Out’ in 2003. They disbanded in 2004 and each member went on to develop their music career solo.
Later in 2007, the band reunited to record a final album together which they titled ‘Plan B’.
What was 2Baba’s plan B after leaving Plantashun Boiz?
As already stated, each band member pursued their music career individually after the breakup.
In the same year of the disbandment (2004), 2Baba released his first solo album which he titled ‘Face 2 Face’. The album featured hit tracks like ‘Nfana Ibaga’, ‘Ole’, and ‘African Queen’. Several media sources listed the album as one of the best Nigerian debut albums of the 21st Century. The latest list was compiled in 2020 by Pulse.
African Queen even gained much global relevance that it was used as soundtrack for the 2006 Hollywood movie Phat Girlz.
In 2006, 2Baba dropped his second album ‘Grass 2 Grace’. The album featured songs like ‘One Love’, ‘True Love’, and ‘For Instance’.
Fast forward to 2009, he dropped another album ‘The Unstoppable’ which was actually an experimental album.
Then in 2010, 2Baba released an international edition of ‘The Unstoppable’ album. The version was titled, ‘The Unstoppable International Edition’, the move made him the first Nigerian artist to have a well priced international album.
The international edition of the album was so successful that it won two awards at the 2010 SoundCity Music Video Awards.
When 2Baba left Kennis Music (which is the label he was signed to after the disbandment of Plantashun Boiz), he established his own record label known as ‘Hypertek Digital’.
Diving into 2Baba’s head and thoughts
What does 2Baba think about young artists who are struggling to infuse storytelling in their songs like he does?
From 2Baba’s perspective, you have to enjoy what you’re doing. The way he sees it, when you have a soulful connection with what you do, people can easily contact the vibe. In his own words, he says, “Entertainment is limitless. If you just want to tap the table and the next person feels it, that’s entertainment. It all depends on what you want to put across and it depends on what you enjoy listening to. You can’t force someone that loves fuji to listen to rock n roll or country music. You can’t force someone to enjoy something, so there’s no limit to creativity. Just go for it and be good at what you do”.
In essence what 2Baba meant is that you should know your audience. If you know what resonates with your audience, you’ll not be struggling to be like every other superstar.
How does 2Baba feel when he’s not properly recognised as one of the figures that shaped Afrobeat?
2Baba actually believes that he is his own biggest hype and nobody owes him anything in terms of recognition. He says, “Nobody owes me anything, for me it’s there; it’s fact. It doesn’t reduce who I am if I’m not properly recognised. I don’t take it too personal because it’s the person’s ignorance, but sometimes we still remind people but nobody owe person anything. Even if an artist gets inspiration from me or others, they’re going to use it to tell their own stories and elevate themselves and that’s their own story. For me, we go dey do am dey go. I’ll just keep doing my thing”.
How does 2Baba feel when upcoming artists reach out to him for a collaboration and he observes that those artists actually view the collaboration as a Grammy?
As you would have already guessed, the feeling that comes with such would be an honorable one. Here’s what 2Baba had to say regarding that prompt, “I dey feel very very honored, it feels good. It lets me know that I’ve done something right. As someone that has been there, it’s always good to see people look up to you in a positive light and that’s one of things that we live for and cherish. That someone can attribute some growth in their own life to what I knowingly or unknowingly impacted on them is a great feeling, I always appreciate that and I never take it for granted. When people copy my style or lyrics, to me, that’s cool because it shows that I’ve done something satisfactory”.
What does 2Baba think about the new generation of artists in Nigeria? (By new generation, what is meant is the line of artists who showed up in the Nigerian music scene after 2Baba’s generation examples include Wizkid, Yemi Alade, Burnaboy, and Davido)
From deep within, 2Baba views the new generation of artists in Nigeria as mind-blowing and massive. To him, it was all a dream. He likens the explosion to a scenario where an old man plants a tree but knows he would not be able to enjoy the shade of the tree.
This is not to say that 2Baba does not benefit from the music industry anymore. He’s still cashing out big time but he’s not as active as he used to be back then because of business and family responsibilities.
2Baba even strongly believes that the next generation of artists coming after Davido, Yemi Alade, Wizkid, etc. will do bigger things. In his own words, “…the younger generation always takes it to the next level and what I’m happy about is that it’s authentic and undiluted. Though where I have concern is the business aspect, the business people are coming in with a lot of money and they kind of dictate who becomes a star or not. We have so many independent labels coming up around Africa and they’re doing very serious and good work but I hope they don’t get sidelined by the big players”.
He also went on to share a word of caution for new emerging artists in Nigeria. He says, “I pray that most of them will not get carried away. I pray it’s not gbese type of arrangement; I just pray that they have their deals properly sorted out. So it would not be shine today and cry tomorrow”.
Did 2Baba ever have dreams of being in a reality TV show?
Truth is, 2Baba never imagined himself showing up in reality TV. According to him, “…once in a while, love and things will propel you to take new paths. But apart from that, I just thought, why not? Let’s go for it, let’s see. So I just erased all my fears and perceptions and I went with Mrs and I’ve been getting into trouble a lot”.
Was 2Baba actually real in the ‘Young, Famous, and African’ reality TV Show?
For real, anybody who knows the history of 2Baba would agree that the icon was real during the show. When asked a similar question in an interview session with Adesope on the ‘Afrobeat Podcast’, he said, “I’m a very real person but no be this type of reality real. I’m an actual real person. It was difficult to be as real as myself on a platform like that because what I see most times is people trying to act for the cameras and create as much hype and entertainment. But to me, she dem say na reality TV, make them allow me make I dey as I just dey. But that’s not the case these days, now it’s more like acting the reality. Like creating another reality for reality. So I think I’m one of the most boring people on the show. I can’t do more than that, they have to manage me like that”.
What’s 2Baba’s view of fatherhood?
In an interview on the ‘Afrobeat Podcast’, 2Baba revealed that, “Many people talk about parenting based on public opinion but it’s deeper than that”. He continued by saying, “There’s nobody that has the exact blueprint for parenting and the basic truth for this whole matter is there are different ways to find the connection between you and your kids. There’s no one particular way. For me, I speak with my kids like they’re my mate, like the way I’d speak with my friends or mom”.
“Sometimes you can bring up your child properly but just pray that the outside influence which is outside of your control will not distract them. You can do everything for your kids but one tiny encounter somewhere you don’t know about can just change the trajectory of everything. That’s the only aspect of life that we just pray about. And I also focus on doing good so that my wrong will not go ahead of the kids and stop them.”
How does 2Baba feel when people come out on social media saying all sorts of right and wrong about him?
Still on the Afrobeat Podcast, he even went on to say, “For me, I get a lot of jabs, I get a lot of people who say stuff about me. People wey don yab me tire, people wey don curse my life tire, people wey don drink amatem for my own matter. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes no matter how much I try to form thick skin…it still feels like when terrorists bomb innocent people”.
If 2Baba wasn’t doing music, what would he have considered as a career path?
This may sound a little bit funny to you but 2Baba actually mentioned in an interview that if he didn’t do music, he would have become a goalkeeper like Enyimba.
What advice does 2Baba have for youths who aspire to be great in the music industry like he is?
Here’s a quote from him regarding this question, “Music is serious business so take it seriously. Don’t just go into music because you don’t have a job or because you can’t go to school. Take music seriously, it’s a very serious career and do not be afraid to try and fail. Go all out and do it properly
2Baba’s net worth and assets
2Baba’s Net Worth
2Baba’s net worth is a very tricky one since he’s not the kind of person who flaunts his wealth. However, the legend is estimated to be worth nothing less than ₦4.7 Billion.
2Baba’s cars
Just like you already expected, 2Baba has a lot of cars and we would cover a few here:
- Lincoln Navigator: This auto was acquired after the top success of ‘African Queen’. It costs nothing less than 10 million naira.
- Chevrolet Corvette coupe: It’s reported that this car was given as a gift to 2Baba during his wedding. The auto is worth 36 million naira.
- Ferrari Coupe: When you hear Ferrari, you already know it’s luxury and speed. The Ferrari Coupe purchased is valued at 50 million naira.
- Bentley Continental GT: This one is worth 70 million naira.
- Mercedes Benz G-wagon: The Mercedes G-Wagon is one of the cars owned by most celebrities, it’s valued at 45 million naira.
2Baba’s houses
There’s every chance that 2Baba owns houses even outside Nigeria but we can only confirm his five-bedroom duplex at Richmond Gate Estate and another luxury home on Banana Island.
Both properties are estimated to be worth over 400 million Naira.
A list of 2Baba’s endorsements deals
Please kindly note this is not an exhaustive list of all 2Baba’s endorsements deals. It only covers a few.
- 2010 – 2Baba had an endorsement deal with Airtel Nigeria.
- 2014 – Face of Hennessy artistry season alongside Wizkid.
- 2015 – Ambassador of Guinness beer.
- 2016 – Ambassador of Italian alcoholic liqueur Campari. 2Baba is actually the first African ambassador the brand has.
- 2019 – He had an endorsement deal with Globacom Telecommunications.
- 2019 – Brand ambassador of the real estate firm, Pazino Homes and Gardens.
- 2019 – First and official brand ambassador for Oraimo.
2Baba’s philanthropic efforts
In 2009, 2Baba established ‘The 2Baba Foundation’. In December 2016, the foundation partnered with K.I.N.D Foundation to raise 14 million naira in 14 days for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
In the same year, he was also appointed as ambassador by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Following the appointment, he released the song “Man Unkind” to speak against the rise of sub-standard food and drugs in Nigeria.
Still in 2009, 2Baba also received the outstanding ‘International Youth Ambassador for Peace Summit and the Nigeria Youth Merit Award’ by the National Youth Council of Nigeria in recognition of his contributions to youth development in the country.
In 2011, 2Baba went on to fight against electoral violence by launching the “A Million Voices For Peace” initiative.
Fast forward to 2014, he started the “Vote Not Fight” campaign which we believe you’re very much familiar with.
Summary
Born on the 18th of September 1975, 2Baba is a Nigerian music legend, Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. From his early life to stardom, he has left an indelible mark on the African music scene. His parents are Michael and Rose Idibia, and he is happily married to actress Annie Idibia, with whom he has two children.
2Baba’s musical journey started early, influenced by African genres and artists like Bob Marley, MJ, and others. He began in Plantashun Boiz with Blackface and Faze, releasing hit albums before going solo in 2004. He has since achieved global recognition with albums like “Face 2 Face” and “Grass 2 Grace.”
In terms of creativity, 2Baba emphasizes enjoying what you do and understanding your audience, and he sees limitless possibilities in entertainment. Despite being a pioneer in Afrobeat, he remains humble about recognition.
In terms of net worth, 2Baba is estimated at ₦4.7 billion, with significant assets, including multiple luxury cars and properties.
Beyond music, 2Baba is a philanthropist, having established ‘The 2Baba Foundation’ and supporting various causes, including youth development and electoral peace initiatives.
Here are some lessons you can learn from 2Baba as a young person:
- Follow your passion and enjoy what you do; a soulful connection with your work resonates with others.
- Stay true to yourself; 2Baba values being real and advises against acting for the cameras.
- Understand the business side of your industry.
- Give back to society; 2Baba’s foundation and initiatives demonstrate the impact artists can have beyond their craft.
