Bella Shmurda is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He has quickly become one of the most popular and influential Afrobeats artists in the continent, with an estimated net worth of
$700,000 (544,670,000 million naira). His music is a blend of Afrobeats, Afro-fusion, and World music, and he is known for his catchy melodies, energetic performances, motivational and relatable lyrics.

Table of Contents
Biography
This section spot-lights Bella Shmurda’s personal life.
Who is Bella Shmurda?
Born Akinbiyi Abiola Ahmed in 1997, Bella Shmurda began singing at a young age. He released his first song, “Vision 2020”, in 2019. The song was a minor hit, but it was the remix featuring Olamide that catapulted Bella Shmurda to stardom.
Since then, Bella Shmurda has released a number of hit songs, including “Cash App”, “Rush”, and “Philo”. He has also collaborated with some of the biggest names in the African music industry, including Wizkid, Davido, Nasty C, and Tiwa Savage.
Bella Shmurda owns his own record label ‘Dangbana Republik’, which is also a collective of creatives in Lagos that provides community and humanitarian contributions.
Bella Shmurda’s net worth is steadily growing through his music sales, streaming royalties, endorsements, and live performances.
Early life and family background
Bella Shmurda is the last child in a polygamous Muslim family of 10. His mom, Dr. Mrs. Adeola Agbeke is a Lecturer and is also the Headteacher of the Lagos State University Staff School.
Additionally, she used to run a rental business which Bella assisted to manage; so whenever customers placed an order for chairs, Dr. Mrs. Adeola called on her son Bella to deliver the chairs to the customer.
Bella Shmurda’s mum played a crucial role in the rise of Bella. According to Bella, her example made him hard working.
In an interview with Temisan on the ‘Tea with Tay Podcast Show’, Bella recounted that his mother is a disciplinarian. He recalls his mum calling him out during morning assembly in school because he didn’t wash his uniform. Funny thing he said is that his mum sees him wearing the dirty uniform from home but she looks at it and says it’s clean. In his words, “… Na school she go discipline you. For front of your friends, na there you go know say na true, your cloth clean”.
You can already tell from this that Bella really didn’t have a perfectly smooth time growing up with his mom. In several interviews, he disclosed that he left home to stay with his friends because his mother wasn’t happy with his decision to do music while in school. While his mom kept insisting that he finish his studies, he was already seeing himself as Dangote. In his words, “…I dey see one big man, I dey see Dangote in myself, one billionaire wey get 100 Rolls Royce…”
Even after Bella’s fame with ‘Vision 2020’ his mum still called him to supply chairs to renters. He said, “even when she see the videos, she still dey call me to come carry chair…I tell her say I don blow…she really didn’t understand what was going on”.
This is not to mean that Bella and his mum are not on good terms. They still talk like mother and son currently. In an interview with Pulse Nigeria, he even mentioned that seeing his mother happy is the second biggest source of happiness for him.
Much is not known about Bella’s siblings. However a brother of his, Teslim, has been spotted dancing on several music videos of Bella.
Bella Shmurda’s educational background
The young star got his primary education from the Lagos State University Staff School. His secondary education was at Badagry Grammar School, Badagry, Lagos State.
And he went further to bag a bachelor’s degree in History and International Relations from Lagos State University.
Bella Shmurda Relationships
The CashApp Superstar has been in a relationship previously and was even expecting a child though the child was lost.
At the time of putting this article together, there’s no verifiable news of Bella being in a relationship, having a wife, or having a child.
There’s every chance he could be in a relationship but is keeping it private because he doesn’t like having the public come into his personal life.
Bella Shmurda and Mohbad
Mohbad and Bella Shmurda have become big names in the Nigerian music industry right now. Both artists are known for their unique and innovative sounds, and they have quickly become fan favorites both at home and abroad. But what is the relationship between these two stars?
First things first, the stars became friends while in school at Lagos State University, LASU. Over time, their relationship progressed beyond just being friends. They were like brothers supporting each other in the music industry.
On several occasions Mohbad has stated that Bella Shmurda is one the realest and most supportive persons he knows, in his words, “…he used to tell me how big I am in LASU”. He has once disclosed that Bella Shmurda used to pay him to perform while they were in school.
Back in 2022, in an interview with Korty, Bella Shmurda mentioned that Mohbad is his friend. He even had an appearance that day and when Mohbad asked if he could tag along, Bella told him not to because he feels Mohbad shouldn’t be in a place where he is not being paid to perform. This shows how much Bella looks out for the wellbeing and growth of his friend Mohbad.
Even in Mohbad’s demise, Bella still remained a true friend. In one of several tweets he shared, Bella said, “In the past few days have tried my best not to carry phone nd type anything but Mohbad spirit won’t let me rest knowing I’m the only one make his spirit calm by making those of them who make him live in fear nd almost with nothing to feed on never also get rest nd he don start yes I mean wahaLa just wan start like this I NO GO GREE nd I mean it Samlarry nd whole marlians music must be arrested make all of us Dey police nd if the Nigerian police too weak as body to fish this people out we do it street,legal or illegal any which way like this war don start
If they all ran out the country which shows that they’re actually guilt of whatever crime were said to have committed by them then it’s they’re guilty nd they all know they should never come back nd they should ban from entering the country for life”.
While Mohbad was alive, he once shared on his Instagram handle that he owes Bella 2 Million Naira for his birthday, in his words, “A friend like you is hard to find, I owe you N2m for your birthday”.
Early life before stardom
Playing instruments in primary school
Music has always been a part of Bella Shmurda’s early life. His mum once disclosed that he got the talent from his grandfather (that is his mum’s father). Fortunately for Bella Shmurda, his
school had some musical instruments for school activities; so in primary 5, he became band prefect and in primary 6, he became the music prefect. He played instruments like the guitar, flute, and violin while in school.
Learning tailoring and leaving home
Between 17 and 18 after secondary school, his mum sent him to tailoring school. Still within that age range, Bella left the house to fend for himself. According to him, ‘I can’t just wake up and my mummy don cook, she don buy this one…some people dey come house give their mama something, buy food come…and me I dey house… I say no, make I go work’.
Work-life at Dangote Company in Ikorodu
So, Bella secured a job at Dangote company in Ikorodu. He worked as a laborer helping to package noodles in their packs and his monthly salary was just 20,000 NGN (Twenty Thousand Naira).
Bella recalls that at that phase of his life, 20,000 NGN was barely enough for him to survive but he just managed and continued to push through.
In an interview with Queazy on the ‘Echo Room’ platform, Bella recounted a time when his colleague accidentally fell into a large cauldron of hot oil while cleaning the ceiling.
Unfortunately, that was the end of Bella’s Colleague. The young man died instantly and that left a scar on Bella Shmurda’s mind. Considering what happened, Bella thought of quitting the job but he didn’t because according to him, he needed the money. However, the incident was part of what motivated him to work harder in achieving a large net worth.
Free-styling for free studio sessions at Okuku
While still at Okuku, Bella Shmurda linked up with some freestyle artists and together they’d freestyle. The motivation here for Bella was that the best freestyle artiste was offered a free studio session. So he kept pushing at his freestyle efforts. While there’s no reliable record as to whether Bella Shmurda ever won a freestyle challenge, being a part of the challenges gave him a chance to meet BY. (BY is the Mastermind that produced Bella Shmurda’s first track ‘Vision 2020’.)
To keep up with studio fees, Bella said that he even stole from a neighbor’s child. He hid the boy’s bicycle at night and sold it later at Alaba market for 7,000 NGN. As you may have guessed, he used the money to pay for studio sessions.
However, after fame, Bella got a new bicycle for the boy.
How Bella Shmurda recorded his first track in Okuku in 2013
It all started with Remzy, a friend of Bella Shmurda’s. Remzy had a habit of sharing his own recorded songs with Bella Shmurda and that gave Bella the impression that Remzy was a popular artist.
As simple as those experiences were, they fired up the passion that Bella already had. So he asked his friend Remzy to take him to the studio for a recording session.
Bella Shmurda was charged 7,000.00 NGN (Seven Thousand Naira) to record this first song and he ended up featuring Remzy in the song. According to Bella, “…the song was bla bla bla; but, I was feeling it…”
Because of his passion for music, Bella Shmurda kept pushing for Remzy to take him to shows. Finally, he got a show invite from Remzy and that day at the show, Bella discovered something. He observed that Remzy wasn’t as popular as he thought. He was even surprised to see the audience vibing more to his performance compared to that of Remzy. The experience made him work even harder. Bella Shmurda was determined to be successful and attain a high net worth.
The moment Bella Shmurda got angry and made up his mind to be successful
It was during University days at the University of Lagos. Bella Shmurda wanted to perform at the ‘Miss LASU’ event but was underrated and robbed of the chance.
How did it happen?
Bella reached out to the school event coordinator and submitted his songs as one of the artists willing to perform during the event. As a matter of fact, Bella mentioned in an interview that he was the first artist to submit songs.
However, when the time came to perform, the event coordinator did not call Bella Shmurda. When Bella met the coordinator and asked why he hadn’t been called to perform yet, the coordinator said that he had removed Bella’s name from the list because his songs were not good enough. This made Bella angry and it added to the scars that motivated him to achieve a high net worth at a young age.
Olamide, PocoLee and Bella Shmurda: Live changing moments that made ‘Vision 2020’ a hit in 2019
It was the second time that Bella Shmurda could have been denied the opportunity of performing at a school event in UNILAG. But PocoLee was present at the event and he observed the back and forth conversation between Bella and the event coordinator.
With Poco’s intervention, Bella was allowed to perform. Yet again, Bella swore to make it big both in music and net worth size.
During this time, Poco Lee heard ‘Vision 2020’ and was impressed with the song; so he suggested making a viral video for it.
Fortunately, as Poco posted the song video they made, Olamide saw it and contacted Bella Shmurda for a remix shoot.
Did you know that Bella Shmurda did not have a shoe to wear for the remix shoot? He borrowed a pair of shoes from his friend Samad.
How did Bella Shmurda get his name?
If you know the movie, ‘Twilight’, try to remember Bella in that movie. Bella Shmurda loved her role so much that he picked up her name ‘Bella’ and according to him, he put her strength on himself.
As for ‘Shmurda’, he got it from Bobby Shmurda. So that’s how ‘Bella Shmurda’ came about.
Life after stardom
Bella Shmurda signed to a record label
After the remix of ‘Vision 2020’ with Olamide, Bella’s talent became known to a lot of prominent personalities and he got a label offer from ‘One Word Global Records’. Bella signed the offer for a three year duration but was only able to work under the label for a year.
According to Bella, if he had to shoot a video, the label provided only five hundred thousand naira while he hustled for the other five hundred thousand naira. He once mentioned that he also had to take care of promotion fees.
By the time he worked a year with the label, he became fed up because he was contributing more financially but was getting less from the money earned.
In an interview with Temisan on the ‘Tea with Tay Podcast’, Bella Shmurda disclosed that he had to get a lawyer to dissolve his contract with the label. The label asked for about 20 million naira to consent to the dissolution. Bella agreed and gained his freedom from the label.
Did Bella Shmurda build his own record label after signing out from ‘One Word Global Records’? Does he plan to sign in and support other artists?
Yes, Bella Shmurda now owns his own record label ‘Dangbana Repunlik’.
However, the superstar has disclosed that his support for upcoming artists may necessarily not come through label contracts.
He believes in helping talented artists without asking for anything in return. In his words, “If I see you and you’re good, I’ll do a video for you, I’ll give you a remix, I’ll give you my voice freely. Support is in any way. It’s not compulsory that if I support you, I’ll get something back. I don’t believe in that. If na one I go do for you, I go do am finish lock up. Any money wey you see, that’s yours”.
How did Bella Shmurda deal with fame?
In one interview, Bella mentioned that he wasn’t used to the life of fame. According to him, ‘I was losing it but I had to call myself together when I realized that there is a way it’s supposed to be done. I don’t like noise, I just have to stay calm, be myself. I don’t like unnecessary publicity, I don’t want to be a controversy. Whenever my name is mentioned, I want it to be for something good’.
Where does Bella Shmurda find motivation?
In a session on the ‘Echo Room’ platform, Bella spoke about his drive and motivation and he said, ‘…there are scars, there are pains, but they’re not on the face. They’re deep sands. They’re in the mind, they’re in the heart. These pains stay forever and I turn it to passion’.
How does Bella Shmurda deal with competition?
To Bella Shmurda, music is not competition. To him, he’s just having fun and having a good time in his lifetime. According to him, he never feels pressured to deliver songs. He sings when he wants to and lives his life without pressure because he believes that he can’t achieve his dreams by chasing clout, being pressured by competition, being intimidated, or giving in to peer
pressure. He is not scared of other artists who have more financial backing because according to him, ‘God brought me here, not finance. I was me and I became this”.
Bella Shmurda’s singles, EP, and albums after Vision 2020
Singles in 2019
- Upgrade
- Only you
Singles in 2020
- Omnipotent
- Sho Mo Mi
- Dangbana Orisa
- Cash App
EP in 2020 (High Tension)
- Ginger Me (Intro)
- Omnipotent
- Liquor
- Sho mo mi
- Amope
- Vision 2020
- Upgrade
Singles in 2021
- Rush
- World
- Cold ft. Popcaan
- No Caution ft. Seyi Vibez
- Party Next Door
EP in 2021 (High Tension 2.0)
- Out There
- World
- Soldier Go
- Far Away
- Lako
- Rush
- Party Next Door
- Champion
Singles in 2022
- My friend
- Many Things
- Fvck Off
- New Born Fela
- Philo ft Omah Lay
Album in 2022 (Hypertension)
- New Born Fela
- Ase
- Contraband
- Loose It ft. Simi
- Oh Oh Oh
- Converse ft. Phyno
- Fire
- Lagos City
- Level Up
- Philo ft Omah Lay
- Nakupenda ft BackRoad Gee,Not3s,L.A.X
- No Other ft. Victony
- Man of the Year
- Addicted
- So Cold ft. Popcaan
Singles in 2023
- Philo Remix ft. Nasty C
- NSV ft. Tiwa Savage
Artists that have featured Bella Shmurda
In 2020, Olamide featured Bella in his song ‘Triumphant’. That track is one of the top tracks making his ‘Carpe Diem’ album. In the same year, Davido also featured him in a track, ‘Fade Away’.
Forward to 2021, Marvin’s youngster, Crayon, featured Bella Shmurda in his song ‘Jackpot’. The feature turned out to be a unique blend of AfroBeat and street vibes.
Currently in 2023, Odumodublvck featured Bella Shmurda alongside Cruel Santino in his track ‘DOG EAT DOG II’.
Bella Shmurda Net Worth and Assets
Net Worth
Bella Shmurda’s net worth is estimated to be $700,000 (544,670,000 million naira) and he achieved this high net worth through his music sales, streaming royalties, endorsements, and live performances.
House owned by Bella Shmurda
On the 28th of September 2022, Poco Lee who is a good friend and supporter of Bella Shmurda took to his Instagram handle to celebrate Bella’s new mansion in Lagos. In the caption, he said, “Congratulations Omoiyami @bella_shmurda otilo, more blessings”.
According to property experts, the mansion is worth 300 Million Naira.
Cars owned by Bella Shmurda
In an interview with Korty, Bella disclosed that after his first big break he bought three cars at once because he had 10 boys living with him and he wanted them to pull out in clean cars too whenever they went out together. Unfortunately, he didn’t mention what cars he bought and no reliable source has mentioned what type of cars he actually bought.
Back in June 2021, it was confirmed that the young and high net worth superstar took delivery of a Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 worth between 50-70 Million naira according to Car Mart NG.
Other assets owned by Bella Shmurda
Louis Vuitton Mink Fur Hoodie
This hoodie is a rare clothing piece from Louis Vuitton and is usually worn by famous and wealthy people like the footballer, Aubameyang. The hoodie is priced between $25,161 to
$27,474. In naira that’s between 19,680,934 and 21,490,162.
Bella Shmurda was seen wearing the Mink Fur Hoodie at one of the Headies Award ceremonies for which he was nominated as a Next Rated artiste.
Rolex Diamond wrist watches and earring
In a video that trended on social media, the high networth Bella recorded himself showing off his newly acquired diamond earrings and wrist watches. In the video he said, “Sure e don come, una wey feel say we no fit wear dia for this country ehh, problem don dey ooo…”
In the same video, 5 diamond wrist watches were being tested for their authenticity and there was a pair of diamond earrings for both ears.
The cost of a diamond Rolex is somewhere from $12,000 (approximately 9.3 Million Naira) and above.
Awards and Recognitions
In 2020, his single ‘Cash App’ won the City People Entertainment Awards for Street Music of the Year. In the same year he also won the City People Award for the next rated artiste in the Male category.
Still in 2020, he was nominated for the next rated artiste at the 2020 Headies Awards alongside industry top talents like Omah Lay, Oxlade, BNXN, and Tems.
The following year, 2021, Bella was nominated at the 2021 AAFRIMA for best collaboration on his single ‘Cash App’ featuring Zlatan Ibile and Lincoln.
Still in 2021, he won Artiste of the year Award at the Gbedu music awards and was also nominated for the Next Rate Artiste Award category in Headies.
In 2022, he got yet another nomination for Best Street Hop Artiste for the 2022 Headies Award.
Bella Shmurda’s philanthropic activities
Sponsoring Samuel through primary school
In 2021, the video of a young boy (Samuel) passionately singing Olamide’s song ‘Triumphant’ went viral on social media. The video got the attention of Bella who was featured in the track and as a way of showing his happiness, he offered to see the young boy through primary school.
On a visit to the boy’s home, Bella said, “I don’t know the class he is in. But from now to primary 6, I will support him. God bless him for me. As I see am, na joy for him. And I know it’s also a thing of joy for you all.
“I am with you all. We will connect with any school you want to enroll him. So that you can see your kid every day and take proper care of him. You must be with him, you must monitor him. He has to grow, he has to be educated.”
The scholarship offer took effect in November, 2021.
Feeding the 1000 in Okoko/Alaba
On his birthday in 2022, Bella took to his Twitter account narrating the circumstances surrounding his birth. After the narration, he added that starting from that year’s birthday, he’d feed 1000 destitute in his community. In his words, “Anyways, I’m feeding 1,000 mouths today in my hood, Okoko/Alaba, and I will do it every year by God’s grace. I will not shake.”
Conclusion
The story of the young and high net worth artist Bella Shmurda, is what most people describe as ‘from grass to grace’. Born as Akinbiyi Abiola Ahmed in 1997, his musical journey began early, eventually leading to his breakthrough with “Vision 2020” and its remix featuring Olamide in 2019.
Since 2019, Bella Shmurda has collaborated with renowned artists like Wizkid, Davido, Nasty C, and Tiwa Savage, contributing to his estimated net worth of 544,670,000 million naira through music sales, streaming royalties, endorsements, and live performances.
Bella’s journey wasn’t always smooth; he faced challenges, including leaving home to pursue music and working as a laborer at Dangote Company. Despite setbacks, he persevered and gained recognition. He owns the record label ‘Dangbana Republik’ and is known for his philanthropic activities, such as sponsoring a young boy’s education and feeding 1000 destitutes.
His life story reflects his determination, and he continues to make strides in the music industry, serving as a source of motivation for other young people who are pushing for greatness and stardom.