9ice Admits to Early Career Influence by Wyclef Jean

Veteran Nigerian singer Alexander Akande, popularly known as 9ice, has revealed that he sounded like Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean in the early days of his career. The ‘Photocopy’ crooner admitted that he wasn’t the only Nigerian artist emulating Wyclef’s sound back then, but he believed he did it better than the rest.

In a recent interview with SPS, 9ice explained that he eventually stopped copying Wyclef Jean after discovering his own unique sound. He emphasized that his music is now a fusion of his major inspirations, including Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Bob Marley, Ayinde Barrister, Kwan1, and Pasuma.

“My inspiration was Wyclef [Jean]. If anybody listened to me at the beginning, there was a time I was sounding like Wyclef 100 per cent. And there were other people that were sounding like him, but they felt that I sounded better than them when it comes to sounding like Wyclef,” he said.

“And from sounding like Wyclef, I got to my own original sound. Bob Marley, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Ayinde Barrister, Kwan1, Pasuma, and Obesere are the people that I listened to while growing up, and they formed my blend in music.”