Too often, we find artistes with startling potential. Artistes who had the gifts to revolutionise the landscape of their respective genres. Artistes so unique that they were regarded as pioneers.

Too often, these gigantic artists leave us abruptly. From Amy Winehouse leading the second invasion of British music, to JuiceWorld and Pop Smoke revolutionising trap and drill. There was once a Dagrin, Goldie and the recently demised Sound Sultan.  The world has lost too many gems way before their time.

Mohbad was ours, and he was no exception. As far as new-age streethop goes, Mohbad was firmly among the greatest of his generation.

Many artistes come and go in an extremely unstable sector like the Nigerian music industry without leaving a lasting impression, but that wasn’t the case with Mohbad. Mohbad conquered the streets throughout the course of a career spanning more than five years with chart-topping bangers and deeply personal tunes.

Songs like “Peace” and “Feel Good” were honest reflections of the struggles of him and many Nigerian youth. The latter song opens with the lines “Plenty enemies wey dey follow me.”. The line sadly encapsulates the sentiment that would plague most of his final years.With “KPK”, Mohbad scored what is arguably the biggest streethop hit of the last decade, with more than 40 million streams across all platforms.

In the midst of personal and professional troubles, one thing was always clear: Mohbad was one of the most unique talents of his generation.

Too often, when legends die young, their deaths are sensationalized.The unflattering bits of their lives are splattered across the media for propaganda and low-brow engagement.

When Michael Jackson passed, the media made a similar blunder, and Reverend Al Sharpton uttered some of the most comforting remarks ever made at a funeral.

Today, we reiterate those words for Mohbad.

“There was nothing strange about Imole. It was just strange what Imole had to deal with.”

Rest in Mohbad.

May we always remember.