Since the 2004 split of the successful talented pop trio called Plantashun Boiz, group member Chibuzor Orji – stage named Faze, has been the second most visible, trailing behind internationally recognised 2face. Despite releasing three albums claimed to have sold over six million units as at 2008, and a fourth in the works, questions are making the rounds about the vocalist’s financial and commercial state.
At a recent MTV/STV gathering where Faze made a surprise appearance. The ever-thin light-skinned singer spotted his usual casual Tee on jeans and a low cut rather than dreadlocks. And even though he didn’t say much on the red carpet, a few vigilant eyes couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the singer’s dreads. Did he shave it off cause the cost of maintenance had become a luxury? Far from that. Faze says his new look is one of the signs of the new career chapter he’s opening. Don’t be surprised if he changes his sound too…
Faze was first seen wearing not-so-cool dreadlocks in his string of late 2007 video releases. Then he pioneered the trend of South-African-shot Nigerian music videos in ‘Tattoo girls’, ‘Kpo kpo di kpo’ and ‘Need Somebody’, all from his sophomore released in the previous year. All these following closely after his ‘Kolomental’ break. These were the premium hey-days that established the vocalist as an R&B giant headlining nearly every major gig in town.
By mid 2008 when he returned from a tour that included South Africa, the Kolomentalist had upgraded to wearing well-locked uber-cool dreads which soon became his signature. In high hopes of global domination, the then A-list star announced his new business affiliation with international music promoter Joy Tongo as he basked in the soaring status of his new single, ‘Originality’. It’s been years now and not much has been heard or seen of that business partnership. No big-budget shows. No foreign deals. No popular engagements. The result of this is narrow income and a steady decline of the singer’s rating.
A deal-gone-sour with Akon also did not help matters.
But now that Faze seems to be back and brimming with fresh excitement, we’re waiting, patiently, to see what the next few months have in stock for the singers’ singer
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