With Dancehall and Afrobeat taking over the world, look no further than AcebergTM to provide you with all the good vibrations. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria as the second child in a family of 5 children, the rising star boasts an wavering love for hip-hop, with Wyclef Jean, J. Cole, and Drake as his biggest influences.
Most recently, real name Ikechukwu Okoronkwo unleashed his highly-anticipated “Far From Home” EP, which hails standout single “Danca.”
With the ability to both rap and sing, AcebergTM sees himself in the same vein as the greats such as Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido.
Speaking on what sets him apart, he states, “My sound is different from the other artists. It’s not really Afrobeats but hip-hop and R&B, fusing it together.”
AllHipHop: What were you like growing up in Lagos?
AcebergTM: Back then, I was gentle. More so into school, studying. I had the passion for music so I went into it straight ahead.
AllHipHop: Wyclef Jean was a big influence, what do you like about him?
AcebergTM: I listened to his songs growing up, my dad always played his songs around so I was caught up with his vibe. I started noticing other artists, listening to other artists, and started making my own music. He’s the first artist I recognized that made me want to listen to the music.
AllHipHop: Favorite Wyclef song?
AcebergTM: “Diallo.” You should check it out, it’s dope.”
AllHipHop: When did you realize you wanted to do the music for a living?
AcebergTM: When I got out of university, I realized my passion for music was better than anything else so I gave it a shot. I’m still going until this moment.
AllHipHop: You finished college right?
AcebergTM: Yeah I did, here in Nigeria. I studied Computer Science, that was really hard. [laughs] College was tough, but I pulled through. My grades were so low. [laughs] I realized I had other stuff I had to do and had more to offer than education, which is music.
AllHipHop: What was the inspiration for your name?
AcebergTM: I was young at the time, I was searching through the dictionary because I had so much love for rap music. I knew I had to get a stage name first, an artist name. I’m going through the dictionary and saw Ace, which meant young, talented, skillful. I thought “that’s fine,” then I started seeing Ace everywhere. Ace this, Ace that. Aceberg is like iceberg. You don’t see what’s below the surface, but this is the pack of the whole talent, everything altogether. TM is time, Aceberg time. It’s complex, but it makes sense to me now.
AllHipHop: “Far From Home” EP out now, how are you feeling?
AcebergTM: I’m feeling great. The love is crazy. I’m getting people from around here to understand what I’m making. It’s really going great because I’m gaining a lot of fans from around the world, telling me the music is nice. It’s pretty great, I’m happy about it.
AllHipHop: What does the title mean to you?
AcebergTM: The sound was different. Far From Home, all the genres were not like Afrobeats, not like the stuff you heard around you. A lot of people kept on saying my sound was different, so that inspired the whole name of the EP. It’s not from home, it’s a mindset that I want people to have when they listen to it.
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AllHipHop: What does the cover art represent to you? I know you’re in a red car.
AcebergTM: The name of the song inspired the cover art. I was in a car cruising Far From Home, skipping roads and going out of the country. That‘s the idea I gave to the graphic guy, to make it look that way.
AllHipHop: Who or what inspired “Danca”?
AcebergTM: It’s like “dance,” I just had a different spelling. I was trying to make a song that people could dance and vibe to. I was mostly into rap music. When I hooked up with the producer, he played the song for me. I thought “yo, it was quite different from what I do.” I had to flow with it, do what I had to do. It was just vibes.
AllHipHop: Best memory from the video shoot?
AcebergTM: It was when I was having an intimate moment with the vixen, the girl in the video. [laughs] It was cool, that’s the part I had in my head all through the video. I wanted to see that part. A lot of stuff was left out of the video, that’s the most exciting part.
AllHipHop: What songs mean the most to you from the project and why?
AcebergTM: “Loyal,” which is the last song of the EP. I wrote that song before I got signed. I’m explaining many emotions on that particular song, more than the rest of the songs. The rest of the songs are mostly vibes and R&B. That one was personal, it was around my struggling times when I made that song.
AllHipHop: What do you want fans to get from your story?
AcebergTM: I know them to know what I’m all about. After listening to this Far From Home EP, to give them a sense of what I can do, what I’m capable of. They know what to expect so they’re not looking at me as the new guy, because I’ve been in the industry in a while. The EP’s letting them know what I’m all about.
AllHipHop: Talk about the music scene in Nigeria being compared with Davido, Burna Boy, Wizkid, the elites…
AcebergTM: Nigeria is getting to a stage where all the music genres are being accepted. Normally if you come up doing the hip-hop thing and not Afrobeats, I don’t think a lot of people would want to listen to that around here. It looks like you’re wasting your time but right now, they seem to be accepting a lot of new sounds. Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, most of the top artists around here are changing their sounds and doing great music now. They’re paving the way for people like us coming up, just doing our thing.
AllHipHop: What are some of your career goals?
AcebergTM: I want to make a lot of fans, headline my own tour someday. Do something most people don’t do around here. We hardly go on tours around here, it’s shows and shows and shows. I want to make a difference with my music and the sound I’m putting out.
AllHipHop: Anything else you want the people to know?
AcebergTM: They should watch out for me, watch out for everything I do. AcebergTM, I’m all about good music. I’m all about bringing out the best so watch out for me. Get to see my journey.