Generation of kids born around ’01 may even know Bigiano (Shayo), they may have a ‘glimpsy’ memory of Durella. Infact, depending on whether such kids like old schools, they may even know STYL-Plus, RuggedMan, Eldee, and the rest. But, talk about Shank, and you’ll hear, “uh, who’s that?” The guy didn’t die, he just disappeared!
At a time when hip-hop was coming in, afropop was gaining traction, and dancehall was king, Shank was one of the artists that rose from ‘upcoming’ and gave us hit (you may want to add an “s”?) “Julie” and “Salute” were major club hits, and were banging on radio, in ’09. Shank’s fame quickly spread, and by the time his album “King Kong” came, he was somewhat of a household name.
The “King Kong” album housed “Julie,” and three ‘eye-catching’ collabos. “Never Felt” with D’banj (everyone wanted the Koko, then), “Shorty” that had American superstar, Akon and “Won Le Nu” featuring Dagrin. The album was a success, and… the rest is history!
Shank didn’t dwindle, he just left the scene. No signs of a comeback. And all that’s left of Shank are just memories of his heydays… Does he even cross anyone’s mind, these days? Is he anyone’s favourite? Do new artists look up to him? Is he done making music? Is he going to come back?
That’s all that is left of the superstar. Questions, just questions!
Born Chinedu Naze, the now-35-year-old singer, was known not only for his works with Akon, D’banj and others, but also for the influences he got from the legendary maestro, Fela. His sound is predominantly dancehall/reggae, hence the popular phrase; “before there was ever Burna Boy, there was Shank!”
Shank Julie
