Mic on Fire started on the 20th of May, 2024, and ran for a whole week. Sit, relax, and let me take you on the journey. Mic on Fire as the name implies is a singing/rap competition, where upcoming music talents, of all genres come to compete, setting the mic on fire and being crowned the best. The competition was in different stages; freestyling on amazing beats, face-offs, and singing their favorite artist songs. It was full of time-bound memories, being present during the event was the only way to express and understand the rhythmic feeling that filled the air for a whole week.

One thing I am sure of is that getting to the finals in any competition is not an easy task to achieve, especially when it is a room filled with Grammy-winning talents. However, we will be focusing on six personnel who stood out from other talented individuals and made it to the finals. Let’s get to know them personally;

TOPCAST

OluwaTopcast, to ju emi e, the best yoruba gang rapper. Toheeb Omokolapo is his name. He got his stage name OluwaTopcast from the belief that God alone is the highest, which is save to say that Toheeb is a believer in Christ. When asked what genre he specializes in, he responded that he is versatile, he can jump on any beat, all he needs is for the best to be played and he spits his bars.

It has been a long way coming in his music journey, a graduate of Kwara State Polytechnic, in 2022, he was the first Kwara State Poly talent hunt winner.

Topcast is not a small name, he is for sure a lover of music, funny how he gets his inspiration from Indian music. His love for Indians is out of this world. He calls himself a preacher.

Grammy is his aim, being an indigenous rapper. Achievements plenty, as he was once the ambassador for Otedola music, Spotlight concert, and many more. He sees music as fun and loves to put in his best.

He has always been solo in his music journey. In the case of collaboration, he prefers Indian artists to Nigerian artists, and if any Nigerian artist wants to collaborate they are free to feature him. A standing ovation to our Mic on Fire winner 2024.

“To ju emi e, if it is not music, it is not work,

se ise ni yen sa?”

-Topcast

RICO RANE

Make it Rain! Rico Rane hails from Anambra state and stays at Ojodu Berger, Lagos. Onwuzulike Ifenna is his name, stage name was coined from his initials of his names. Growing up in a neighborhood where everyone at the time had a nickname his mom playful crammed his initials together being Rex Ifenna Chinemeze Onwuzulike and thus the name Rico was born …Rane was a nick name he picked on his own seeing as he loves the idea of rain…it signifies growth and the refresh or beginning of something, that’s how he came up with RICORANE. He classifies his kind of genre of music as Hip-hop.

He has been singing for a while, it has been a long time coming, his first song was in 2012, official EP in February 28th, 2021. Amidst numerous achievements, is him won the best rapper in Uni 2013, in his department, then went ahead to win for the whole school, won battle raps, and so on.

His inspiration for creating his masterpiece is from watching movies, he sees himself as a message conveyer cause he enjoys storytelling. He hopes to be filthy rich and a successful artist. He would love to collaborate with the likes of Drake, MI, and Vector. Did I mention he is the first runner-up on Mic on Fire 2024?

“Teamwork makes the dream work,
But teamwork means teamwork,
For the team to work, you have to put the team first”
-RicoRane

DAMMY LION

You see this man, in particular, is fire, he gives the mixture of Kizz Daniel and Oritsefemi combined. I can boldly say that he is a lover boy to the core. Oluwadamilola Lawal Soliu, omo Eko, lives at Ikotun, Lagos. He got his stage name from an in-house producer who recognized his fire potential.

He considers himself an Afrobeats artist. He started his career in 2015, but professionally in 2016, making a living for himself. He taps inspiration from artists who are creative and also from the street. He is for sure a message conveyer.

His dreams of having a future collaboration with Brymo, Burna Boy, and Rihanna won’t be a bad idea he said, and a few of his achievements so far in his career: He has worked with a few producers, the likes of So-Sleek, Indomix, and many more.

A fun fact that might seem unbelievable is that DammyLion does not smoke or drink, right? He emerged as the Mic on Fire second runner-up as he went hard and showed he had all it takes to grab the burning mic.

BOYTIZNO

Oluwatosin Toheeb, I call him a man that spits bars effortlessly. His lyrics are funny and relatable. You can’t listen to BoyTizno and not smile. The name BoyTizno was coined by his friends back then in school. He stays in Agbado Ijaye, Lagos.

He started his music journey with his friend Matt Maxxy, who sings and Matt Maxxy raps, posting every recorded session on social media, which resulted in positive feedback.

He was once a rapper but now sees himself more as an Afrobeats artist. His experience is what inspires his music and lyrics, no wonder they are relatable. No awards yet, but hopes to see himself in the best place, to be recognized in the music space, as well as being a help or avenue to upcoming artists. Collaborating with FireBoy and Syi Vibes would be an amazing experience for him.

Fun fact about him is his calmness, but shouldn’t be mistaken for stupidity.

“If I bow down to Lucifer, na me fuck up,

if I lock up, I don give up”

-Boytizno

AREWA XLAZ

Have you seen a man with a soprano melodious voice? No right, search no more cause Arewa Xlaz is the man. His voice is a show stopper, no one hears Arewa Xlaz sing and not stop to turn. His name is Obadofin Olorunyomi, and he currently lives in Ikorodu, Lagos.

His stage name Arewa Xlaz came from him seeing beauty in everything and anything. He sees himself as an Afro sound/scriptorial artist, cause of the information and energy passed across, the uniqueness that comes with such a genre of music.

The fact that Olorunyomi, Arewa Xlaz is a soul lover of music, he has no favorite artist that serves as an inspiration or role model, instead he believes that as long as the songs have good sounds and lyrics, he said likes of Burna Boy, Rugar, Black Sheriff falls in those categories of good sounds and lyrics.

He started his music journey in 2016 when he recorded his first single. He gets inspiration from everything, anything, what he feels, and life in general. He writes whatever emotions he feels, which makes him see himself as a balanced, global, and universal artist.

Despite no awards to his name so far, he has been a songwriter for several companies, also creating the soundtrack to Desperado. He hopes to one day bring and grow Afrobeats music globally, giving inspiration and values back to the community. In terms of collaboration, he would like to collaborate with Burna Boy, Wande Coal, Rugar, Black Sheriff, David, Olamide, Tori Lane, and Kendrick Lamar, to mention a few.

Fun facts about Arewa Xlaz are people tend to judge him by his looks, and also the fact that people thinks he is unreal due to his overly positive energy.

MATTMAXXY

Omo Iya Legba vibe, as he is fond of calling himself. Akanni Matthew Oluwatosin is not only known as a good and supportive friend to Boy Tizno, but he is also recognized for his remarkable storytelling rap style of music genre.

He hails from Ogun state and stays in Agbado Ijaye, Lagos. His stage name Matt Maxxy is from his name Mathew. He sees himself as a hardcore Afrosoul artist. One artist that inspires him is Olamide, cause he is fascinated by his lifestyle and style of music.

Matt Maxxy creates his songs through whatever he is going through at the moment, which makes him see himself as a message conveyer. He hopes to be the best singer, and rapper and also own a record label. His dream collaboration would be with Davido and Olamide. Fun facts about him is that he is an overthinker and overly serious.

Author: Oluwagbemi Oladunni

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