Emeka Akumefule, professionally known as Blaqbonez or Emeka The Stallion, is a 28-year-old Nigerian singer and rapper born on January 29, 1996. His net worth is estimated at $200,000.
Blaqbonez has been in the music industry for over a decade and he is known for his versatile, energetic and competitive style of rap. Over the years, his smooth blend of English and Yoruba rap, and funny personality have helped gain the attention of Grammy award-winning African artists like Burna Boy and Wizkid. Thus, he is listed as one of the most talented artists in the Nigerian music scene.
Summary of Blaqbonez’s Bio
- Full name: Emeka Akumefule
- Nickname: Blaqbonez
- Gender: Male
- Date of birth: January 29, 1996
- Blaqbonez’s Age: 28 years old
- Ethnicity: Igbo
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Blaqbonez’s Marital Status: Single
- Blaqbonez’s Parents: Okposio Roseline Akumefule (Mother)
- Blaqbonez’s Net worth: $200,000
- Famous for: Music Album “Sex Over Love”
- Blaqbonez’s Instagram: @blaqbonez
- Twitter: @BlaqBonez
How Old Is Blaqbonez and Where Is He From?
Blaqbonez is 28 years old and was born Akumefule Chukwu-Emeka, into an Igbo-speaking family that originally hails from Imo state, southeastern Nigeria. But he was raised by his pastor-mother, Okposio Roseline Akumefule, in the southwestern part of the country where he was exposed to both Yoruba and Urhobo culture.
Not much is known about Blaqbonz’s family but he was quite vocal about his failed relationship with his father. He once revealed that he has not been in good term with his father for many years and that his father ignored him when he went to visit him in Lagos after his university education.
He also revealed that his father left his mother and ran to another country at the time he was born. He claimed his father wanted to come back to his life after realizing his music fame. He had his basic and secondary education in the commercial city of Lagos and attended Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), where he studied for a degree in Computer Engineering.
How Blaqbonez Came About His Name
The Bling-crooner is known by his unique stage name Blaqbonez – a name he said he stole from his friend. The rapper revealed that his stage name does not originally belong to him but that he stole it from his friend who liked to rap but was not willing to pursue any music career. “I stole it. So one day I just said, bro, no dey use this name. I like am. And that’s how I started bearing Blaqbonez”.
How Blaqbonz Announced Himself to the Music World
Blaqbonz discovered his rap talent at the age of 13 while listening to the song of a 12-year-old rapper on the radio with his cousin. He was challenged by his cousin to come up with his own lyrics since he liked criticizing rappers. Accepting the challenge, Blaqbonz came up with enough bars for a verse and that was the big step that began his journey into the music industry.
Unfortunately, his parents were not in support of his newfound hobby but he secretly nursed it until he found himself in the four walls of the tertiary institution where he decided to let it blossom.
Blaqbonez began his journey into the music world as a battle rapper, winning 1st place out of 3000 rappers at Terry tha Rapman’s Zombie competition and earning himself a spot on Terry’s 2012 World Domination album which also had the likes of Olamide, Vector, Mode 9, and Spellz.
Prior to this, he participated in several underground rap battles and even released his first music project, Hip-Hop in Blaq.
His Rise to Stardom
Blaqbonz’s rise to fame came barely five years after winning the Terry Tha Rapman’s Zombie competition. He featured Terry on one of his projects and participated in more rap competitions, including Vector’s King Kong competition where he emerged as first runner-up.
Moving further in his career, Blaqbonz won the Rhythm FM Freestyle Fury and became Rhythm Fm’s artiste of the month. He also became the Hennessy Vs class captain, part of the Soundcity blast cypher. He later released his much talked-about mixtape CTAT “Cssette Tapes and Tvs” which grossed over 60,000 engagements in streams and downloads, CTAT was Blaqbonz’s third mixtape, following “hip-hop in blaq” and the “unfinished EP”.
Since kick-starting his musical career, Blaqbonez has released 8 extended plays, several singles and a mixtape. His eighth EP, Bad Boy Blaq, was released on 31 August 2018 and it was executive-produced by M.I Abaga. His ninth EP, Mr. Boombastic, came on 25 October 2019, just a day after releasing his promotional single “Jesus Is Black (Letter to Kanye West)” where he tells the Black American rapper Kanye West to postpone the release of his ninth studio album Jesus Is King.
Blaqbonez dropped his album titled Sex Over Love on 30 April 2021. The 14-track album which followed the rapper’s song “Haba” comprises his previously released songs like “Bling” featuring Amaarae and Buju (BNXN), “BBC (Remix)” featuring Tiwa Savage, “Heartbreaker” featuring Nasty C, and “Zombie” featuring Laycon, Psycho YP and AQ.
At the time of writing this piece, the self-proclaimed Best Rapper in Africa (BRIA), has two music albums, several EPs and mixtapes and many best hit singles, including “1000years”, “Go Home”, and “Haba”.
Currently, 28-year-old Blaqbonez is signed to 100 Crowns, an imprint of Chocolate City where he continues to sail through his career. He was named West African Rapper Of The Year at the inaugural Creative-Africa Hip Hop Awards. In 2019, he was profiled by The New York Times as one of the new guards of Nigerian music.
He was also ranked second on the Top 50 African Rappers in 2021 and he has received several nominations for his talent in music, including the Headies Award for Best Rap Single, and the City Peoples Music Award for Rap/Hip Hop Artiste of the Year.
List of Blaqbonez Songs
Studio albums
- Sex over love (2021)
- Young Preacher (2022)
- Singles
- “Mamiwota” feat. Oxlade (2019)
- “Shut Up” (2019)
- Best Rapper in Africa (BRIA), 2019
- “Haba” (2020)
- “BBC” (2020)
- “BBC Remix” feat. Tiwa Savage (2021)
- “1000years” (2021)
- “Commander” (2022)
- “Go Home” (2022)
- “Back in Uni” feat. Jae 5 (2022)
What is Blaqbonez’s Net Worth?
Blaqbonez net worth is estimated at $200, 000, which is roughly N149 million Nigerian Naira. Much of his wealth came from his years of successful music career. The rising global artist and self-proclaimed “Afrobeats rapper” has many hit songs to his name. These songs have not only helped him gain massive love from his followers but have also generated wealth for him.
Like every other successful artist, Blaqbones generates his income from streaming platforms, concerts, album sales, concerts and other engagements. The young artist is best known for his smash hit “Bling”, which cemented his status in the industry, and his infamous diss track “Best Rapper in Africa” which has him proclaiming himself as the best rapper in the world. These two songs have gained some of the highest streams on music platforms like Spotify, Youtube music, Youtube and Apple Music.
“Bling,” which is a lead track off his debut album Sex Over Love, was able to hit the number one spot on Apple Music’s Top 100 Nigerian Songs in early May. It also garnered over 3 million views upon the release of its music video on YouTube.
One of Blaqbonez’s biggest concerts was his crusade-themed concert, “Breaking The Yoke Of Love” which was held at Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island Lagos. The concert had the young rapper selling out his first headline show in Lagos with over 4000 in a limbo of astonishment following his memorable performance.
Aside from garnering massive fame, he is also believed to have cashed out as well from ticket sales and Performance royalties.
How Much Does Blaqbonez Charge Per Show?
live shows are some of the various ways through which artists like Blaqbonez generate immense income. The young Chocolate City rapper recently revealed that he now charges up to $3000 per verse feature. This is quite huge and significant enough to influence his fast-growing net worth.
Is Blaqbnes Single or Married?
Blaqbonez is not married to anyone. However, there are rumours that he is dating famous Nigerian fashion model and brand influencer, Gbemmy Daniels. According to the rumours, the two have been dating secretly for years before the self-claimed best rapper showcased her on his Twitter page for the first time.
Love is beautiful when you find the right one.
it feels wrong to continue to hide you from the world cos last year when i lost my brother no one else was there for me but you @galowthebaddie 🥺❤️ pic.twitter.com/fM5Ihm7hLu— Emeka The Stallion 🐎 (@BlaqBonez) February 20, 2022
The first time he shared a video showing romantic moments with his beautiful girlfriend, he claimed she was there for him when he lost his brother. “Love is beautiful when you find the right one. It feels wrong to continue to hide you from the world cos last year when I lost my brother no one else was there for me but you,” he said.
The singer’s unveiling of his secret lover caused a stir on the internet with many of his fans accusing him of misleading people with his anti-love message through his ‘Sex Over Love’ album, only for him to secretly enjoy the benefits of love. Neither Gbemmy nor Emeka has cleared the air on their relationship rumours, it is assumed that the two are still together enjoying each other’s company.