Pulse Opinion Has 2face Idibia's celebrity status dipped?

Contrary to what new school observers think, 2face Idibia is still an A-list celebrity in Nigeria's entertainment scene.

  

2face Idibia, the legendary singer of Nigerian pop singer who virtually re-invented the game with his solo debut albums in 2004 is four decades old.

In the world of pop, a forty year old man is an ancestor in the business. Within the last couple of years pop culture enthusiasts and keen observers have debated if 2face Idibia's celebrity status has dipped most especially with the emergency of the new pop gods in the scene.

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12 years ago, 2face Idibia became an instant A-list celebrity with the release of his classic solo debut album 'Face 2 Face'. With the outstanding success of that album and Nigerians taking a keen interest in his love life, 2face was established as  a mega star- the first of our generation. 2face ruled unchallenged in the land till 2008, when D'banj, Psquare and 9ice stepped up to the plate and equalled the singer's celebrity status.

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(Instagram)

Still despite those turbulent two years, 2face Idibia bounced back in fine form. Today, 2face is an elder statesman in the business while the new boys from the Wizkid and Davido generation are running things. While we cannot doubt that a new set of players have entered the business does this mean that 2face's celebrity status has dipped?

The veteran singer is set to drop a collabo album with rapper M.I in September, 2016. Will we buzz about it like we have done his past releases or will it be ignored? I don't think so. I think 2face Idibia is still as popular as ever but I also feel that the game is a young man's business so it's understandable that a 17-year-old isn't checking out for him. This is how it should be perceived though- because a teenager isn't reading about 2face Idibia or following him on his SnapChat doesn't mean 2face Idibia isn't still at the very top.

play M.I Abaga, 2Baba - Babylon
(Hypertek Entertainment, Chocolate City)

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What we should consider is that 2face's core audience has grown and have moved past the 'buzz and trendy' demographic. 2face's fans are from the 30 and above range. You won't see them go on Twitter or Instagram rants about why 2face is the greatest singer or biggest celebrity.

Also 2face can't be bothered with doing publicity stunts to create buzz. A lot of the hot celebrities these days orchestrate publicity stunts to get people talking about them. For a celeb who has been in the game for a while like 2face Idibia, doing publicity stunts is so unecessary. Just imagine KWAM 1 doing a publicity stunt. It would be rdiculous.

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The truth is that there is hardly any household in Nigeria that doesn't know about 2face Idibia or his wife. He has reached and maintained a status that it would be hard for his celebrity status to fade. 2face is a natural born star and people will always be interested in him whether there is no hype or buzz around him. His celebrity status is solid gold.