The emergence of the Plantashun Boiz in the Nigerian music scene in the late 1990s was something of a phenomenon. So much so that the trio has been severally called the greatest boy band group out of Nigeria even though Styl-Plus fans will beg to differ.
If you were a fan of Plantashun Boiz back then, this article should hit close to home. The classic group consisting of music legend 2face (now 2baba), Faze and Blackface, that wrote such amazing love songs sadly could not write their own happily ever after story. They broke up and it was all so messy!
There were a number of conspiracy stories that sprung up as well as conflicts between the former partners following their break up but it’s the widely publicized feud between 2baba and Blackface that sustained any form of interest over time.
The Conflict
Some of the conspiracy theories then were centered around the timeless tune, African Queen and 2Baba’s desire to go solo away from the group. Following their messy split, 2Baba signed a record deal with Kennis Music and released African Queen- a song Blackface has repeatedly claimed was written by him.
African Queen went on to become a viral hit and the first of many to come for the renegade 2Baba which seemed to further fuel Blackface’s angst and frustration. Blackface has instigated several media attacks against his former compadre over the years.
Fans only had a clue of the boy band drama from music released by fellow band member, Faze.
Faze Alone described a disagreement between two group members, but never pointed to which members it was.
“Dem be two, late become three, they run things together;
“Live in peace and harmony, then suddenly the three disagree;
“One go solo, the other too follow,” he sang.
The singer further stated his commitment to making it alone even without the partnership of the band.
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So here’s what happened;
After their split in 2004, and the release of African Queen, Blackface took to the media claiming ownership of the song even as 2Baba continued to gather international acclaim. He later went inert for a while even as Plantashun Boiz had a rare union to release the Plan B album which was distributed by Tjoe.
Blackface then resurfaced in 2014 shortly after the release of the song, Let Somebody Love You with more bile to hurl at 2Baba. The feud became heated this time with Blackface claiming, again, that he wrote the African Queen song that shot 2Baba into the solo spotlight. Blackface went on several media rants before releasing a diss track to which 2Baba replied with his own.
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Lawsuits
In 2018, things got out of hand when 2Baba filed a defamation lawsuit against his former group member Blackface after previously ignoring his incessant attacks in the media. The suit was said to be claiming up to N50million in damages resulting from defamation of character. Blackface also “lawyered” up and the two went head-on.
Reconciliation
In 2019, both artistes decided to sign an undisclosed agreement. An unverified source later disclosed that the agreement enabled blackface to finally earn royalties from the songs he co-wrote, while he agreed to not call 2baba out publicly again.
The artists were said to have had an out-of-court settlement that brought an end to their periodic beef.
As to their current relationship status, we’ll let you do the talking. Do you think 2baba and Blackface are still friends? Where is blackface now? Leave us a comment below.
You may also like to read 2Baba (2Face) Biography: Early life, music career, discography, awards and personal life
Wao!