He was famously known as Sound Sultan, and he couldn’t have chosen a better stage name for himself as he is exactly what he calls himself, the Sultan of sound.
Born Olanrewaju Fasasi, Sound Sultan was not only a veteran and a legend of the Nigerian music industry, but he’s also contributed in every way, shape, or form to its growth, and would be remembered candidly for his impact.
The “Mathematics” crooner died on Sunday, 11 July 2021, aged 44, after succumbing to Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma, a form of cancer of the blood. Before that, the singer said he was suffering from throat cancer.
His passing also comes two months after reports surfaced in the media that he was undergoing chemotherapy in a hospital in the United States of America.
The rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor is survived by his wife, three children, and his siblings. He used his music to lift the spirits of Nigerians far and wide and will never be forgotten so easily.
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Let’s celebrate the life and time of Sound Sultan by looking through the top 10 iconic moments of the veteran music star.
1. Perfect intro with the highly infectious song “Mathematics”
Most 90s kids would remember this song vividly as it was highly relatable and easy to sing along. Even the elderly at the time identified with the song.
It was so popular that when it went viral, the title of the record confused the marketers and producers in the Alaba International market, as most of their ‘DJ selection’ CDs were either wrongly titled the song “BODMAS” or “Jagbajantis”.
Sound Sultan ensured his music always carried a definite message and that’s one of the reasons this particular one has stood the test of time.
2. Served as mentors to a lot of Nigerian acts including Wizkid
It is no news that the veteran do-it-all also served as a source of inspiration and motivation to many Nigerian artists who are big in the music industry today. In 2017, he said that he didn’t feel the current crop of successful Nigerian music stars intimidated him, according to a Vanguard article.
It was also very easy for him to work with them and on his last studio album “8th Wondah“, he had many of them featured on it.
Watch Sound Sultan and Wizkid on “Kokose” below
Sultan further said in a chat with Showtime, “So many artistes that are big now, when they were budding artistes I inspired and motivated them. From P-Square to Wizkid, Dbanj, Timaya, Asa, and all the other guys. That I want to mentor young up-and-coming artistes doesn’t stop my own movement, it’s more like a positive energy; it’s not something you need to take a break from”.
He also continued, “You don’t have to wait for your fire to die before igniting another person’s, while your fire is burning you can use it to ignite another person’s fire, so they could feed off the good energy that you emit. That’s why I’m always here.”
