Cynthia Morgan Biography: Early life, music career, awards, net worth, legal issues & more

Cynthia Morgan is a Nigerian songwriter and singer and we will reveal important facts that many people do not know about her in this biography. First, it is important to know that Cynthia Morgan has changed her name to Madrina Morgan following alleged legal issues with her former record label, Northside Entertainment Inc. We will also go into the details about this later in this article.

Her full birth name is Cynthia Ikponmwenosa Morgan and she has been making music since 2007. While Morgan is more popular as a rapper, this is by no means her only strength. She sings pop, dancehall and hip hop and is known to masterfully blend all genres together as well. For a quick summary of facts about Cynthia Morgan see the next section.

10 facts about Cynthia Morgan

1. Cynthia Morgan was born as Cynthia Ikponmwenosa Morgan on 23rd September 1991 in Benin City, Edo State.
2. She grew up alone with her mother as her father was absent for most of her childhood.
3. Her mother was a popular gospel singer and Cynthia Morgan joined a children’s choir at the age of 3.
4. Cynthia Morgan began writing her own songs and single at 16 and released her first official single, Dutty Stepping, with General PYPE when she was 18 years old.
5. Jhybo featured her on the rap song titled Ejo Le Fe Ro when she was 19 years old in 2010.
6. On 22nd August 2013, Jude ‘Engees’ Okoye, the founder and CEO of Northside Entertainment Inc., signed Cynthia Morgan to his company.
7. Cynthia Morgan released her first single under Northside Entertainment Inc. titled Don’t Break My Heart in November 2013.
8. She released German Juice in February 2015 and it won The Headies Award for Best Reggae/Dancehall Single in the same year.
9. Cynthia Morgan was on Coke Studio Africa Season 4 in 2016 with the likes of 2Face, Waje, AKA, Patoranking, Falz, Kiss Daniel and Simi.
10. While she began using the name Madrina in September 2017, Cynthia Morgan released her first song Billion Dollar Woman under the new identity on 8th May 2018.

Also read: Falz Biography: Early life, education, careers, awards, net worth & more

Cynthia Morgan Biography: Early life and education

The Nigerian singer was born as Cynthia Ikponmwenosa Morgan on 23rd September 1991 in Benin City, Edo State. She grew up in her State of birth and completed her primary and secondary school there. According to an article written about her in 2016, she grew up with her mother as her father was absent for most of her childhood.

Her mother is allegedly a popular gospel singer in Benin City and she introduced Cynthia Morgan to the music world at an early age. When she was just three years old, she was already singing and her mother put her in the children’s choir in their local church. When she was old enough, she joined the youth choir and then, the Christian Union choir.

After secondary school, many believe that Cynthia Morgan did not further her education by going to the university; instead, she focused on pursuing a career in music. While we cannot ascertain if the singer never went on to study at a university, we did not find proof of otherwise.

Now, let us take a look at Cynthia Morgan’s music career.

Cynthia Morgan Biography: music career

At the age of 16, Cynthia Morgan, who now goes by the stage name of Madrina, was already making her own songs. While many were oblivious of her existence, she was already becoming popular locally as of 2007. Likely, it was this early popularity that helped her to meet Olayiwola Ibrahim Majekodunmi, also known as General PYPE, in 2008. PYPE was already a popular artiste at the time and together, he Cynthia Morgan released her debut single, Dutty Stepping in 2009.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k08c_n1Kh28[/embedyt]

Then, she moved to Lagos to further focus on her music. While she was there, she and Jhybo, whose real name is Adura Elijah, worked together on the evergreen rap track titled Ejo Le Fe Ro, released in 2010. Cynthia Morgan also went by the moniker, Killa Marshall. She released two other singles like High High High and Ojoro before she got a major record deal.

Cynthia Morgan signed to Northside Entertainment Inc. music label

On 22nd August 2013, Jude ‘Engees’ Okoye, who owned Northside Entertainment Inc., signed Cynthia Morgan to the company. Jude Okoye is the elder brother of Nigerian defunct pop duo Psquare and he had also been their manager. In November 2013, Cynthia Morgan released her first single under Northside Entertainment Inc. titled Don’t Break My Heart. She also dropped another track titled I’m Taken in January 2014.

Both songs received many positive reviews from fans and earned her nominations at award shows like The Headies, Nigeria Entertainment Awards and South South Music Awards. They also brought her fame as her name began to pop up when critics and music commenters talked about the Nigeria music scene.

Cynthia Morgan released what many consider her most popular song, German Juice, on 7th February 2015. German Juice was released under Northside Entertainment Inc. and it was produced by Tony Ross. The song won The Headies Award for Best Reggae/Dancehall Single in 2015. In the same award category was also Bad Girl Special (remix) on which Mr 2Kay had feature Cynthia Morgan and Sheyi Shay.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59kz-6GXKNo[/embedyt]

After releasing other singles in 2016, reports claimed that Cynthia Morgan was working on her debut album. But around the same time, she had issues with her record label and the fall out led to many unprecedented issues that we will explain in the next section. It was after these issues that she suddenly went off-grid and fans stopped getting new releases from her.

What happened between Cynthia Morgan and Northside Entertainment Inc.?

In 2017, a PUNCH article claimed that Cynthia Morgan was facing persecution from Jude Okoye’s wife. The problem had allegedly begun in 2016 after rumours claimed that she was having an affair with her record label’s boss. There was no evidence behind this report and it was likely to be untrue as none of the parties has confirmed this.

However, from confirmed reports, it seems like the issues are more about legal matters than moral ones. There are many aspects and angles to the story of what really happened to Cynthia Morgan at Northside Entertainment Inc. So, we will break what we discovered into fragments. However, bear in mind that each party portrays themselves in a positive light and we are left with a jumble of what seems like facts but the crux of the matter was missing. As it were, unless the parties released the actual contracts signed by both parties, treat their various accounts as each party’s account of their own version of the truth.

Cynthia Morgan changes her name to Madrina

News about Cynthia Morgan answering to a new name was already circulating in September 2017. On 8th May 2018, Cynthia Morgan rebranded herself as Madrina and released her first song Billion Dollar Woman under her new identity. By that time, she was no longer with Jude Okoye’s Northside Entertainment Inc. The dancehall artiste also claimed to be running her own establishment called TCMC (The Cynthia Morgan Company).

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XguzYcXUYU[/embedyt]

But why did Cynthia Morgan have to change her name to Madrina?

We don’t really know the answer to that but Cynthia addressed the question in a recent interview. However, her account was disputed by Jude Okoye. We will discuss the developments shortly.

Alleged financial Crisis in April 2018

We reported back in 2018 that Cynthia Morgan who now uses the stage name, Madrina, was embroiled in financial problems. The referenced article cites a PUNCH report that claimed that the singer’s landlord had taken her to court because she was owed up to a year’s worth of bills. Also, the report mentions that she had overstayed the six-month grace period given for her to move out of the apartment, which is in Omole, Lagos State.

Further compounding her woes, besides the NGN1.3 million she allegedly owed her landlord, the source said that Cynthia (now Madrina) Morgan owed NGN3.584 million in tax. In the same month in 2018, Adesua Etomi-Wellington had taken to her Twitter account to call for the singer’s return to the limelight. And on 25th April 2018, Cynthia Morgan posted on Instagram for the first time.

Cynthia Morgan confession on Instagram Live chat in 2020

On Saturday, 23 May 2020, the Nigerian rapper and singer revealed many things in an Instagram Live chat with Sandra Ogbebor (@msvanila7). See a few of them below:

1. Cynthia Morgan alleged that she had to change her name to Madrina because there were some legal issues surrounding her former stage name that she had not yet settled completely with Northside Entertainment Inc. CEO, Jude Okoye.
2. She also mentioned that she had been sick and was battling depression all along and thus had to withdraw from the public eye.
3. Peter Okoye (formerly part of the now-defunct P-Square) now known as Mr P had offered to sign her when he himself left his brother’s record label but she chose Jude Okoye because he appeared to understand the business more.
4. She claimed that her record label had not promoted her enough and had been more interested in shooting videos.

The Okoyes’ reaction to Cynthia Morgan’s confession

Peter Okoye was the first member of the Okoyes to weigh in on the matter after Cynthia Morgan’s confession went viral. He confirmed that the German Juice crooner had rejected his offer. He also stated that the decision he made to part ways with his brothers was not “never about the fame,  money or power! It was for my freedom.”

Read more: Peter Okoye weighs in on Cynthia Morgan’s confession; shades his brothers

However, following the bad publicity he was getting, Jude ‘Engees’ Okoye went Live on Instagram in response to Cynthia Morgan. He was on a live chat with the popular Instagram blogger, Tunde Ednut (@tundeednut).

Jude Okoye denied taking Cynthia Morgan’s stage name and says that her contract with his company had no mention of it owning the name. He added that Morgan’s manager at the time, Joy Tongo, had prepared the contract with her not him.

Additionally, he claims that Cynthia Morgan had already changed her name to Madrina even before she left Northside Entertainment Inc. Jude Okoye conceded that he took over the singer’s Vevo page because she owes him a sum of NGN40 million. The money he said had been used to shoot 13 videos for her at NGN3 million each. He mentioned buying her a Range Rover SUV and giving her money to buy a piece of land for her mother.

Joy Tongo’s reactions

Also, Joy Tongo, who claims to have been Cynthia Morgan’s manager before she became Madrina responded to her Instagram Live chat. She threatened to expose the singer for the many things she allegedly did to her and Jude Okoye and urged the singer to tell the truth.

Joy Tongo followed that up with a long statement she released on Instagram on Monday, 25 May 2020. According to the statement, Joy Tongo recounted how she met Cynthia and the lengths she went to sign her to Northside Entertainment Inc. She also claimed that Cynthia Morgan became unmanageable after her breakthrough singles, I AM Taken and German Juice, and will go on shows without the approval of her management or record label. Joy also stated that Cynthia wanted to leave the company to form her own imprint, and asked her to run it for her, which she declined. Following their frequent clashing, the pair parted ways in June 2016. Cynthia left Northside Entertainment Inc. less than a year later to float her own record label, The Cynthia Morgan Company.

Davido offers Cynthia (Madrina) Morgan a lifeline

In the midst of all the controversies involving Cynthia Morgan, Northside Entertainment Inc., Jude Okoye and Joy Tongo, David Adeleke popularly known as Davido has offered the singer what seems like a lifeline. On 24th May 2020, the CEO of DMW (Davido Music Worldwide) posted on his Twitter page:

“Cynthia Morgan call me …”

While there are not many details about what he could be offering her, it is likely that it will be a collaboration. See our report on this here. He has also followed the post with another one, writing: “Tell Cynthia I got an anthem for her… I’ll record my verse now”

And Cynthia Morgan herself, posting from a new account writes: “Madrina x Davido in the works.”

Sterling Bank offers to work with Cynthia (Madrina) Morgan

After Davido’s offer to collaborate with the singer who was slowly returning to limelight, Nigeria’s financial institution, Sterling Bank, also offered to work with her. Tweeting via its official Twitter handle, the banks writes: “Hey Cynthia Morgan, we have followed your story and believe there is a bright future ahead of you. We would like to work with you on our ONE BANK campaign. Please get in touch by DM.”

Joy Tongo releases Cynthia Morgan’s contract

Joy Tongo who had been Cynthia Morgan’s manager during her stay at Northside Music (formerly called Northside Entertainment Inc.) on Tuesday 26 May 2020 released details of the artist’s contract to the public. Important details from the released contract include:

1. It was signed on 12th October 2013 and was to last for four years with a two-year option renewal.
2. Since she was relatively new at the time, the record label agreed to take up 100 per cent of her expenses and then deduct 50 per cent from the Gross Profit received from the artist earning.
3. Cynthia Morgan and Northside Music had a 50/50 share on all her earnings.
4. Northside Music had the right to use her name and image in promoting and distributing her recordings.
5. The company owned the copyright to the songs produced.

Read the full contract here:  Twitter descends on Cynthia Morgan as Joy Tongo releases proof that she lied [photos].

The release of the contract raised a lot of brouhaha on social media and Nigeria became outraged at Cynthia with many calling her liar. The contract seems to here have supported Jude Okoye and Joy Tongo’s point of view than Cynthia’s.

GoFund me campaign

Following her interview, Sandra Ogbebor started a GoFundMe campaign to help Cynthia Morgan back to her feet. The campaign reads in part: “[Cynthia Morgan’s] contract with her music label ended due to some legal issues and shortly after that she took ill… An illness that nearly claimed her life. She spent well over a year in recovery. By the time it was over she had finished all her savings from music on hospital bills. She fell into a deep depression, refused to share her pain with anyone and decided to hide away in Benin city, broken and embarrassed.”

As of the morning of Thursday, 28 May 2020, the campaign has raised $1,722 raised of $150,000 target.

Cynthia Morgan second Instagram Live interview with Sandra Ogbebor

In response to these developments, Cynthia Morgan insisted that Jude Okoye took over her VEVO account and that she should be suing him. Jude has already admitted that during his interview with Tunde Ednut as reported above. She also added that her management had not helped matters. At one time, they had turned down a performance gig because the organisers wanted to pay NGN3.5 million while they wanted NGN4 million.

Cynthia Morgan also said in her second interview that Joy Tongo was a “big liar”. She explained that the terms of the contract meant that she had to pay all the money invested in her first before the 50/50 sharing formula would be used. Additionally, she said she didn’t want to sign a new contract while her old one was running because she wasn’t happy with the first contract.

Cynthia Morgan’s public letter #LetterFromCynthiaMorgan

On Wednesday 27 May 2020, Cynthia Morgan wrote an open letter via The Guardian to clear the air as Nigerians continued to call her a liar since many felt she misrepresented fact to tarnish the image of Jude Okoye and his Northside Music label.

In the letter, Cynthia maintained that she had “not lied but only shared my story as it happened from my own point of view.”

“[.] My heartfelt appreciation once again goes to JUDE and JOY. It is the pain speaking, not Cynthia. Thanks for giving me the platform to grow the Cynthia Morgan brand.

Cynthia also thanked her fans, Davido and the brands that have reached out to her, vowing not to take the new opportunity for granted.

Naturally, the letter raised a lot of interest on social media and many praised it for its maturity while some said, it was well thought out and written.

Find the letter here: Here is the official letter from Cynthia Morgan everyone was talking about

Cynthia Morgan songs as Madrina

After Cynthia Morgan had revealed that she would be using her new stage name, Madrina, she has released a couple of songs. As already stated, her first song as Madrina was Billion Dollar Woman. She also released Come And Do and Lion under the name. She also worked together with DJ Jimmy Jatt, Stonebwoy and MC Galaxy on the remix of Go Gaga in 2019.

Cynthia Morgan net worth

At this time, we do not have much information to provide on what Cynthia Morgan’s net worth is. Before she faced her alleged financial crisis, Cynthia Morgan seemed to have had a Coca-Cola endorsement as she appeared on Coke Studio Africa 4 in 2016. Watch below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g97_DcY4cuQ&feature=youtu.be&t=161

Final thoughts …

Cynthia Morgan is a natural when it comes to music and it is likely that even as Madrina now, she will be able to find her rhythm again. Looking at the biography of Cynthia Morgan, it is clear that the artiste has what it takes to return to the apex of fame. We hope that the legal issues are sorted out with her former record label and things return to normal.

In the bonus section, we will take a look at a list of some of Cynthia Morgan’s songs and also at the awards that she has won.

Bonus Cynthia Morgan information

Cynthia (Madrina) Morgan list of songs

1. Dutty Stepping (2009)
2. Right Move (2011)
3. High High High (2012)
4. Ojoro (2012)
5. Don’t Break My Heart (2014)
6. Lead Me On (2014)
7. I’m Taken (2014)
8. Popori (2014)
9. German Juice (2015)
10. Come and Do (2015)
11. Simati Niya (2015)
12. Asampo (2015)
13. Baby Mama (2015)
14. Olowo (2016)
15. Bubble Bup (2016)
16. No cameras (as Madrina) (2017)
17. Summer Time (as Madrina) (2017)
18. Billion Dollar Woman (as Madrina) (2018)
19. Lion (as Madrina) (2018)
20. Porshe Panamera (as Madrina) (2018)

Cynthia (Madrina) Morgan awards

1. Winner 2014 South South Music Awards for Best New Artist.
2. Winner 2014 ELOY Awards for Music Artist of The Year.
3. Winner 2015 South South Music Awards for Best Reggae/Dancehall.
4. Winner The Headies 2015 for Best Reggae Single.