Sixteen years ago today, Nigeria lost one of its most influential music voices. Oladapo Olaitan Olaonipekun, known globally as Dagrin, died on April 22, 2010, following a motor accident. He was 22. 

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Dagrin’s career was brief but seismic. In under two years, he moved indigenous rap from the margins to the center of Nigerian pop culture. Albums like C.E.O and anthems such as Pon Pon Pon, Kondo, and Thank God blended raw street narrative with Yoruba lyricism, creating a blueprint countless artists still follow.

His death left a void, but his influence only expanded. Artists including Olamide, Phyno, Reminisce, and Zlatan have all acknowledged his role in paving the way for vernacular rap to thrive commercially. To a generation of fans, Dagrin remains the “lyrical troublemaker” who made their reality rhyme.

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Today, tributes are pouring in from across the entertainment industry. Online memorials, freestyle challenges, and street art installations are happening in Lagos, Ibadan, and Abeokuta under the theme “CEO Not Dead”. 

Dagrin proved that your language isn’t a limitation, it’s your superpower, 6 years later, every bar we drop in our mother tongue is standing on his shoulders.