Azeez Adeshina Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter born 10 May 1991. Naira Marley is one of the upcoming artists in Nigeria with a lot of influence. He is having a controversial fan base which he named “Marlians”. Naira Marley is popularly known for one of his hit songs, “Soapy” which he released in 2019.

Azeez Adeshina Sanyaolu (born 10 May 1991), known professionally as Naira Marley, is a British-Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is known as the president of his controversial fan base, “Marlians

Naira Marley started his career in 2014 and was tagged as the most notorious artist in afro-beats. He owns a record label, marlian records which he announced on the 30th of December 2019 during the Marlian Fest at Eko Hotels and Suites.

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source: Instagram @nairamarley

State Of Origin

Naira Marley was born in Agege, Lagos State, Nigeria but moved to Peckham, South London, England at age 11. He studied at Parlock Hall before later moving to Walworth School where he finished his secondary education.

Wife

Naira Marley revealed that he is having two wives who are all British citizens but didn’t reveal their names. However, Naira Marley’s first wife gave him sons, and his second wife gave him two daughters, making Naira Marley a father of four childre

Children

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source: Instagram @nairamarley

Naira Marley has four children, with the first set being twins, two girls. His first wife gave birth to twins, Aishat and Simiat on 21 April 2015 and are both 5 years old.

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source: Instagram @nairamarley

Farouq Fashola is Naira Marley’s third child and the first son of the family. He was born on 30 October 2015 and is also 5 years old. The fourth also being the last child of Naira Marley, Fawaz Fashola was born on 7th April 2018 and is currently 2 years old.

Education

At the age of 11, he moved to Peckham, South London, England. Marley graduated with a distinction in business from Peckham Academy. He also studied business law at Crossways College (now Christ the King Sixth Form College).

Career

2014–2018: Career beginnings

While growing up, Naira Marley had plans of becoming an MC and a voice-over artist. He began singing in 2014 after discovering his passion for music and was encouraged by close-knit friends to pursue his music career. He released the Max Twigz-assisted track “Marry Juana” before releasing his debut EP Gotta Dance in 2015.

In December 2017, he released the Olamide and Lil Kesh-assisted single “Issa Goal”, which became the theme song for the Super Eagles at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The official remix of “Issa Goal” was released on 16 June 2018; it features vocals by Olamide, Lil Kesh, Falz, Simi and Slimcase.

Naira Marley sings in English, Pidgin and Yoruba; his music is a blend of Afrobeats and hip-hop. He derived his stage name from Jamaican singer Bob Marley, whom he admires; his dreadlocks are also a tribute to the singer.

2019–present: “Am I A Yahoo Boy”, “Soapy” and Lord of Lamba

Naira Marley released the Zlatan-assisted track “Am I A Yahoo Boy”  on 3 May 2019, and was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that same day. He released “Soapy” on 27 June 2019, a few days after he was released from prison. On 11 January 2020, he won Viewers’ Choice for “Soapy” at the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards.

On 18 December 2019, Naira Marley released his second EP Lord of Lamba which was a mixture of Afrobeats and hip-hop. The EP comprises 6 tracks and features guest artists such as CBlvck, Young John and Mayorkun. Its production was handled by Killertunes, Rexxie and Studio Magic.

Marlian Records

During the “Marlian Fest”, which was held at the Eko Hotels and Suites on 30 December 2019, Naira Marley announced the launch of his record label Marlian Records and unveiled CBlvck, Zinoleesky, MohBad and Fabian Blu as signed acts.

On 10 July 2020, Naira Marley took to his Instagram Page to unveil another act under his label, named: Emo Grae with a new single and visual titled 0903 featuring Buju.

2021: God’s Timing Is The Best (GTTB) Album

On 21 June 2021, the renowned and award-winning musician announced in a post he made on his verified Instagram handle that he will be dropping a new album.

According to him, the album is tagged ‘God’s Timing Is The Best’ and he will be releasing it after releasing the official video for his ‘COMING’ track.

Controversies

EFCC arrest

On 10 May 2019, the EFCC arrested Naira Marley and his friends Zlatan, Tiamiu Kayode, Adewunmi Moses, Micheal “Taqueesh” Adenuga and Abubakar Musa. The arrest was made a day after Marley released the video for the controversial single “Am I A Yahoo Boy”. Five days later, the EFCC released Zlatan and three others but kept Marley in custody due to the evidence against him. On 16 May 2019, the EFCC charged him with 11 counts of fraud before a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos. On 19 May 2019, Zlatan released the single “4 Nights In Ekohtiebo” while Marley was still in prison. In it, he talks about his industry friends, foes and other people who he admired and how they came through for him. In May 2019, Marley was arraigned before the Federal High Court and pleaded not guilty; a bail hearing was set for 30 May 2019. On the day of the bail hearing, Marley released “Why”, a song that was accompanied by an image of him in handcuffs. On 14 June 2019, he was released from jail 14 days after being granted ₦2,000,000 bail. A few days later, he released “Soapy”, a track about the sexual habits of inmates in detention.

In October 2019, Marley returned to court to face the charges. His case was later adjourned to 27 February 2020 after an EFCC witness testified against him.

Flouting lockdown order

Marley was detained by the Nigerian Police Force for contravening the lockdown order imposed on Lagos State by President Muhammadu Buhari to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country. On 13 June 2020, he performed at a concert in Abuja despite the interstate travel ban and social distancing rules aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. He was arraigned by the FCT Administration before a mobile court in Abuja over the concert.

Valentine’s Concert In Cameroon

On Saturday 13 February 2021, a report surfaced online that the highly anticipated Valentine’s Concert by Marley in Cameroon had been canceled by government authorities in the country. The concert had already been postponed twice by the organizer and moved to different venues, but was later cancelled entirely by authorities in the country due to jealousy on the part of Cameroonian entertainers who are displeased with the traction Nigerian music and musicians have in Cameroon.