IN 2015, his song, ‘Classic Man’ debuted at number 49 on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-hop Airplay chart; it was nominated for Best Rap/Song Collaboration at the 58th Grammy Awards, and scored a pivotal scene in Moonlight. In June of the same year, he performed the song with Monáe at the BET Awards and also received an award for Best New Artist at the 2015 Soul Train Music Awards in November 2016. He is a Nigerian. His name is Jidenna Theodore Mobisson.
With that single song that matched his hyper-stylized image, Jidenna seemed to be the very model of a one-hit wonder. Then came his debut album, ‘The Chief’, released on February 17, 2017, which included the 90s-style banger, Long Live the Chief, The Let Out (with Quavo of Migos) and Bambi, a song about a married ex-girlfriend.
Born in 1985 in Wisconsin, U.S., to a Nigerian father and an American mother, the singer who had his early childhood years in Enugu and Lagos before moving with his family to Boston, Massachusetts at the age of nine, loves to flaunt his Nigerian roots by wearing traditional Nigerian print outfits. Aside being an artiste, he’s “aggressive about being progressive” and wants to foster a tech boom in Africa. “I’m out here to rule a decade, bro,” he said.
His father named him Jidenna which means ’embracing the father’ in Igbo. And today, he has earned for himself the moniker, ‘The Chief’, becoming one of Nigeria’s biggest exports to the world in the process.
Signed to Janelle Monae’s Wondaland Records, and distributed via a subsidiary of Epic Records, record executives were so excited by the ‘Classic Man’ single that they wanted a speedy release, even before Jidenna had any other solo songs ready.
“The classic man is a distinguished gentleman,” Jidenna said of the message of his song. “He keeps his gloves dirty but his hands clean. He is absolutely certain that less is more, that actions speak louder than words, and that quality is better than quantity. He avoids making excuses and accepts both praise and criticism with the same cool. He doesn’t like to complain unless it’s funny or interesting. A classic man is observant, so he is naturally concerned with the details of his appearance and the presentation of his reputation. Thus, he is sharp in mind, body, and style.”
His late dad, Chief Oliver Mobisson, attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on a government fellowship. Upon his return with Jidenna’s American mother, he worked at Enugu State University and created ASUTECH 800, one of the first computers to be manufactured in the country.
After a horrible experience with kidnappers, Jidena’s mother relocated to the United States with him, while his father joined them years later. As Jidenna recalls, his dad, who was always very stern, became very irrational after suffering a heart attack. He went from demanding perfect grades to berating his son for becoming first in his class. “Ah-ah, you’re number one, now what will you do? Now you can only go down from number one! Why are you number one?”
However, in the last months of Chief Oliver’s life, father and son finally bonded over his ability to create music. And Jidenna said his father even gave him some advice.
“He said, ‘If you’re gonna do music, make sure you put a mirror to the world, so people see themselves,” Jidenna who majored in Ritualistic Arts at Stanford University, said.
“Make sure you invent yourself; you invent music that’s never been heard. Invent an album that’s never been done. If you are not innovative, then you are not my son.”
Jidenna took the advice. According to him, “my father did something to my brain where I’m always searching for extreme excellence.”
Today, fans describe him as Nigeria’s export to the world.
