SPOTLIGHT: Daddy Showkey, The Icon That Inspired A Generation

Daddy Showkey is a veteran Nigerian singer whose relevance is still very apparent in mainstream pop culture today. The singer, born as John Asiemo, but now popularly addressed as Daddy Showkey is regarded as the father of Ghetto music in Nigeria.

With only two albums pegged to his name, “The Name” and “Welcome” Showkey has successfully stamped his place in the hearts of Ghetto music lovers.

Today in our Spotlight, we take a look at Showkey’s career and how he has successfully been able to influence his generation and this generation.

In 1991, Showkey’s Dyna rocked the homes of many Nigerians on a different scale, both rich and poor, old and young got engaged with the song as it had a line to it that everyone can relate to.

Music Career

If you have ever listened to a Daddy Showkey song, you would tell that the sound is so different from what is considered normal. With Showkey, it was on another level of Mediocre infused from a place of truth to bear the Ghetto Dancehall genre of Music in Nigeria.

With only 11 singles to his name, Showkey successfully brought deeper attention to the slums and ghetto parts of Lagos Nigeria.

Daddy Showkey is still considered the godfather of this genre, leading the pack – closely followed behind by Baba Fryo and Daddy Fresh at that time

But the entire popularity of the Ghetto Dancehall started to dwindle in the latter part of the 2000s.

Generational Relevance

In recent times, Daddy Showkey has been portrayed as the face of the ghetto in which he loudly represents in any of his creative efforts. In the pop culture in Nigeria, Showkey has influenced a lot of younger generation, maybe not with his genre of music but with the notion of the need to stay original to the cause.

In critically acclaimed Nollywood Movies, Showkey still sits at a position where he is always representing the ghetto communities.

In a 2019 Movie, Seven, Showkey played the role of a bad gang leader with little or no care for protocol in which he represented the ghetto community as well.

While Showkey may not have the same struggles with people living in the ghetto, the entertainer has chosen to identify with them on various levels.