CELEBRITY SERIES: GET FAMILIAR WITH THE BIOGRAPHY OF 2FACE UJAH IDIBIA

You dont have to knee before music icons and celebrities to know who they are, we let their works speak for them. In this Weekend Episode of "Get familiar with your favourite celebrity" we have the biography of 2Baba on our list. Read and don't stop getting familiar.

Birth
Innocent Ujah Idibia . A.K.A. 2baba was born in the infamously unpredictable city of Jos. Plateau State Nigeria. 2baba was born into Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, Mid-eastern Nigeria. He is of the Idoma ethnic group.

Education
2Face attended Mount Saint Gabriel's Secondary School in Makurdi, Benue State. He then studied at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) for a National Diploma certificate in Business Administration.

His crave for music made him abandon education to concentrate on his musical talents, no wonder he sang in his music titled: “Them Bad o”. However, having a

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view of the huge prospects for a career in music; signposted by the warm crowd reception during his performances at shows and parties organized by IMT and other tertiary institutions of learning in the cities like that of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) and the Enugu campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

2face unsurprisingly hit regional limelight long before ditching academic pursuit, while composing and singing jingles for the then-famous radio show, GB Fan Club, on the Enugu State Broadcasting Services (ESBS) in 1996.

Career
He relocated to Lagos and reunited with Black Face (Ahmedu Augustine Obiabo), a co- student of Mount Saint Gabriel Secondary School and Undergraduate of the institute of Management Technology, IMT.

 They co- founded the hip-hop band “Plantashun Boyz” which grew to become one of the most favoured in Nigerian Music industry.

The group expounded when Chibuzor Orji, known as Faze added to its number.

2Face became an adopted name in 1996.

In an interview with British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), he explained that the name 2face was assumed as a demarcation between his personal life and business life.

The group broke up and 2face released his first album in 2004 Titled: Face 2 Face.

It was an enormous success, first in Nigeria, then Africa, Europe, and the rest of the world. He became more successful after realizing his most internationally accepted track African Queen in the same year and was used in the soundtrack for internationally circulated American film, Phat Girlz.

In 2006, he followed up Face 2 Face’s success with the release of Grass 2 Grace, which sold more than a million copies within a week of release. 2face also realized released The Unstoppable in (2008) and its International Edition (2010) also he released Away and Beyond in (2012). Following the success of the three albums he released head to head, a fond admiration now gave him the latest public title: 2Baba.

Among the many feats he pioneered in the Nigerian music industry, 2Face is reputed to be the first Nigerian artist to have an appropriately priced international album. He is also the first non-Liberian to be honoured with honorary membership of the Liberian Music Society, due to his immense contribution to the growth of music on the continent. He has also recorded songs with a number of foreign artistes, including Beenie Man and Mary J. Blige and R. Kelly.

After quitting music label Kennis Music, he set up his own record label, Hypertek Entertainment which can boost of successful young artistes like DammyKrane.

Social Work
2Face established the Tuface Idibia Foundation, as a vehicle for extending charity to the less privileged in line with its motto: service to humanity. 2face was an ambassador of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in 2009. A short period after his appointed he released a track ‘Man Unkind,’ to drum support for the campaign against fake and substandard food and drug products in the country. His contributions have been recognized by the public, leading to his naming as an International Youth Ambassador for Peace Summit. He was also honoured with the Nigeria Youth Merit Award by National Youth Council of Nigeria.

Awards

2Face has won several awards. Some of them are:

Best Male Vocalist 2002, Affinity Awards

Music of the Year 2004, Excellence Recognition Awards

Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Industry 2004, Award for Excellence

Best Male Vocalist 2004, A.M.E.N Awards

Song of the Year 2004, A.M.E.N Awards

Best New Act Male 2004, A.M.E.N Awards

Best Video 2004, A.M.E.N Awards

Song of the Year for ‘African Queen’ 2004, Nigeria Entertainment Awards New York

Best Album of the Year 2004, Nigeria Entertainment Awards New York

Best Hip Hop and R&B Artiste 2004, Nigeria Entertainment Awards New York

Musician of the Year 2004, City People Awards for Excellence

Best Male Video 2005, Channel O Music Video Awards

Best African Video of the Year 2005, Channel O Music Video Awards

Unarguably one of the country’s — an indeed the continent’s — most celebrated and adored artistes, 2Face has been involved with music for nearly two decades. In the period, he has not only earned himself cult followership among music fans all over the world but has gone on to become a figure of inspiration to several thousand young, aspiring musicians. But the transcontinental success, fame and acceptability that have come to define the 2Face brand were anything but swift!