You probably never knew these people were
Nigerians. While it is public that Sade Adu,
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chamillionaire, Wale, Tine
Tempah and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje are
Nigerians, there are still a couple more in the
entertainment industry that you never knew.
Have a quick dive in.
This list has dug a little deeper and discovered 7
more celebrities you never thought could be
Nigerian.
Get ready to be shocked as we present you 7
well-known International celebs who are Fellow
Nigerians;
1) Hugo Weaving- Do you remember Agent Smith
in Matrix? Yes! Neo’s arch-rival is Nigerian.
How? Well the 53 year old actor was born in
Nigeria at the University College Hospital in
Ibadan. This makes him Nigerian by birth. His
parents moved back to England a year after.
Hugo Weaving has acted in several blockbusters
such as V For Vendetta, The Matrix Trilogy and
Lord of The Rings Trilogy, Transformers Trilogy,
The Hobbit Trilogy and Captain America. Who
said Ibadan boys don’t go far?
2) Taio Cruz- The 25 year old British singer is of
Nigerian heritage. He was born to a Nigerian
father and Brazilian mother. Taio Cruz who
started penning songs at 12, began writing
professionally 7 years later. He released his
debut album Departure in 2008. The following
year he released his sophomore Rokstarr which
featured the hit song ‘Dynamite’. He dropped his
3rd album TY.O three years ago. Taio Cruz has
won several awards including the BRIT Awards,
Billboard Music Awards, ASCAP Awards and
American Music Awards.
3) Tyler the Creator- Yes, do not be shocked.
The ‘Black Eminem’ is Nigerian. Tyler the
Creator’s actual names are Tyler Okonma. His
father is Igbo. The leader of the music collective
‘Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All’ claims he
never met his father. Maybe that is why he is not
too fond of him. In 2009 Tyler released his first
album Bastard. His buzz started growing from
then on mainly backed by his offensive,
homophobic and disgusting lyrics. He released
his second album Goblin two years later and
became a national sensation without the backing
of any major record label in America. He released
his third album Wolf this year.
4) Dizzie Rascal- Dizzie (Dylan Kwabena Mills) is
one of the most respected rappers in the UK and
also happens to be Nigerian. His Nigerian father
died when he was young and he was raised by
his Ghanaian mum. He had a rebellious
childhood and that’s how he got the name
Rascal. He was a friend of Nigerian footballer
Danny Shittu when he was a kid. At 16 he
produced his first single ‘I Luv U’ and in 2002
formed the collective Roll Deep Crew. Dizzie
Rascal has released 5 solo albums till date
making him one of the biggest rappers in the UK.
He performed at the opening ceremony of the
2012 Olympics in London and won the Best
International Act at the BET Awards in 2010.
5) Richard Ayoade- This is another Brit-Nigerian.
Richard Ayoade was born to a Nigerian father
and Norwegian mother. The 36 year old
comedian, actor and writer has written several
awards winning stage plays in the UK. He is also
a known face on British TV having starred in the
highly popular The IT Crowd. He made his
Hollywood debut in 2012 after starring in the
comedy The Watch alongside Ben Stiller, Vince
Vaughn and Jonah Hill.
6) Donald Adeosun Faison: Fans of the popular
television Comedy-drama “Scrubs” would know
this one. Not only is he one of our favorite
character, you probably didn’t know this
American actor’s middle name is Yoruba.
7) Lemar: Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978),
professionally known simply as Lemar, is an
English R&B singer–songwriter and record
producer. His Nigerian fans probably didn’t know
that the UK singer who was born in Tottenham,
England is son to Nigerian parents of Enugu
State, South Eastern Nigeria.