“TUFACE vs. TOPE ALABI: Lyrics stealing allegations flying around!”

The whole world knows that Mr. Innocent Ujah Idibia, aka, “Tuface,” or “2Face,” or “Tubaba,” or “2Baba” and Mrs. Tope Alabi, aka, “Agbo Jesu,” are worlds apart in their singing careers. Although, both of them are incredibly popular in their individual department, however, Tuface is a secular Rhythm & Blues (R&B) singer while Tope Alabi is a gospel/Christian crooner. But what could have informed the recent allegations flying around the rumor mills was astonishing. Those who are in the know actually didn’t want to believe that Tuface intentionally or surreptitiously stole Tope Alabi’s lyrics as is being alleged currently.

What brought the whole saga into the open was Tope Alabi’s newly released album, “ANGELI MI: Reloaded!” marketed and distributed by NPC Records.Audioworks –a Bioku Holdings Company. This repackaged wonder is simply a remake (with additional tracks) of the previous 8-track title, Angeli Mi, released in 2008 by Remdel Optimum Communication (ROC) under license from NPC Records.Audioworks –a Bioku Holdings Company.

In 2006, the copyright owners, NPC Records.Audioworks, had previously released the full version of the original “Angeli Mi” in the United States of America, and subsequently posted all the tracks online, for digital downloads and MP3 albums sales via CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com) and thousands of other online distributors.

In Tope Alabi’s new “ANGELI MI: Reloaded!” the first track on this phenomenon is cleverly titled, “E ma ro’pe…,” meaning “don’t think that....”

The lyrics go further than that, though. The religious warning in that new album is the gospel truth, which Tope Alabi told about folks who are fond of looking contemptuously down on the less fortunate in our society. Tope Alabi is using her lyrics to remind those naysayers that “no condition is permanent” when she warns that: “E ma ro’pe ko le l’owo mo, eni t’o n je’gungun si maa j’eran…,” meaning, “don’t think that the downtrodden can no longer become affluent, the bone scraper will eventually become a meat glutton…” and so on and so forth.

However, the gist goes further that Tuface’s lyrical culpability is predicated upon what he “preached” in his mid-2010 album entitled, “The Unstoppable.“ In that album, there’s a monster track, “Only me,” which the chorus goes like this: “Malo ro pe, omo kpe iwo nikan lo ma lowo…. Malo ro pe no be gbogbowa wey go make this money” meaning “Don’t ever think, old boy, that you alone will monopolize the affluence…. Don’t ever think that all of us will not end up making this money.” With the track and, in particular, the chorus in question, one would recall then how numerous fans and foes of Tuface went all over the Net accusing him of actually targeting and abusing Mikel Obi – the Nigerian international footballer over a “personality beef” between the two crazily famous individuals. It was alleged then that Mikel Obi was chilling at a cool spot when “2Face” walked up to him in order to hobnob with him. The word on the Street then was that Mikel Obi snubbed and “dissed” “Tuface” right on the spot! However, better late than never, “TuBaba” had since come out to debunk the insane idea of a beef with Mikel Obi in a Twitter message he sent out to all his fans and foes alike immediately after.

Okay now, what’s Tope Alabi’s own in the supposed “fracas” between “2Face” and Mikel Obi? The row here (in the latest controversy of “lyrics stealing”) is that since the copyright owners of Tope Alabi’s work, Angeli Mi, released it on both the physical CD and Internet digital distributions way back in 2006 in the USA, there’s the possibility of anyone from any corners of the Universe (with an access to the Internet) including a Mr. Innocent Idibia (2Face) to have had a prior “knowledge” of the work and the lyrics contained in it.

Now, let’s break it down step-by-step:

“Tubaba” is certainly not a Yoruba. He hails from the Idoma ethnic group of Benue State. He lived in Ibo land, briefly, before he relocated to Lagos State (a Yoruba territory) where he has continued to live ever since. “Tuface” is definitely not a native speaker of the Yoruba language. But, it should be noted that the majority of Nigerians learn, know, and speak Yoruba fluently. (Even Odumegwu Ojukwu [an Ibo fallen former warlord] spoke Yoruba fluently and also communicated with folks better in Yoruba)

On the other hand, Tope Alabi is a Yoruba born Christian singer. Her mother is said to be an Egba woman from Abeokuta in Ogun State while some say that her father is from Yewa area or Badagry or Topo or Pastor Bilewu Oshofa’s mother’s Imeko area of Egbado or probably coming from an Egun tribe very close to the border with the Republic of Benin. Also, it should be noted that many Yoruba speaking folks (the Anangos) could be seen in Togo, Dahomey, Porto Novo, and other areas of the Benin Republic.

By and large, Tope Alabi is a real Yoruba woman. So, if “Tuface” like millions of Nigerians, who are not native speakers, attempts to sing or rap or read poetry in Yoruba it may not be as seamless as that of a born and bred (real) Yoruba. For instance, in Mr. Idibia’s written lyrics above one can clearly notice the letter “k” being put before “pe.” This is the mode of spelling by the Ibo people or probably other minority groups in Eastern Nigeria. Yoruba people don’t put a “k” before a “p.” It is not impossible to see an Ibo man or woman write “apala” (a Yoruba genre of music) as “akpala,” which will definitely look so odd and read very funny should a real Yoruba person be asked to read it aloud. And, folks should remember that Mr. Idibia once lived in Ibo land before moving to Yorubaland, which probably informed his putting a “k” before a “p.” Without sounding like a broken record, folks, the difference is clear.

Hmmm, let’s see:

TOPE ALABI:
Her “Angeli Mi” album was first released in the USA in year 2006 both on physical cd and online digital distributions e.g., www.cdbaby.com; the lyrics in question can be listened to in her new release, “ANGELI MI: Reloaded!”

“TUFACE” IDIBIA:
His “The Unstoppable” album, which contained the controversial track, “Only me,” was released in May 2010. This same track contains the alleged stolen lyrics that rumor mongers said he used to abuse Mikel Obi.

TOPE ALABI:
She is a native speaker of the Yoruba language.

“TUFACE” IDIBIA:
Maybe a non-native writer, reader, and speaker of the Yoruba language like millions of Nigerians.

TOPE ALABI:
“E ma ro’pe” is a full track on the album, “Angeli MI,” and now also on, “ANGELI MI: Reloaded!”

“TUFACE” IDIBIA:
“Malo rope…” is a chorus inside the controversial track, “Only Me.”


All of the above is as clear as crystal or clean as a whistle.

However, what is still baffling to many fans of both singers (yours truly included) is how close in meaning those said lyrics are. They both sang about money and sounded a warning about its acquisition or the lack thereof. Although, Tope Alabi warned in "E ma ro'pe..." that folks should desist from looking disdainfully at the less privileged because no one knows tomorrow. Tuface, on the other hand, warned in “Malo ro pe…” that a “targeted” individual should not claim a monopoly on riches.

Lyrics stealing? Nobody knows.

Coincidence? Maybe.

Just maybe.


--Olasunkanmi Olaheavy