Rap veteran Mista Styles set for vibrant return 

Veteran Nigerian rapper Mista Styles, formerly known as Freestyle ‘tha Shogun’ Essien, is set to return to the Nigerian music scene with revamped energies. The former founding member and one-third of the now defunct Nigerian rap trio, The Trybesmen, has told Weekend Beats that he is set to drop new music again. 

Born Mfon Bassey Essien, the Nigerian-American maverick has built a solid legacy as a rapper, songwriter and music producer. His enigma has shone across his unique fusion of Hip-hop, High-life, Pop, Amapiano and contemporary Afrobeats.  
Born in the ‘80s, the Ibibio lyricist is a core part of Nigeria’s music history. As a part of The Trybesmen, he helped in churning out classics such as Shake Bodi, Plenty Nonsense, Asiko Laye, Rock The Mic, among others. These are all well documented within the Ayo Sonaiya produced Netflix docu-series, “Afrobeats: The Backstory.” 

Mista Styles won the Best Rap Album award in 2007 at The Headies after releasing Free At Last, his debut solo studio album (2006) which included monster collaborations like Sip Easy, featuring 2face Idibia, Celebrity (If I Hustle My Money), as well as fan favourites such as Bragging Rights featuring Blaise, Omo Ele featuring Sasha and C-mion. He also won the 2008 Teen’s Favourite Award as Best Rap Artiste, and is also a United Nations Young Ambassador for Peace.

Over the years, he has endeared his listeners with his typical rapid-fire, machine gun flow, and catchy lyrics from collaborations like 2face Idibia’s Ole and Sunny Neji’s If E No Love You to singles like Ariwo ko. 

In 2021, he founded the record label Evoke Musik, to which acts Jethro Lion, Phoenix Amol, Superwoman Kel and Riley Firedou have been signed. Mista Styles is set to drop his new single next month and we can’t wait to hear all the rhythm and poetry as well as mind blowing lyricism and flows.