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For years, he was the voice behind anthems that shaped a generation: songs like Gongo Aso and Street Credibility that dominated radios and street corners across Nigeria. But in a recent interview, Alexander Adegbola Akande, better known as 9ice, peeled back the layers of fame to reveal something far deeper (and far darker) than anyone expected.
At 45, 9ice is no longer just a veteran of the Nigerian music industry. He’s now a man on a spiritual mission. And it began, he says, the day he started vomiting blood.“It wasn’t a medical condition. I just kept throwing up blood… for six months.”
The year was 2009. At the height of his career, 9ice says he faced something no one saw coming: a mysterious illness that defied every medical diagnosis. He was vomiting blood continuously. Alone, terrified, and without answers. “I had to leave my own house,” he recounted. “Doctors didn’t know what was wrong. I was scared I was going to die.”
It wasn’t until someone referred him to an Ifa priest, that things changed. “From that moment, I regretted not knowing Ifa earlier.” That turning point didn’t just heal his body. It completely rewired his belief system. “I’m not a Christian. I’m not a Muslim. I’m a traditionalist.”
In an age where artists often present curated perfection, 9ice’s honesty felt raw. He said the near-death experience pushed him away from organized religion and led him back to what he now calls his true spiritual heritage.
Today, he identifies as a Babalawo; a Yoruba priest, a spiritual custodian of ancient African wisdom. “I’m an African. I’ve embraced Ifa. It saved my life when nothing else could.”
But what truly raised eyebrows was what came next. “The devil is the choirmaster,” 9ice said quietly, but firmly. In his eyes, the music industry isn’t just about beats and hits. It’s a spiritual battlefield and too many don’t even know they’re in a war. “That’s why we smoke. That’s why we fall. Music isn’t neutral. It carries spirits and the devil is deeply involved.”
He’s not speaking metaphorically. 9ice believes that beneath the glitz of fame lies a spiritual cost most people are unaware of. “If you’re coming into this industry, understand where you’re stepping into. There are consequences. You have to be spiritually ready.”
In tracing his journey, 9ice pointed to someone who had walked a similar path decades earlier: Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti. “Fela used to go to Ogun. People laughed at him. Now? I understand.” He says Fela wasn’t crazy; he was misunderstood. He saw the spiritual weight of art before most people could name it.
9ice ended the interview with a challenge; not just to artists, but to every African who has ever been taught to fear their own heritage. “Our ancestors were not evil. The way we demonise our own culture, it’s wrong.”
For him, embracing African spirituality isn’t just a personal choice. It’s a political and cultural reclamation. “It’s time to stop pretending” In a world where celebrity interviews often feel scripted, this one hit differently. 9ice didn’t just come to talk hits. He came to talk healing, spirits, and survival. And in doing so, he left behind not just a message, but a mirror. Are we ready to face what lies beneath the music?
