Afrobeats icon, Innocent Ujah Idibia, popularly known as 2Face or 2Baba, has addressed the long-standing controversy surrounding the authorship of his breakthrough hit, African Queen.
In a recent episode of the 234 Mzansi Podcast, co-hosted by comedian and actor Chinedu Ani Emmanuel, aka Nedu, 2Baba responded to repeated claims by his former bandmate, Blackface, who has accused him of stealing the song.
Clarifying the origin of the 2004 classic, 2Baba stated that African Queen was a collaborative effort between both of them, although he was responsible for writing most of it.
“It’s a collabo. I wrote most of the song actually, but we wrote the song together basically… He [Blackface Naija] will come to his senses one day,” the music legend said.
2Baba also expressed his confusion over why Blackface continues to push the narrative that the song was stolen, despite their shared creative input.
African Queen became a global anthem and helped catapult 2Baba into international fame. It marked a historic moment for Afrobeats, earning him major accolades including the MTV Europe Music Award, MOBO Award, and making him the first African joint winner of the BET Awards.
The song holds several milestones—it was the first track played on MTV Base Africa and served as the soundtrack for the 2006 Hollywood romantic comedy film, Phat Girlz.
Despite the accolades and recognition, the song’s legacy has remained clouded by the lingering dispute between 2Baba and Blackface.
