When Goke Oludare, the publisher of Bubbles magazine and myself got these guys together in Festac to shoot the cover image for the magazine around late 2002 or early 2003, Plantashun Boiz were still the hottest music properties in the country. Of this Hip-Hop generation, the only music group close to the feats attained by the Plantashun Boiz is the group Styl-Plus. Although Styl- Plus recorded great achievements in their prime, they are far removed from the level of the impact made by Plantashun Boiz. Prior to the release of the Boiz’ debut album ‘Body & Soul,’ I would like to look at some great songs the duo of 2face and Blackface made count.

In 1999, the vocals of 2face on Tony Tetuila’s monster hit ‘Omode Meta N Sere’ which also featured Ruff Rugged and Raw, is arguably one that sold that single. This song created media frenzy; it led to unprecedented conversations in the industry. The song introduced Plantshun Boiz (then without Faze). That song also brought out the real beast in Eedris Abdulkareem who used that rivalry to deliver some epic songs over the years. Not to forget, that same year, maybe earlier, 2face also featured on Tony Tetuila’s ‘Your Kind of Woman.’
That song was also a hit.

Year 2000, the Plantashun Boiz delivered one of the best music albums from this Hip-Hop era, produced by Nelson Brown and released under his Dove Records imprint. The album was produced and recorded in three
studios. They started production at Jahoha Studios owned by artiste Mighty Mouse. They also recorded at Femi Lasode’s Even Ezra Studios and Dolphins Studios. Song for song, it will be hard to find a body of work that can compete with the album ‘Body & Soul’ except maybe Asa’s debut album. But considering the circumstances surrounding when ‘Body & Soul’ was released – an era where several folks had doubts whether Hip-Hop/ R&b music could produce materials as such, that album with tracks like ‘You & I,’ ‘Knock Me Off,’ ‘Emmema,’ ‘Don’t You Know’ and ‘Cousin’s Cousin,’ will remain one of the best ever from this country. It changed the narratives and cleared the path the new generation artistes are walking today.

2003, they released their sophomore album ‘Sold Out.’ Just like the name of the album, they had nothing more to offer to the group and it was evident they will part ways. I remember this album was mastered at Agos Studios in Apapa. With tracks like ‘One ‘n’ Only,’ ‘Let U Go’ and ‘Situation’ to name a few, it became an instant classic.

‘If it’s from Plantashun Boiz, it can’t be wrong!’ – That was the effect the group had. They toured everywhere in this country and performed anywhere that A-list is associated with. Although T-Joe entertainment lured them back into the studios with a lot of money to record a comeback album titled ‘Plan B’ in 2007, the Boiz had already made so much success individually, the money and their egos couldn’t be contained in a studio booth. That said, the Plantashun Boiz will
remain one of the best music groups ever from this country.

– Sesan Adeniji

Culled from the latest edition of Mystreetz( DJ Neptune edition )