Throwback Thursday: Remembering the iconic Nigerian hip-hop group, The Remedies

The Remedies comprising of Eedris Abdulkareem, Eddy Remedy and Tony Tetuila was the famous hip-hop group of the late nineties that started a revolution on the music scene.

In 1997, the trio of Eedris Abdulkareem, Eddy Remedy and Tony Tetuila together called, 'The Remedies' stormed the charts, pioneered a new generation of talents and ultimately won the hearts of many.

They were three individuals with distinct styles and a unique appeal that it broke the hearts of many when the group eventually separated in the early 2000s.

Eedris Abdulkareem was the rapper and most vocal of the three, he is fiery, controversial, and the frontman of the group.

The tongue-twisting, towel wearing rapper who attracted criticisms with his style continues to keep his career active with over 6 studio albums including the classic, Pass in 2001, Mr Lecturer in 2002 and Jagajaga in 2004.

Eedris is also quite reputable for his constant contentious comments.

Eddy Remedy was the man with the melodies, he was the butter to Eedris's knife, the one with the smooth voice that gave the music the right balance.

Then there was Tony Tetuila, the 'platinum head bombshell', who as a member of the group, did very little, his talent wasn't exactly visible during his short spell with the trio, but his presence on stage added to the legend that the group became.

After his exit, Tony was to later release the monster single, ''Omode Meta Sere'', where he explained what had happened with the group, including commercially successful solo albums in Morning Time and My Car.

Early Successes

Signed unto the biggest label in the land at the time, Kennis Music, The Remedies released their first single 'Shakomo' in 1999 and the result was groundbreaking.

Shakomo became an instant hit as it is one of the first Nigerian hip-hop songs to enjoy massive rotations on local stations and served as the template for the new Nigerian pop sound which sees an infusion of local languages.

They soon followed this up with singles like 'Sade' and 'Judile', but just as the fame began to spread, so also did disunity set into their midst, leading to the exit of Tony Tetuila from the group.

 

His departure did not however stop the group, as the duo of Eedris and Eddy kept the flag flying by completing work on their debut album, ''Peace Nigeria'' in 1998.

Peace Nigeria contained other stellar singles like Belinda and Jealousy.

Sadly, that was the only body of work that was recorded as a group, as Eedris and Eddy separated immediately after and kicked off their solo careers.

While Eedris and Tony Tetuila enjoyed a spell of commercial success as solo artists, the same cannot be said of Eddy Remedy, whose career took a dip and never really hit the expected heights.

In 2018, the likes of Wizkid and Davido are pushing the genre called Afrobeats and shutting down concerts worldwide, but looking back, a lot of credit will be given to the Remedies who threaded on a path that many before them had failed and made a success out of it.