Introduction
Sodiq Abubakar Yusuf (born May 6, 1985), popularly known by his stage name CDQ, is a Nigerian indigenous hip-hop rapper and songwriter best known for his singles "Indomie" and "Nowo E Soke". While the former is instrumental for launching his career into the Nigerian music industry, the later won him his first career award at the 2016 Nigerian Music Video Awards. Signed to his label No Struggle No Success Entertainment, CDQ's repertoire of music includes rapping in Yoruba language with addition of ad-libs such as the popular "Woss Wobi" which he invented.
Early life and education
He is a native of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria; but was born in Orile, a suburb of Lagos. Upon moving back to Lagos State from Ilorin where he had completed his secondary school education, he proceeded to further his education at Lagos State University where he graduated with a B.Sc in Economics.
Career
2013–present: Early beginnings and Quality
CDQ started music professionally in 2008 when he used to be a back-up singer for Da Grin before he started rapping in English language with M.I. In 2013, he signed a recording contract with Masterkraft's General Records after winning a rap battle at the weekly Industry Nite in December 2012. In 2014, he released his breakthrough single titled "Indomie" which featured vocals from Olamide while the remix of the song featured Davido. The Masterkraft-produced song brought CDQ's career to limelight and further earned him two nomination spots at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards and a nomination in the Best Street-Hop Artist category at The Headies 2015.
In anticipation of his debut studio album titled Quality, CDQ enlisted the service of Wizkid with whom he released "Nowo E Soke" as a lead single off the album. The music video for the song was directed by Unlimited L.A and went on to win the Best Afro Hip Hop Video category at the 2016 edition of the Nigeria Music Video Awards. On 16 August 2016, he unvieled the cover art for the album before it was released through General Records on 22 August to positive critical reviews. On 11 November 2016, he launched his own record label N.S.N.S, a short-form for No Struggle No Success Entertainment.
Discography
Selected singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Ogini" (featuring Runtown) |
2014 | Non-album singles |
| "Indomie" (featuring Olamide) |
||
| "Indomie (Remix)" (featuring Olamide and Davido) |
2015 | Quality |
| "Salaro" | ||
| "Talosobe" | ||
| "Oobi" (featuring Cayana) |
||
| "Woss Wobi (Freestyle)" (with Olamide) |
Non-album single | |
| "Nowo E Soke" (featuring Wizkid) |
2016 | Quality |
| "First Come First Serve" | Non-album singles | |
| "Make We Run?" (featuring Wizkid) |
||
| "Ko Funny" (featuring Davido) |
2017 | |
| "Say Baba" | ||
| "Say Baba (Remix)" (featuring DJ Maphorisa) |
Studio album
- Quality
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award ceremony | Prize | Recipient/Nominated work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Best New Act to Watch | Himself | Nominated | |
| Best Collabo of The Year | "Best Collabo of The Year" | Nominated | |||
| The Headies 2015 | Best Street-Hop Artiste | Himself | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | 2016 Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Rap Act of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Soundcity MVP Awards 2016 | Best Hip Hop Artist | Nominated | |||
| 2016 Nigeria Music Video Awards | Best Afro Hip-Hop Video | "Nowo E Soke" | Won | ||
| 2017 | 2017 Ghana-Naija Showbiz Awards | Best Street-Hop Artiste | Himself | Won | |
| Next Superstar On The Roll | Nominated |