Death they say is inevitable and it is the climax of every man’s existence.
People say no one knows when they will die and how they will but a Yoruba rapper predicted his death and so did it happen.
This is the story of Nigerian rapper DaGrin.
Born Oladapo Olaitan Olaonipekun on October 25, 1984, DaGrin, was a rapper from Ogun, who rapped in Hausa, English and Pidgin English.
He was active in his music career since the year 1994 and came out with all-time hits like ‘Kondo’ and his national favourite but a controversial song, ‘Pon Pon Pon’.
Some albums he came out with during his time included, ‘Still On The Matter. C.E.O, The Genesis Of C.E.O, Bulleribang, If I Die and C.E.O Ep.
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Sometime in 2010, DaGrin released a song which seemed quite controversial and drew so much attention as the subject matter of the song sounded a very peculiar one.
As it stands, the song has still remained a long term topic for contemplation and there is just a question whenever the song comes to mind “did he intuit his departure from the face of the earth?”
This is because the song that sparked so many controversies was just as complicated as its title ‘If I die’.
The song had very strange lyrics; “if I die, if I die….. make you no cry for me.”
It sounded as though the rapper sensed an impending danger especially at a point in the chorus where he said in Yoruba, “Kole Ye Won, Ko Ye Won meaning “The World Will Never Understand, They Don’t Understand”.
Just as he had predicted in the ‘farewell’ song, few days after on April 22, 2010, he passed away in a gory accident.
His car ran into a truck in Mushin in Lagos.
Dagrin’s mangled accident car
Other reports also speculate DaGrin may have been a victim of Nigeria’s faulty healthcare system. According to DaGrin’s mother, Mrs Olaonipekun, the rapper’s final eight days on earth were marred by neglect by medical professionals of the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LUTH) who were striking at the time. She told journalists that LUTH nurses neither gave the rapper appropriate care nor had facilities to run high-end tests that could’ve ensured his survival.
Perhaps the only real mystery around DaGrin’s death is an eye witness report that a companion who had been clubbing with DaGrin before his unfortunate accident, tried to tag along. And oddly, DaGrin who is usually receptive of his squad had refused, insisting that he’d rather drive through the night alone. Admittedly, this singular final act is hard to explain without attributing it to factors outside the ordinary, especially against the backdrop of a lone posthumous single like “If I Die”.
In 2019, SaharaReporters.com reported that the trucks which DaGrin ran into nine years earlier, were still parked at the same point they were on the day of the accident.
Candlelight service organised in his memory
The late rapper was buried at the Ebony Millennium private Vault, Atan cemetery.
He was buried wearing white hand gloves, a white belt and a white T-shirt; and black west coat, black bandana around his neck, a black trouser and a black face cap.
His burial day