Dan Dizzy: The Rap King of Freestyle

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

Owerri, capital city of Imo State, bubbled on the eve of Christmas 2021 as astute businessman and entertainment guru, Obinna Iyiegbu, popularly known as Obi Cubana, formally opened another night club called Carlito. The upbeat event turned out to be a galaxy of stars and superstars. High point of the night was when Port Harcourt rap star, Dan Dizzy and Tuface Idibia a k.a 2baba mounted the stage to do what could be regarded as an impromptu collabo.

Guests were dazed by the scintillating performance of the two musical stars… especially the part of Dan Dizzy picking up words from every move and gestures made by 2baba to freestyle. His transitions between his bars are amazing and the revelers could not just resist as the smiles on their faces show they are entertained as they hail the rapper and to the amazement of 2baba who was left dumbstruck. Such nod within a short space of time shows how gifted he his.

To be fair, like most internet sensations of the 21st century, Dan Dizzy, whose real name is Daniel Darius, really has fast grown a huge fan-base, all thanks to his spontaneous rap prowess. Recall he started gaining recognition across the country for his viral street rap videos, where he freestyles to entertain random listeners on the streets of Lagos and Port Harcourt with his powerful rhythm and rhyme laced around words and activities he picked and added to his rap. His strong prowess in his ability to make music out of any random word holds not much of a secret but sheer talent. Dan Dizzy revealed in a recent chat. “I don’t have any secret. I just take life very simple and music is just a gift, it is a talent. I don’t do anything, I don’t rehearse when I am alone, I just chill on my couch and when it is time to rap, I just open my mouth and it comes to me. That is how it is for me. Music is just in me. It is just there constantly.”

Fitting his style of music to a particular genre is not much of a big deal when described due to his talent spills over. “I feel like I have so much talent that I can’t focus on a particular type of music but I do Afro-pop and hip-hop.” He began his musical career in 2009 in Port Harcourt where he was raised and then joined a record label, Cadilly Entertainment, officially in 2017. He has an EP in the works which might turn LP.

On personal account of his music journey, Dan Dizzy says, “I started doing music commercially after I finished secondary school. I met a friend, Mr. Isaac, who took me to the house of Burna Boy’s former producer. I used to sleep and frequent the house a lot; the house was basically a music house for all. It was where everyone goes to when they wanted to make music. I learned a lot in the house and from there, I started to go to a lot of shows where I would basically do a lot of freestyle and get paid. I used to go to a lot of streets just to do freestyles. So that’s how I got into music commercially.”