‘I lost a great brother’ — Wyclef Jean mourns Sound Sultan

Wyclef Jean, the Haitian rapper and actor, has mourned the demise of Sound Sultan, the late Nigerian singer, whom he described as a “cousin”.

Sound Sultan breathed his last after battling lymphoma — a type of cancer that starts in the white blood cells.

The deceased’s funeral followed shortly after on Sunday at the Marlboro Muslim Cemetry in New Jersey.

In an Instagram video, Wyclef expressed his sadness over the death of the Nigerian singer.

“Everyone in Nigeria knows I called @soundsultan my cousin I lost a great brother. R. I. P.,” he wrote alongside a video of him singing with Sound Sultan.

Sound Sultan’s career in the entertainment industry started in the 90s when he hosted shows to raise money for studio sessions.

By 1999, he had won numerous local talent-hunt shows. He released his hit single ‘Jagbajantis’ in 2000. After independently releasing other singles and featuring in the hits of other singers, he was signed by Kennis Music.

Under Kennis Music, Sound Sultan did four albums. As his contract with the label expired in 2007, he partnered with Baba Dee to start Naija Ninjas, a parent organisation for a record label, production outfit, and clothing line.

Sound Sultan worked in different music genres from R&B to Afrobeat, soul, and Nigerian Fuji music. Under Naija Ninjas, he released ‘Back From The Future’ (2010) and signed Karma Da Rapper, Young GreyC, Shawn, and Blacka.

The rapper started working with Wyclef Jean after he featured alongside 2Face Idibia and Faze on ‘Proud to be African’ from Wyclef’s ‘Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101’ album. They would later collaborate on two other projects.