Blaqbonez Extends The ODOMUDUBLVCK Beef with “ACL”

Blaqbonez and ODUMODUBLVCK have been stoking the flames of rap beef for a while now. Since the start of the year, both Nigerian rappers have thrown subliminal shots at each other, leading to speculations as to the root of their issue with each other. 

A section of the commentary has touted personal factors, with Blaqbonez allegedly getting into a row with members of Odumodu’s Anti-World Gangstars collective. Like all rap beefs tend to begin, first the flicker of a flame stirs, and then it is fanned by audience reactions and off-mic encounters. Then comes the subliminals and finally, full-blown beef realized in diss tracks. 

Right now, “ACL,” a song from Blaqbonez’s new project, No Excuses, is the hottest topic in online music conversations. Taking direct shots at Odumodu and his crew, Blaqbonez goes swinging in all directions, utilizing his suave flows and uncanny humor to menacing effect. 

This comes a month after Odumodu’s own diss track “2:02 PM IN LONDON,” where the EZIOKWU rapper turned an audacious beat into one of the most referenced rap performances of the year. The phrase “If you like gym!” would trend massively online and offline, a fun interpretation of OD’s threat to his premier rap foe. 

Well, it seems all that traction made Blaqbonez even more determined in his response. “ACL” is one of the most riveting rap records the beef has produced, counting “PUSSY NIGGAZ” and “UNAWARE,” which both came from Odumodu’s side, on his projects The Machine Is Coming and INDUSTRY MACHINE.

On “UNAWARE,” Odumodu raps the lines, “All the talk-talk, we thought you were a pundit / Baba drop gbedu, make you no go fade like A-Q”. A known associate and mentor to Blaqbonez, A-Q’s position as a rap great is bolstered by his conceptual albums and confrontational edge, but even he — like M.I Abaga, another Blaqbonez mentor — has taken a back seat in the battle of the blacks. Choosing not to respond, the light has been thrown onto these two contemporaries who have more overlapping qualities than are immediately obvious. 

As the critic Oris Aigbokhaevbolo correctly noted in a post on X (formerly Twitter), “[Blaqbonez] was the first breakout rapper of his generation to show you could rap brilliantly in English without sounding extremely American — and that you could work in Nigerian experiences into ‘serious’ rap music.” 

Both rappers have cornered unique sections of the scene while maintaining their hip-hop edge, although Odumodu has often come under fire for downplaying the levity of traditional rap metrics. On the other hand, Blaqbonez, being a battle-tested rapper, has often swung on those metrics, which is why “ACL” feels like a moment of revelation. 

For the fans of punchlines and wittiness, Blaqbonez has delivered a record that will have any body shaking. Hard-hitting while maintaining a degree of coolness and control, the whole of X has been abuzz with lyrics such as, “dem dey gas out to rap with me, the machine go soon knock / make him dey do him highlife dey go/ make him dey sing him high notes, Wande Coal,” obviously ridiculing Odumodu’s famous penchant for singing and melodies. 

A lot has happened in the past 24 hours, but Blaqbonez is obviously in the driving seat of the battle right now. Especially since he’s kept his reactions to the studio while revealing his opponent as someone who’d rather do the opposite by being controversial online. 

His visualizer for “ACL” shows a string of threats that were sent via DMs by Odumodu, which has sparked its own section of conversation for those who’ve faulted the Native Records’ rapper for his angsty approach to confrontation. As Blaqbonez has maintained in his “Who’s Really Rapping” record with A-Q, the best way for rappers to settle their differences is on wax. Just bars, no talk. 

So far, “ACL,” which is quite a brilliant rap song by its culmination of effects, has shown that Blaqbonez is willing to walk the talk. We — and the world — await Odumodu’s inevitable response.