Iyanya Onoyom Mbuk popularly known as Iyanya is an award winning Nigerian singer and songwriter born on October 31, 1986.
He was born in Calabar, Cross River state to a head mistress mother and her father a forester.
Iyanya came to limelight after emerging winner of the first ever MTN project Fame in 2008 and also rose to fame for his smash hit single “Kukere” which was popularized with a viral Etighi dance step.
Iyanya started doing music at the age of 5 in the church choir where his grandfater was a priest.
Here are the 10 other interesting things you probably don’t know about him.
1. He had both his primary and secondary education in Calabar and also obtained a bachelor’s degree in Business Management at the University of Calabar.
2. His parents died in 2008. His father aged 5o while his mother aged 42.
3. He was the co-founder of the Made Men Music group along with his brother Ubi Franklin before joining the Mavins record label in 2016 which was a home to superstars like Reekado Banks, Tiwa Savage, Korede Bello and son. He left Mavins records and signed with Temple Management Company.
4. Iyanya worked in a hotel and sang Karaoke at local bar he manged just after graduating from the University.
5. Iyanya has 3 studio albums to his name which include My Story (2009), Desire (2013) and Applaudisse (2015).
6. He made a cameo appearance at the season 3 of the television series Shuga.
7. Iyanya was in a relationship with Ghanaian actress Yvonne Nelson before they parted ways.
8. He has got so many nominations and won numerous awards such as Artist of the year at World Music Awards (2014), hottest single of the year for the song “Kukere” at Nigeria entertainment awards (2013), Best Pop single at the Headies (2012).
9. He is one of the Nigerian artiste with many endorsements deals. He became a brand ambassador for Solo phones, a deal worth $220,000 and a one year deal with Zinox computers worth $300,000.
10. Iyanya is one of the most influential Nigerian musician with an estimated net worth of $4.5 million dollars.
