Speaking on the 234 Mzansi Podcast, which aired Monday on YouTube, the acclaimed singer clarified that the song — widely credited with boosting the international profile of Nigerian music in the early 2000s — was in fact a collaborative effort with his former bandmate Blackface, despite longstanding accusations to the contrary.
“It’s a collab. I wrote most of the song actually, but we wrote it together,” 2Baba said, setting out his version of the creative process behind the classic track.
African Queen remains one of the most recognizable Afropop anthems of its generation, and its enduring popularity has fueled heated debate over songwriting credit for nearly two decades. Blackface, with whom 2Baba performed in the defunct group Plantashun Boiz, has repeatedly alleged he is the sole author of the song, often accusing 2Baba of intellectual theft.
2Baba, however, rejected these claims as unfair and misleading. He said he has tried to maintain respect for Blackface in spite of what he described as relentless public attacks.
“They (the things he says) are absurd. They are just ridiculous and they are very, very painful sometimes,” he remarked, showing clear frustration at the feud’s persistence.
He also suggested that legal agreements and publishing rights had long settled the question of ownership.
“For me, the law and the legal things speak for themselves. So I’m not somebody to come and start… I don’t know what his intentions are. I don’t know what I’ve ever done to him,” he explained.
Reflecting on the sour fallout with his former bandmate, 2Baba expressed genuine confusion and regret about the hostility.
“Till today, I just wonder why. That is the only thing I have in my head — like why? What is the reason? It’s just ridiculous.”
The African Queen dispute has become one of the longest-running and most publicized feuds in the Nigerian music industry, casting a shadow over the early success of the Plantashun Boiz and dividing fans. While Blackface has continued to assert his version of events in various interviews and on social media, 2Baba’s latest remarks appear aimed at putting his side of the story on record once more — while leaving the legal status of the song as the final word on the matter.
As the debate continues to resurface from time to time, African Queen itself endures as a timeless love song and a milestone in Nigerian pop music’s global rise.