Art & Culture | 26 August 2011 07:34 CET

Remember The Remedies

By PATIENCE IVIE OBHAFUOSO
Tony Tetuila

Tony Tetuila

.. In the 90s, the defunct hip hop group, The remedies, was a household name in the Nigerian music industry. At that time, there were very few artistes who could compete with them, considering their novelty and vigour. But today, they are nowhere to be found. Patience Ivie Obhafuoso relives the glory days of the group.

Eddie Remedy was invited, some years ago, to the studios of Raypower FM to come sing some of his songs. He went with two of his friends, Tony and Idris. When they got there, they were introduced as ''the group'' and the threesome sang some songs, all composed by Eddie.

Thereafter, they were asked, “What's the name of the group?” and Eddie, deemed to be the leader of the group, responded simply, “The remedies”. They took their cue from there, and they rolled off beautiful ballads, one of which was 'Omode Meta Shere', with Idris (now Eedris Abdulkareem) the rapper, Tony Tetuila the (sideliner and rhyme maker) and Eddie Remedy himself, the melodymaker. They went on just fine and everyone thought they, just like the Plantashaun Boiz, were one of the most beautiful projections of Nigerian music (then).

They rode into the limelight on the back of Kennis music,the label owned by the Ogungbe brothers and Dayo Adeneye.
Within a short time, Eddie Remedy fell in love with and married Kenny St. Brown Ogungbe. The marriage blossomed and in no time, everyone gathered to christen their baby girl.

Rumours began to filter in that, Eddie, considered the livewire of the group, was having problems with his wife, just as the group was having its own problems. Disappointingly, the wedding dissolved at about the same time the group hit the rocks.
In the ugly revelations that followed, allegations flew right, left, centre, all the way, as everyone blamed someone for the break-up. Like the scattered sand grains of a shattered hour glass, the group members went solo

That done, Eddie (who had said he was the maestro of the group, was outshone by Tony Tetuila (who Eddie and Eedris had told the press was the 'loafer' of the group. But Tony said the group had nothing in the beginning, so they lived in his mother's house) and Eedris Abdulkareem (the rapper who went on to become as controversial as his songs) as they all went solo.
Wondering what had made them separate everyone waited for them to re-unite, but it was never going to happen: they had parted ways for good.

Eddie 'Mr. Remedy' Montana came out with 'Anya Bi' ago' and every one thought he would keep it up. He fizzled out. Officially, that is.
Once bubbly and dazzling, Eddie is reportedly not finding things easy anymore.It was gathered that he moved into a one-room apartment in Ogba, Lagos and is regularly seen taking 'okada' rides.

Though, many associate the decline in his career with his marriage to Kenny St. Brown, his fans believe that it has more to do with the breakup. However, he is reportedly doing all he can to reconcile with his enstranged wife, even if for the sake of the lovely children.
Tony Tetuila, on the other hand, was in better stead. He had a lot of singles to his name, and finally, an album.Some of them included: 'You Don Hit My Car', 'It's Morning Time', 'In Love With Two Women (with Ghanaian group VIP)' and others.

In 2009, he was alleged to have celebrated a decade of his singing career in London. The party was reported to have been a big flop.
The artiste was also alleged to have impregnated his London-based girlfriend, shortly after his fiance delivered a second baby for him. This may confirm what inspired him into singing the song, 'In Love With Two Women'. He must have been in real need of help to make his choice of wife.

Idris 'Mr. Lecturer' Abdulkareem, was also a hit, and commanded respect from a lot of fans for his creativity with 'Mr. Lecturer'. Other singles included 'Oko Ashewo', 'Nigeria Jaga Jaga (which got him into trouble with Obasanjo)'. Just when he was beginning to gain relevance, he got into trouble with American rapper, 50 Cents and automatically went off the radar. At about the same time, he stormed off Kennis Music, to go “Run his own show” with his own label. It never saw the light of day.

However, did a good job of picking the pieces of his life, as he has returned to Kennis Music as an artiste. He started off with 'I Money, Money, Money (in which he was featured by Femi, an artiste with Kennis Music and younger brother of Dayo Adeneye)' and 'Calabar Love (with Kenny Ogungbe and Vicky, J.)', but though he has done a good job of “picking the pieces again”, , his act is now considered “old school”, as younger, more dynamic rappers now rule the airwaves.

Eedris Abdulkareem

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