Africa has produced a good number of celebrities in recent years. Many of these people; musicians, actors, models, etc, have collaborated with each other, thus making the entertainment scene on the continent one of the most vibrant in the world. But while these celebrities have generally sort to work together to garner a bigger name for themselves, a few others have been involved in feuds for various reasons.
Most of the celebrity feuds are usually wars of words on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. A few others have found different arenas but still managed to keep their fights as close to the internet as possible. Since they say no publicity is bad publicity, it can be argued that a few celebrities do not mind engaging in these feuds as it raises their profile even more. Below are some of the biggest that ever happened.
20 Most Notable Celebrity Feuds in Africa
1. Peter vs Paul Okoye (P-Square)
Once upon a time, P-Square was a music group that grew to become one of the most influential music groups in Africa. The Nigerian group is made up of twin brothers – Peter ‘Mr. P’ Okoye and Paul ‘Rudeboy’ Okoye as members. Even though they made music, gained awards, and maintained a high profile for over a decade since the beginning of their career in 2003; they fell out and fought which led to the group splitting in 2017.
The feud between the brothers may have started earlier, but the media laid hands on it between 2015 and 2016 when the news of their breakup loomed. However, they continued as a group until 2017 when they attracted the media as a result of a letter written by Peter. In the letter, Peter stated his disassociation with P-Square following claimed threats by Paul as well as their older brother and manager, Jude Okoye. He further recounted how Paul began making conclusions for the group without his knowledge.
As the feud between the brothers progressed, it became messier and more attention was given to it. Still, in 2017, the brothers at their lawyer’s office traded words that almost led to a fistfight. The video went viral on the internet and quarrels on social media continued for a while.
The brothers and musicians have since been performing as solo artists even with people clamoring for the comeback of P-Square. Just when we thought the fight was over – or at least on the internet, Rudeboy in 2020 dragged Peter’s wife on social media for being manipulative and acting evil when she can’t be seen. This came following a birthday post she made on their birthday in hopes they’ll set aside their differences and work as a team.
2. Shatta Wale vs Stonebwoy
In 2019, at the Ghana Music Awards, Stonebwoy pulled a gun when he came face to face with Shatta Wale and his team. Although no one was hurt, the incident made the headlines. The beef between the Ghanaian singers began long before they became famous. They have often been compared in the music industry and this may have prompted rivalry. They have dragged themselves on radio, TV, and social media. However, many faulted Shatta Wale for the fight and at a point, Stonebwoy claimed that he (Stonebwoy) killed his mother. In response, Wale disassociated himself from the rumor.
3. Kashy vs Barry Jhay
Among the biggest celebrity feuds in Africa is that which involved two Nigerian celebrities and friends, producer Kashy and his friend Barry Jhay, a musician. Although they maintained a good relationship for many years, the death of Kashy opened a new side to their story and relationship.
It was in March 2021 when Barry Jhay shared a video of his bloodied mouth after an alleged assault by Kashy following a misunderstanding. Shortly after the release of the video, Kashy was reportedly dead. Claims were made that Barry organized cultists to kill Kashy. Others claimed he fell off a building when he was trying to flee from the police Barry had called while other reports would go on to say it was a mistake that he jumped on his own.
Barry was later arrested in Ghana where the incident happened but was released after investigations. Before the misunderstanding and assault, not much has been reported regarding any feud.
4. Tiwa Savage and TeeBillz
It was a picture-perfect relationship that Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage and Tunji ‘TeeBillz’ Balogun had until they decided to open up to the world about what was going on.
TeeBillz was Tiwa’s manager, husband, and father to her only son, Jamil. The two married in 2013 and remained a couple-goal for many people up until TeeBillz began accusing her of sleeping with Nigerian music stars like Don Jazzy, TuFace, and Dr. Sid. He reportedly even called her mother a witch, crowning it with an attempt to commit suicide by jumping off the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.
Tiwa Savage later gave an interview that went viral to refute claims that she ever cheated on him. She further said her marriage with Billz was filled with emotional abuse, deception, and mismanagement of funds among other things. In the same video, she called off the marriage.
5. Burna Boy vs AKA
South Africa and Nigeria is the continent’s BIGGEST RIVALRY … a SIBLING RIVALRY because we are brothers and sisters … I also hate losing to Australia for fucks sake. Let’s pull together as Africans and stop dividing ourselves. This whole narrative is stupid!!! https://t.co/fT4S4JpKO0
— AKA (@akaworldwide) September 3, 2019
One of the biggest celebrity feuds in Africa involves Nigeria’s Burna Boy and South Africa’s AKA. Following the constant attacks on Nigerians in South Africa in 2019, the Grammy award-winning Nigerian singer and songwriter vented his anger on social media about the South African system. AKA responded and it became a Twitter war that lasted a while.
The feud also included other Nigerian celebrities such as YCee. According to YCee, AKA never seems to keep himself away from having a problem with Nigeria and Nigerians. AKA through his tweets clearly showed his frustrations that Nigeria won the 2017 African Cup of Nations. YCee referred to AKA as a full childish grown man.
6. Pearl Thusi vs Sizwe Dhlomo
Both South African celebrities, actor Pearl Thusi and TV and radio presenter Sizwe Dhlomo in 2017 were occupied in a dramatic disagreement on Twitter. The back and forth with each other began after Pearl shared an already existing list of 100 people who are influential in Africa. She criticized the fact that Nigeria’s Wizkid was at the bottom of the list. Sizwe, however, pointed that it was in alphabetical order and not based on priority. This didn’t go down well with Pearl who retaliated and a word exchange continued.
7. AKA vs Sizwe
In 2020, when AKA tweeted about how his deal with Reebok had turned out sour because he was not paid anything, Sizwe decided to share his thoughts about AKA. According to him, AKA’s talent in music remains good but he’s not such a good businessman.
AKA was offended by Sizwe’s response and so he responded, leading to a back and forth on the social media platform. The feud escalated and AKA dragged Sizwe’s grandfather, Isaac Dhlomo, into it. The rapper accused Isaac of being an apartheid spy. He would, however, later publicly apologize to Sizwe, his family, and his supporters after getting himself familiar with the true story of Isaac Dhlomo who played an important role in working against apartheid.
The SA celebrities have since settled their difference but the feud remains one of the biggest on the continent.
8. Ahmed Shobeir vs Ahmed El-Tayeb
It is not very common to see celebrities fighting on a TV show. The disagreement started in 2016 when former Egyptian goalkeeper and TV presenter Ahmed Shobeir and football commentator Ahmed El-Tayeb were on air.
Shobeir’s disapproved of a comment made by El-Tayeb and the disagreement subsequently escalated to a physical fight. Although the show was cut, the three men on the panel at the time of the fight were suspended from making an appearance on TV.
9. Skolopad and Zodwa Wabantu
Often regarded as one of South Africa’s biggest celebrity feuds of 2017, Skolapad, who is a singer and dancer, and Zodwa who is also a dancer, reportedly started their feud after the latter would not take pictures with Skolopad at an awards event. The women trolled each other on social media while questioning their careers.
More to it, Skolopad swore never to share a stage with Zodwa except the latter would serve as MC at Skolopad’s show. A year later, Skolopad reached out to Zodwa for a concert but was turned down. Skolopad reportedly claims she doesn’t feel Zodwa has a problem with her. She believes the whole thing was fuelled by the media.
10. Stunner vs Mudiwa
Zimbabwean rappers Desmond ‘Stunner’ Chideme and Mudiwa ‘Hood’ Mutandwa are known for having a lasting rivalry. They have constantly dragged each other on Twitter. Dating back to 2014, Mudiwa Hood tagged Stunner in a tweet that seemed derogatory. The tweet suggested the Zimbabwean rappers would rap about money, but ironically can’t afford a headboard.
Suggestions were made that the tag Mudiwa made was in relation to a leaked sex tape that involved Stunner and Pokello Nare where they were dragged for making out on a bed without a proper ‘headboard’. The rappers exchanged words and talked about their finances among other achievements. Also, many Twitter users joined the social media feud that lasted a while.
In 2020, following the death of American basketball player Kobe Bryant, Mudiwa tweeted his regrets concerning the demise of Bryant while claiming to have similar looks. Responding to this was Stunner who dragged Mudiwa for his comment and claims. The tussle of words between the rappers led to a trend on Twitter called the #MudiwaHoodChallenge. The trend allowed users to make a collage of celebrities they felt had a resemblance.
11. MI vs Vector
MI and Vector took their fight to a whole new level when they individually released songs directed at each other. It was Vector who first released a song titled Judas the Rat where he praised himself and threw shed at MI. Another song called Tetracyclin aimed at MI was released by Vector. At first, it didn’t seem like MI was going to respond with a song but he shook the world with the release of one titled The Viper.
In addition to the songs, the two attacked each other on Twitter. The rappers have since retreated from the feud that lasted a while. They even went to the extent of collaborating on a song titled Crown of Clay.
12. Sarkodie Vs Stonebwoy
Until August 2020, Sarkodie and Stonebwoy had a cordial relationship. However, it turned sour when Stonebwoy allegedly physically attacked Sarkodie’s manager, Angelo. Other reports claim it was Stonebwoy’s bodyguard that assaulted Angelo. The fight was, however, centered on Shatta Wale who has remained a major rival of Stonebwoy.
Many sources reported that Stonebwoy was not given the opportunity to record his song for Sarkodie’s concert while Wale on the other had recorded his song even when it was obvious that Stonebwoy arrived earlier.
Both Sarkodie and Stonebwoy didn’t say much about the fight but that didn’t stop it from trending on Twitter while pictures loomed Instagram.
13. Bebe Cool Vs Tems, Omah Lay and Muyiwa Awoniyi
Moses Ssali, who is popularly known as Bebe Cool, is a Ugandan musician who has been accused by Nigerians of instigating the arrest of Nigerian singers Tems, Omah Lay, and Tems’ manager Muyiwa Awomiyi in Uganda in 2020 for violating Covid-19 protocol.
Not many words were exchanged on the internet between the parties involved. But many celebrities, especially those in Nigeria, made headlines for being against the arrest. Many other Nigerians condemned the act and helped in making the situation go viral.
In addition, Tems accused Bebe Cool of bribing the police to get them into custody before later posting their release papers to make it seem as though it was his effort that got them out. Bebe Cool, who initially apologized, has since said in an interview that he used the opportunity of the arrest of the Nigerians in Uganda to penetrate the Nigerian market.
14. Davido and Burna Boy
Davido and Burna Boy’s relationship has been a confusing one. This is because they sometimes act as friends and other times as enemies. Their feud may have started earlier but escalated and became an internet story in 2019 when Burna Boy was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Subsequently, the singers used their songs to troll each other as well as savage posts on social media. The song titled Way Too Big by Burna Boy in his Grammy Award-winning album Twice as Tall was aimed at Davido. In the same manner, Davido’s song FEM (meaning shut up or be quiet in Yoruba) was aimed at Burna.
It is widely believed that Burna claims Davido’s success is tied to his father who is a billionaire. Davido also does not consider Burna to be as good as claimed. For this reason, he posted a picture of him and Wizkid with the caption: Africa’s Greatest. This is in contrast to Burna Boy who calls himself African Giant.
In a 2020 video, the artists were recorded exchanged words while leaving a club in anger. The question that has still not been answered is what the two men were doing in Ghana, at a club, and at the same time.
Others suggest their relationship may not be as bad as portrayed. Davido’s congratulatory message to Burna Boy upon his winning a Grammy Award has suggested a truce between Africa’s top musicians.
15. Njeri vs Femi One
Often considered Kenya’s hottest female rappers, Njeri and Femi One started out as friends before turning against each other on social media and even in their songs. Their feud began around 2016 when Njeri opted to make a song following the beef between Khaligraph and King Kaka among others. It was at this point that she dragged Femi One into it all by derogating her music. Femi One would later reply to her in a song titled Pilau Njeri. A reply again came from Njeri in a song titled Femiplan.
16. Pearl Thusi and Bonang Matheba
Pearl and Bonang’s dispute started with American singer Pharell Williams at the center. Pearl did a good job taking a picture of Bonang and Pharell. When it came to Bonang’s turn, she allegedly didn’t do as Pearl expected. The pictures were so bad that Pearl couldn’t find a good one to post.
The South African celebrities went on to drag themselves on social media so much that they trended for it. They also dragged AKA into it. Pearl accused Bonang of sleeping with AKA even when she knew he was involved with DJ Zinhle. Pearl did most of the talking on social media as compared to Bonang who claims she was not at all bothered by Pearl’s rants.
17. TuFace vs Blackface
When e bad pass like this under PDP you no talk say make them close our country down, you been dey sing say you dey feel like Obasanjo…because you dey under their payroll abi wetin ? My guy this your point no valid,I no believe say you reason before you talk am 🇳🇬✌ https://t.co/B8sD3Oa5U1
— GHETTO CHILD (@Blackfacenaija) October 19, 2020
The former friends and members of Plantashun Boiz music group have a long-standing beef. It all started when TuFace Idibia wanted to detach from Plantashun Boiz. This didn’t go down well with Blackface who would go on to call out TuFace for allegedly stealing his song, African Queen. The song was released in 2004 and has remained one of the greatest songs to ever come out from Africa.
When the song became a major hit and was featured in a Hollywood movie, Blackface continued to call out TuFace on all social media platforms. In his defense, TuFace has said that he never stole any song, be it African Queen or Let Somebody Love You. The songs were rather a collaborated effort between the two of them and both men have the right to use the song.
In 2017, after the threat of a lawsuit, Blackface backed out from laying accusations but that only lasted a short time. He later continued while using interviews and social media as his major platforms. As a result of the fight, Blackface promised to end Tuface’s career in 2019. Tuface subsequently filed a lawsuit against his former friend, demanding 50 million Naira for defamation. The case was settled out of court and since then, there have not been many fights between the two.
But just when it was thought that the swords have been returned to the scabbard, the singers dragged themselves on Twitter again. Tuface shared his thoughts on why Nigerians were going to work while the #EndSars protests of 2020 were going on. Blackface attacked him saying that he didn’t call for the nation to be shut down during the regime of PDP because he was gaining benefits. This didn’t go down well with many Twitter users who defended Tuface while many insinuated that Blackface was a clout chaser.
18. Tacha vs Mercy
Both reality TV stars came to the limelight when they became housemates on season 4 of Big Brother Naija. As a result of their rivalry, Tacha was disqualified from the competition. The pair have not forgotten what went down between them in the house as they continue to send shots towards each other on social media while their fans join in the war.
19. Afia Schwarzeneggar vs Kennedy Agyapong
Afia rose to fame as a TV and radio presenter. She has a long-standing word battle with Kennedy Agyapong, a Ghanian politician and businessman. In 2019, they returned to the headlines after raining insults on each other. Agyapong called Afia ugly and a low class. She responded by calling him corrupt and having ugly children.
20. Don Jazzy vs D’banj
One of the most popular celebrity feuds in Africa was between former collaborators D’banj and Don Jazzy. It all started after they could not agree on terms regarding their label. The duo founded Mo’Hits Records in 2004 which went on to become one of the biggest music labels in Africa. It also gained the attention of Jay-Z and Kanye West among other foreign artists.
As they enjoyed huge success, D’banj was eager to have Mo’Hits expanded but Jazzy was not comfortable with this and wanted the record label to remain as it was. The label would eventually be dissolved as D’banj went on to be signed to Kanye West’s Good Music label while Don Jazzy created Mavin Records.
