According to Forbes, Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo, best known by his stage name, Kcee, has an estimated net worth of $5 million which is above ₦2 billion. He is a Nigerian Afrobeat singer, songwriter, and performer who came to prominence in 2013 after he released his debut studio album Take Over with a hit single Limpopo. The song earned him the name Limpopo Master and also an award of the year at the Headies.
With his mouth-watering net worth and outstanding talent, Kcee has indeed garnered massive fame as an accomplished musician in the Nigerian music industry. As a matter of fact, Kcee has been active in the music scene since 2002, winning several awards for his numerous successful works. Discover all the ways through which the Limpopo crooner amassed his net worth, expensive houses, cars, and other businesses he is into.
Kcee’s $5 Million Net Worth Was Built Largely From His Music Career
Though some sources pegged his net worth at a little bit above $5 million while some others below, the gist remains that the musical talent has apparently carved a niche for himself and continues to make serious waves in the Nigerian music scene. Let’s look at how his music career helped him achieve such a huge net worth.
The Singer Didn’t Have Music in Mind From an Early Stage
An Anambra State native, Kingsley Okonkwo was born and raised in Ajegunle, Lagos State. If ever you are conversant with what it entails to grow up in that part of Lagos, you will understand the fact that Kcee started hustling from an early stage. Talking about how his journey began, Kcee said that it was quite an uneasy task for him growing up in Ajegunle as there were lots of hustles in the region.
However, he assured himself that he must be famous but didn’t consider music at first, so to speak. Kcee initially had a passion for football and strongly wanted to become a professional footballer. He was able to play for two clubs before his passion automatically took another dimension. He joined his church choir, at first for fun, but later realized he has skills in singing and also enjoys it. Meanwhile, his father was a professional DJ and Kcee was already conversant with some music genres and competitions. Hence, he redecided to start and make a career in music.
Star Quest Reality TV Show Gave Him the Platform to Launch His Music Career
Kcee had a friend named Precious John whom he knew from his church choir since 1999. He suggested for them to collaborate in their music venture, hence, they came to terms and formed the music duo, Kcee Presh. In 2002, the two friends participated in and won the popular TV reality show, Star Quest.
As winners of the show, their victory gave them headway and contributed to giving them public recognition. Following the show, they received several awards, earned a cheque of ₦1 million, and subsequently signed a four-year music contract with one of the biggest record labels in Nigeria, Kennis Music. This is the point where the two friends started making waves in Nigeria’s Afropop industry with their creative and innovative songs.
In 2018, they released their debut album No Time with a leading single Shokori bobo. The album was a success, selling thousands of copies before the end of 2018. Among other joint works they had are No Lies, Okpekete, etc. Today, Kcee has unarguably turned into an A-list Nigerian musician who has continued to thrill fans with his songs and stage performances.
He Got His Breakthrough In 2013 With The Song Limpopo
Kcee and his music partner Precious decided to pursue their solo careers in 2011 after twelve years of being together. Following their disbandment, Kcee signed under the Five-Star Music record label and has remained there. His breakthrough came following the release of his first album under Five Star Music. The title of the album is Take Over with a hit single Limpopo. Kcee’s career simply skyrocketed and took him to another level of fame, given the height of fame the song garnered within few weeks of release and even subsequently.
The single became well accepted and gained positive reviews from both critics and the public. Even the singer is amazed and said that he never expected it to turn out to be such a huge hit, saying that he wrote the song in less than forty minutes. He collaborated with many Nigerian A-list musicians in the album, especially Phyno, Wizkid, D’Banj, Davido, Don Jazzy, Timaya, Flavour N’abania, etc. Limpopo became quite popular and was played on TV and radio stations, parties, events, and many other top social events
The album also earned him many top awards, including the KORA Awards, Hip-Hop World Awards, and Channel O Awards nominations. He further won the Hip Hop World Revelation of the Year and got numerous nominations at various award ceremonies such as The Headies and others. The music video for Limpopo was released later in 2013 and it went ahead to earn him more awards and recognition. Since then, his career has been thriving.
List of Kcee’s Best Songs
Over the course of his music career, Kcee has released numerous hit songs and 7 studio albums which include Take Over, Attention to Detail, Cultural Praise Vol.1-5. Below is a list of some of his best songs:
- Limpopo
- Fine Face
- Okpekete
- Hakuna Matata
- Pull Over
- Boo ft Tecno
- Feel It (Africa)
- Love Boat
- Cultural praise
- Give It To Me (ft. Flavour)
- Pullover Remix (feat. Don Jazzy & Wiz Kid)
- Talk and Do (feat. Uhuru)
The Musician Also Earns From Endorsements and Live Performances
Even with his music career being the major source of income, Kcee’s net worth was also achievable through his endorsement deals and public appearances. In 2013, he signed a multi-millionaire deal with Nigeria’s most famous telecommunication company, MTN. Following his continuous success, he was appointed as the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Peace Ambassador by Patience Jonathan’s then Nigerian first lady.
In 2015, he renewed his contract with MTN and secured another mouth-watering deal with a soft liquor company, Magnum, a deal that is reportedly running in millions of naira. He also has an endorsement deal with Peace Airline which comes along with so many benefits. Moreover, Apart from the money Kcee gets just to appear on a stage, he also gets paid each time his music is used as a ring tone or to influence a brand. For instance, when he released Limpopo, many companies leveraged the popularity of the song to influence and promote their business by using it as an intro or interlude during advertisements.
His Other Business Endeavors
The Limpopo master is a shareholder in the Five Star group owned by his billionaire younger brother, E-money. Five Star group which includes the singer’s record label is mainly into oil and gas. Unarguably, Five Star Music has a decent percent contribution to Kcee’s net worth as it is reportedly worth over N500 million. Kcee also tried his hands on furniture business which also contributed to his net worth but later called it quits to concentrate on his music career
Kcee Lavishes on Exotic Cars and Expensive Houses
The Nigeria musician loves luxury and wastes no time to live it out. Apart from being a popular musician, Kcee has gained a lot of media attention as a result of his extravagant lifestyle. He likes to spend his money on expensive accessories like wristwatches, earrings, necklaces, etc. Having made an acceptable net worth through his musical career, the singer owns two magnificent mansions, one in his hometown in Uli, Anambra state, and the other in Lekki, Lagos.
The houses are worth millions of dollars as they are furnished with expensive gold homewares. For his automobiles, we counted five cars to the singer’s name wherein he bought four for himself and was gifted the fifth one by his brother. Below is the list of Kcee’s luxurious cars as of 2021, the amount they are worth, and their special features.
Toyota Land Cruiser (₦30 million)
Special Features
- Towing capacity: 8,100 lbs
- MPG: 13 City / 17 highway
- Dimensions: 195″ L x 78″ W x 74″ H
- Seating capacity: 5, 8
- A full-time 4WD system with Active Traction Control
- Unitized steel body on 10-member high-tensile-steel ladder frame
Kcee bought himself this car in 2019 and celebrated it with his fans on Instagram with a caption that reads Whatever the enemy has planted in your life contrary to the will of God for your life shall be uprooted this week and beyond.
Gold Plated Cadillac Escalade (₦29 million)
Special Features
- MPG: Up to 14 city / 23 highway
- Digital signal processor
- Towing capacity: 8,100 to 8,300 lbs
- Voice command system
- Horsepower: 420 hp
- Dimensions: 204″ L x 81″ W x 74″ H
He got himself this car in 2015 which came with a customized plate number. One of the most expensive and luxurious cars as of 2015, the automobile stands out with its conspicuous exterior design, opulent cabin, and smooth handling.
Mercedes Benz G wagon (₦35 million)
Special Features
- 416 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque
- Advanced Biturbo V8 that can thrust the G 550 from 0 to 60 in just 5.6 seconds
- Standard and available technologies from dual 12.3-inch displays
- Voice control for the navigation, audio, and other comfort features
- Camtronic system that saves fuel by seamlessly deactivating cylinders
In February 2021, Kcee’s millionaire brother, E-money gifted him this luxurious car in a grand celebration of his 40th birthday. The car is said to be worth over ₦35 million and has numerous luxurious features for comfort.
BMW 7 Series (₦28 million)
Another opulent car available in Kcee’s garage is BMW 7 series. It gives maximum interior comfort to its occupants with interior leather made with modern technology. Though it is not known when he bought this car, he acquired it at ₦28 million at the time. To own the same car today, one has to cough out a respectable ₦53 million or more.
Special Features
- Horsepower: 335 to 600 hp
- Dimensions: 207 L x 75 W x 58 H
- Curb weight: 4,244 to 4,855 lbs
- Engine: 3.0 L 6-cylinder, 4.4 L V8
- A powerful 4.4-liter V-8 engine
- front heated armrests and steering wheel for extra comfort
Rang Rover Sport (₦26 million)
A white Range Rover Sport worth over ₦26 million also found its place in his garage. This is another one of his rides that came with a customized plate number.
Special Features
- Diversity antenna
- Electronic parking brake
- Dimensions: 192 L x 78 W x 71 H
- Horsepower: 254 to 575 hp
- Towing capacity: 5,511 to 7,716 lbs
- Engine: 2.0 L 4-cylinder, 3.0 L 6-cylinder, 3.0 L V6 diesel, 5.0 L V8
Did E-money’s Wealth Contribute to the Success of Kcee’s Music Career
It is now clear that Kcee and E-money are blood brothers and Kcee is older than E-money by two years. They are 44 years and 42 years respectively. Emeka Okonkwo earned his nickname, E-money as a result of flaunting his wealth and luxury lifestyle on social media. Despite their social status, the two brothers have shared a cordial sibling relationship and continue to grow stronger. They spend a good part of their free time together as they usually flaunt pictures of themselves having fun on the internet.
E-money has got his brother’s back right from the start of his music career. He was the former manager of Kcee’s music duo with Presh. Following the disbandment of Kcee Presh, E-money was the one who helped Kcee to found his current record label, Five Star Music where he is the CEO and Kcee is the vice president. He also sponsored his music alongside other artists like Harrysong, Skiibi, and others. Having a joint business has actually benefitted the brothers in many ways.
Between Kcee And E-money, Who Is Richer?
Something that their fans have always wanted to know is who is richer between the two brothers. E-money is a Nigerian successful entrepreneur, investor, and business mogul, arguably the youngest naira billionaire in Nigeria. According to Forbes in 2021, E-money is worth an estimated $35 million. He makes his profit largely from his oil and gas sector, Emmy Cargoes Nigeria Limited formerly known as Borisa Nigeria Limited. He also has a stake in the Cubana Group founded by the Nigerian billionaire, Obi Cubana, as well as owns a chain of other businesses across the country.
Reportedly, the two brothers were not born with a silver spoon but were strongly determined to make a name for themselves which they have indeed achieved. However, by the time Kcee started thriving in the Nigerian music industry, E-money had already become a billionaire even though he was not popular like the singer. He later gained public recognition following clips of him throwing money in public events and showing off a flamboyant lifestyle on social media.
Actually, E-money does not have a detailed past of hard work but he traced his rise to fame to when he received an unexpected phone call informing him that he had been awarded a ₦20 billion contract. E-money often tells this as his only success story maintaining that the singular phone call changed his entire life and made him who he is today.
While Kcee’s net worth of $5 million was majorly accrued from his music career, E-money built his net worth of $35 million through numerous avenues. All that said, Kcee is not in any way richer than his brother E-money, rather, the latter is multiple times richer than the Nigerian music maker.
