A Runaway Teen Who Became a Dancehall Star

Timaya, whose full name is Enetimi Alfred Odom, was born on 15 August 1980 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He was the youngest of 15 children, growing up in Agip Estate. His mother was a trader, and he sold plantain alongside her, which is where his nickname Plantain Boy comes from.

Pulse Nigeria reported that when he was 14, he ran away from home because his father wanted him to become a banker. In a statement quoted by the outlet, Timaya said that one day he left the house, but he was caught and returned after a year of living wild on the streets. The sources do not give details of where he stayed during that year. Another profile in ThisDay says he often broke house rules to go to late-night music events.

His path then led to Lagos. His mother arranged for him to travel there with an older sister, according to Pulse, while ThisDay describes the trip as being with his older brother and sister, before he finished secondary school. He later went back to Port Harcourt to study banking and finance, but did poorly in his exams and left after the first semester.

Returning to Lagos, he joined Eedris Abdulkareem's hip-hop group as a backup vocalist and stayed about three years before leaving to go solo. He met the producer K-Solo, and their work produced his breakout hit Dem Mama in 2005. Releases that followed included Gift and Grace in 2008, De Rebirth with its lead single Plantain Boy, and the albums LLNP in 2011 and Upgrade in 2012. ThisDay reports that he has won four Headies Awards and one Nigeria Music Award.