The Nigerian musician, Iyanya has revealed that despite the backlash he faced over the book Yvonne Nelson wrote, he and Nelson are still on good terms.
The singer stated that he was completely unaware he was in the book he endorsed for his ex-girlfriend, Yvonne Nelson.
“We are cool and we still talk to this day. We shared something special so we will always be cool,” he said.
“Yvonne buzzed me and was like ‘I’m writing this book about myself, can you endorse the book?’ and I did. I made a video and I didn’t know I was in it. When the book came out everyone was buzzing me about it. I’ve still not read the book till now,” he said.
Eight years after their public breakup, the actress published the book in May 2023. In chapter 10 titled “Iyanya and My Love Life,” she opened up about her relationship with Iyanya.
In this memoir, she revealed the reason for their breakup, claiming that Iyanya had an affair with Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh.
Nelson’s excerpt read, “The caller said anytime I left Iyanya’s place, another actress came over to him and sometimes slept over. The person felt strongly that something was going on between them and thought I should know. The actress turned out to be Tonto Dikeh of Nigeria, one of the female celebrities Iyanya named in his ‘Ur Waist’ song. When I was convinced about the authenticity of the information I received, I was heartbroken. I took to Twitter to rant and vent. Tonto Dikeh responded on Twitter, saying people changed and so did feelings, so I should move on… I knew I eventually would have left even if Tonto Dikeh didn’t come into the picture.”
In response to the allegations, Iyanya made a series of posts on X without accepting or denying the claim.
One of his posts read, “So Yvonne Nelson said I cheated on her with Tonto Dikeh? Oh wow. I’ll respond to this later. I no go write book, but for now make I go watch my new video director just send me now. Love & Trust Ft Joeboy.”
Iyanya Discloses Inspiration Behind Latest Album
Iyanya made a comeback in 2022 with his hit single ‘Like’ featuring Afrobeats heavyweights Davido and Kizz Daniel.
The Nigerian music star talked about his latest album ‘Once Upon A Cat’ on which he features a crop of emerging artists.
When asked about the motivation behind the album title and his decision to collaborate with emerging artists, Iyanya stated that the album title was inspired by the comment of a social media troll.
It can be recalled that last year, social media was agog after Davido classified Burna Boy as a new cat (a new crop of Afrobeats superstars) along with Rema, and Asake.
The statement united fans who attempted to classify who passes as a new cat and an old one. Amidst the conversation, one social media user asked where Iyanya would be classified and another user replied “That one is once upon a cat” in pidgin.
Iyanya revealed that he and his team had been brainstorming on the right name for the album and the comment of the troll was instantly selected as the right album title.
On the album, Iyanya featured a crop of emerging artists like Moonlight Afriqa, Tee Dollar, Qing Madi, M3lon, Pawwz, and Young Duu among others.
The singer revealed that the decision to feature these talents was motivated by the desire to spotlight them.
Iyanya also shared that he intends to make a remix of his classic hit songs and make them into an album.
READ ALSO: Developed Countries to Aid Developing Nations Build Climate Resilience
