Sodiq Abubakar Yusuf (born May 6, 1985) popularly known by his stage name CDQ, is a Nigerian indigenous rapper, singer and songwriter best known for his single "Nowo E Soke" featuring Wizkid and Masterkraft's Indomie where he was featured alongside Olamide. While the former is instrumental for launching his career into the Nigerian music industry, the later won him his first career award at the 2016 Nigerian Music Video Awards. Signed to his label No Struggle No Success Entertainment, CDQ's repertoire of music includes rapping in Yoruba language with addition of ad-libs such as the popular "Woss Wobi" which he invented.
Early life and education Sodiq Abubakar Yusuf grew up in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, but was born in Orile, a suburb of Lagos. Upon moving back to Lagos State from Ilorin, where he had completed his secondary school education, he proceeded to further his education at Lagos State University, where he graduated with a BSc in economics.
Career CDQ started music professionally in 2008 when he used to be a back-up singer for Da Grin before he started rapping in English language with M.I. In 2013, he signed a recording contract with Masterkraft's General Records after winning a rap battle at the weekly Industry Nite in December 2012. In 2014, he released his breakthrough single titled "Indomie" which featured vocals from Olamide while the remix of the song featured Davido. The Masterkraft-produced song brought CDQ's career to limelight and further earned him two nomination spots at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards and a nomination in the Best Street-Hop Artist category at The Headies 2015.
In anticipation of his debut studio album titled Quality, CDQ enlisted the service of Wizkid with whom he released "Nowo E Soke" as a lead single off the album. The music video for the song was directed by Unlimited L.A and went on to win the Best Afro Hip Hop Video category at the 2016 edition of the Nigeria Music Video Awards. On 16 August 2016, he unveiled the cover art for the album before it was released through General Records on 22 August to positive critical reviews. On 11 November 2016, he launched his own record label N.S.N.S, a short-form for No Struggle No Success Entertainment. On 1 February 2017, he dropped his first official single under the platform titled ' Say Baba ' which was produced by Jay Pizzle.
Other works Yusuf traveled to Kwara State, to launch an initiative aimed at providing educational materials to secondary school students. In 2019, he paid a visit to the Emir of Ilorin during the first day of his visit, where he discussed plans for a program intended to support students in the state’s secondary schools. During the two-day visit, he and members of his team attended activities organized by one of the schools. The school’s principal arranged a special assembly to receive him. At the event, the musician distributed writing materials and wall clocks to students.
According to his publicist, the initiative known as the CEEI project was designed to address shortages of writing materials in schools, with the aim that secondary schools across Kwara State would benefit from the program.
Discography Selected singles + List of singles as lead artist, showing year released and album name Title Year Album"Ogini"(featuring Runtown)2014Non-album singles"Indomie"(featuring Olamide)"Indomie (Remix)"(featuring Olamide and Davido)2015Quality"Salaro""Talosobe""Oobi"(featuring Cayana)"Woss Wobi (Freestyle)"(with Olamide)Non-album single"Nowo E Soke"(featuring Wizkid)2016Quality"First Come First Serve"Non-album singles"Make We Run?""One time"(featuring Lynox and GabanaBwoy)"Ko Funny"(featuring Davido)2017"Say Baba""Say Baba (Remix)"(featuring DJ Maphorisa)"Bye Bye Poverty""Warey yo"2018"Gbayi" (featuring Kizz Daniel)"Shey Normal"Flex"Aye" (featuring Phyno and Reminisce)"Onye Eze" (featuring Zlantan)"Jabbing""Fine Boyz""Ghana Must Go"2019 "Entertainer" (featuring Davido)"Owo"2020Non-album singles" Kogbede" (featuring Wande coal) 2021Non-album singles"Who is CDQ"2021Vibes and Lifestyle"Keep On Rocking" (featuring Wande coal)"Bahamas""Slow Down""Omoka"
Studio albums Quality Ibile Mugabe Vibes and Lifestyle
Selected awards and nominations
YearAward ceremonyPrizeRecipient/Nominated workResultRef20152015 Nigeria Entertainment AwardsBest New Act to WatchHimselfBest Collabo of The Year"Best Collabo of The Year"The Headies 2015Best Street-Hop ArtisteHimself20162016 Nigeria Entertainment AwardsRap Act of the YearSoundcity MVP Awards 2016Best Hip Hop Artist2016 Nigeria Music Video AwardsBest Afro Hip-Hop Video"Nowo E Soke"20172017 Ghana-Naija Showbiz AwardsBest Street-Hop ArtisteHimselfNext Superstar On The Roll
References