ID Cabasa assembles the old and new guard for 'Unfinished Business' album

“Unfinished Business”: ID Cabasa Curates a Living Museum of Nigerian Music

ID Cabasa is a name carved into the foundation of modern Nigerian music. As the founder of Coded Tunes, he shaped the sonic identity that helped launch the careers of giants like Olamide, 9ice, and Reminisce. Now, with the release of Unfinished Business, Cabasa is not simply dropping a producer album he is curating a living museum.

The project takes some of his most iconic mid-2000s records and “reimagines” them with a mix of their original performers and today’s biggest superstars. It’s a daring concept that could easily distort cherished classics, but Cabasa approaches it with the experience and finesse of a master craftsman. The outcome is a body of work that feels both nostalgically familiar and boldly contemporary.

“Photocopy Reimagined”: A Bridge Between Eras

One of the album’s standout moments is “Photocopy Reimagined,” which reunites the original voice of the song, 9ice, with heavyweight lyricist Vector.

For fans who lived through the golden era of street-pop, hearing 9ice’s unmistakable tone glide over an upgraded 2025 beat is goosebump-inducing. Vector enters with precision, delivering a verse that honors the original’s theme of authenticity while layering in his intricate rhyme patterns.

The production maintains the raw, percussion-driven grit that defined the original track but is polished for modern sound systems, proving how gracefully classic Nigerian music can evolve without losing its soul.

“Olufunmi Reimagined”: A Cross-Generational Masterpiece

Perhaps the most ambitious track on the album is “Olufunmi Reimagined,” a reinterpretation of Styl-Plus’ timeless hit. Cabasa assembles an all-star ensemble Boj, Joeboy, Fireboy DML, and Odumodublvck creating a genre-bending posse cut.

The contrast is stunning: Odumodublvck’s rugged, drill-styled flow sits boldly beside the soft, melodic warmth of Joeboy and Fireboy. Boj adds his signature alté flavor, completing a lineup that showcases the evolving dimensions of Nigerian music.

The experiment pays off beautifully. Cabasa’s production proves flexible enough to accommodate these wildly different styles while maintaining coherence a testament to his deep understanding of musical structure and artist chemistry.

Connecting Generations Through Sound

The true brilliance of Unfinished Business lies in its intergenerational link. In a rapidly evolving industry often accused of forgetting its roots, ID Cabasa forces the conversation across age groups.

On “Bere Mi,” he pairs Zlatan and T.I Blaze, brilliantly drawing a line from the street-hop energy of 2008 to the pulse of today’s street music. This isn’t nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake it’s a statement. Cabasa is reminding the new school that their sound was built on a foundation laid decades before.

For older listeners, the album is a warm trip down memory lane. For younger ones, it’s a compelling history lesson narrated through infectious rhythm.

A Producer’s Legacy, Still in Motion

In Unfinished Business, Cabasa reasserts the often-underappreciated importance of the producer. This album is not just a compilation it’s a carefully directed experience. Cabasa chooses each artist with intention, pairing voices, energies, and eras in ways that maximize emotional impact.

The project is cohesive, soulful, dynamic, and exceptionally produced.

And its message is clear: great music doesn’t expire. Timeless songs don’t fade they evolve.

With Unfinished Business, ID Cabasa proves that the legacy of Nigerian music is still being written, and he is one of its most important authors.

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ID Cabasa - Unfinished Business (Album)

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