saying goodbye to one of its founding members Tunde Akinsanmi .
Over the weekend, the news of Tunde leaving to pursue a solo career
hit the 'blog arena'. The group has now told source that Tunde is
leaving, but STYL Plus is not 'breaking up'.
' We owe it to our fans to clear the air on this matter. In the
process of working towards a collective vision, in this vein, Tunde
Akinsanmi has decided to pursue a solo career and delve into other
ventures that are not Styl-Plus's priority at the moment ', a rep for
the group and One Management said in a statement.
The statement says the group's musical projects will go on as usual:
Shifi and Zeal say they'll be releasing a new single titled ' Tonight'
(Ale-Oni) in the coming weeks. They are also warming up to release new
singles produced by the likes of Wizboy, TK and Landlord ' We thank
all the fans and media whose unwavering support we have enjoyed so far
and continue to enjoy ', they added.
STYL Plus launched into the mainstream back in 2003 but their musical
journey started way long before then; the group was originally formed
in the '90s by Shifi Emoefe, Tunde Akinsanmi, Yemi Akinwonmi , and
Lanre Faneyi giving birth to the initial nameSTYL.
In 1999, Faneyi passed away. A young singer Zeal Onyecheme replaced
him; rebranding the group's name to STYL Plus. Three years later
Akinwonmi left.
In 2003, the group released their first set of singles – 'Olufunmi'
and 'Runaway' which remain evergreen. In 2006, they released their
first studio album ' Expressions ', which included the hits – '
Imaginethat ', ' Always on my mind ', ' Drive me crazy ', and ' Iya
Basira '.
Going on a small hiatus, they returned in 2008 with the club hit 'Four
years' off their ' Back and Better ' album.