ID Cabasa is a name etched in the bedrock of modern Nigerian music. As the founder of Coded Tunes, he was the architect behind the sound that launched the careers of icons like Olamide, 9ice, and Reminisce. With Unfinished Business, ID Cabasa is releasing a producer album and curating a living museum. The project sees him taking his classic hits from the mid-2000s and “reimagining” them with a blend of original vocalists and current superstars. It is a bold concept that risks damaging the legacy of beloved classics, but Cabasa navigates it with the steady hand of a master. The result is a project that feels deeply nostalgic and refreshingly modern.
One of the album’s centerpieces is Photocopy Reimagined, which brings the original singer, 9ice, together with lyricist Vector. The original track was a defining anthem of its era, and hearing 9ice’s iconic voice on a 2025-updated beat is a spine-tingling moment for any day-one Afrobeats fan. Vector understands the assignment perfectly, delivering a verse that pays homage to the original’s themes of authenticity while adding his own complex rhyme schemes. The production retains the raw, percussion-heavy feel of the original but cleans up the frequencies, making it hit harder on modern sound systems. It is a bridge between the “Alapomeji” era and the streaming era.
Perhaps the most ambitious track is Olufunmi Reimagined. The original Styl-Plus song features a staggering lineup: Boj, Joeboy, Fireboy DML, and Odumodublvck. It is a posse cut for the ages. Hearing the aggressive, drill-influenced flow of Odumodublvck juxtaposed against the melodic tenderness of Joeboy and Fireboy is a sonic experiment that pays off beautifully. It showcases how versatile Cabasa’s production foundation is, it can support the varied styles of 2025’s biggest stars without cracking.
The true value of Unfinished Business lies in its ability to connect generations. In an industry that is often accused of having short-term memory loss, ID Cabasa forces the youth to acknowledge the pioneers. By placing Zlatan and T.I Blaze on Bere Mi, he draws a direct line from the street hop of 2008 to the street hop of today. The album argues that the “New School” stands on the shoulders of giants. For older listeners, it is a trip down memory lane, for younger listeners, it is a history lesson set to a banging beat.
Unfinished Business reminds us that the role of the producer is paramount. ID Cabasa isn’t just a beatmaker, he is a musical director. He knows exactly which artist to place on which song to elicit the maximum emotional response. The album is cohesive, soulful, and immaculately produced. It is a testament to the fact that great music is timeless, and that “unfinished business” doesn’t mean the work was incomplete, it means the legacy is still being written.
