Award-winning singer and rapper Ice Prince Zamani has revealed that his smoking habit cost him no less than ₦340 million, paid to a single drug dealer alone between 2020 and 2026, a six-year period during which his dependency quietly bled his finances dry.
The Oleku and Aboki hitmaker disclosed during a recent appearance on the widely followed Black Box podcast, where he spoke with unusual openness about the personal and financial toll of his lifestyle choices and the dramatic transformation he has since undergone.
What makes the figure all the more breathtaking is the caveat Ice Prince attached to it. The ₦340 million, he stressed, was money funneled to just one supplier, a dealer based close to his Lagos residence.
“From 2020 to 2026, I have spent ₦340 million on weed from just one dealer alone, not to even mention my other dealers from Abuja, Ghana, Jos, and London. This is just one dealer, who lives close to me in Lagos,” the rapper stated plainly, with an air of someone who had long made peace with the numbers.
When one factors in the network of additional suppliers he reportedly maintained across Abuja, Jos, Ghana, and London, the true cumulative cost of his smoking habit over those six years could run exponentially higher, a figure he did not venture to calculate on air, perhaps wisely.
To put the ₦340 million figure in context: at current exchange rates, that sum represents hundreds of thousands of US dollars enough to fund small businesses, purchase prime real estate in several Nigerian cities, or finance the careers of dozens of up-and-coming artists.
Ice Prince, born Panshak Zamani, did not frame his revelations as a cautionary tale delivered from a place of regret. Rather, they emerged as honest markers on what he describes as a deliberate and ongoing journey of self-discovery.
The rapper revealed that he quit both smoking and alcohol as part of a broader commitment to his health, specifically, a weight loss journey that appears to have triggered a wholesale re-examination of his habits and priorities.
The decision, by his account, was not made under duress or following a crisis but grew organically out of a desire to reclaim control over his body and his life.
For an artist who has spent nearly two decades in the public eye, rising from the streets of Jos to become one of Nigeria’s most recognizable musical exports, the admission signals a maturity and self-awareness that many of his contemporaries are yet to publicly embrace.
Perhaps equally surprising to fans was Ice Prince’s revelation that he has also embraced celibacy for a period of time. He offered few additional details, but the disclosure fits neatly within the broader narrative of a man choosing intentional restraint over indulgence across multiple areas of his life simultaneously.
It is a posture increasingly rare in an entertainment culture that often rewards excess and punishes vulnerability, making Ice Prince’s candour on the podcast all the more striking.
While Ice Prince has yet to issue any further public statement beyond the podcast appearance, the revelations have already sparked widespread conversation online, with fans and commentators debating the broader implications, from the sobering financial realities of addiction to the quiet mental health struggles that can lurk behind the glittering surface of celebrity.
Many have praised the rapper for his transparency, with several observers noting that his willingness to name a specific figure rather than speaking in vague terms lends his account credibility and weight that resonates beyond the usual confines of celebrity confession.
Ice Prince remains one of the defining voices of the Afropop and hip-hop generation that came of age in the late 2000s and early 2010s. If his latest chapter is anything to go by, his most compelling story may still be the one he is living right now: sober, celibate, and, by his own reckoning, finally free.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nigerian rapper Ice Prince Zamani has revealed he spent a staggering ₦340 million on weed from a single dealer between 2020 and 2026, a figure that excludes several other suppliers he maintained across Nigeria, Ghana, and London.
Addiction is expensive, and no level of wealth makes you immune to its financial devastation. Ice Prince’s story is ultimately one of recovery and intentional living. He has since quit smoking and alcohol, embarked on a weight loss journey, and even embraced celibacy as part of a broader self-renewal.
His transparency offers a rare, unfiltered look at the hidden cost of substance dependency and serves as a powerful reminder that true wealth begins with the decision to take control of your own life.
