With all the buzz surrounding Nigerian rap culture at the moment, it’s only right that we take a quick trip down the rap hall of fame. As tough as the Nigerian rap industry is, there are a couple of artists who fought against the odds to build rap culture and the way we view it. Curious about the actual rappers who made rap what it is today in Nigeria? Then this list is for you. In no particular order, here are our top 10 greatest Nigerian rappers of all time.
Eedris Abdulkareem
Starting off with an interesting one, Eedris was born in December 1974, in Northern Nigeria. He started out his career as the leader of a band called The Remedies, before he went on to establish himself as a solo artist. Eedris wasn’t your regular rapper, he was a voice for the people.
His music was always centered around a message protesting the state of the country, political injustice, and so many other societal issues. As one of the greatest Nigerian rappers, he was undoubtedly loved by the people. He spoke about everything on our minds, and he wasn’t scared to say it. Here’s one of Eedris’ classics, “Jagaja”, talking about a country so scattered it doesn’t work anymore. Sadly, it is still a very relevant song even in 2022. Enjoy!
Mode 9ine
Mode 9ine made it to the list of top 10 greatest Nigerian rappers of all time. He started out as a radio presenter before fully going into rap. His debut album, Malcom IX dropped in 2004 but didn’t do as well as he expected. In fact, most of his earlier albums had little recognition in mainstream Nigerian music. This was because he was a hardcore rapper, and at the time, Nigeria’s attention was on Afrobeats.
In a 2013 interview, the rapper stated that only a few people cared about his style of music. However, Mode 9ine insisted that he was going to maintain his style as his true fans still appreciated his music. He was not wrong. Listen to a classic track by Mode 9ine.
MI Abaga
Jude (MI) Abaga gave us the song that kick started his career in 2006, “Crowd Mentality.” He hit the scene with a more relatable form of rap that had people easily singing along to his verses. MI’s career was on a steady rise after his debut album, “Talk About It”, was released in 2008. He would often team up with other artists, like Ice Prince and Jesse Jagz (his brother), to make music centered around the growing rap culture at the time. Soon after, MI started to get recognition with the 2009 MTV Africa Music Award for Best Hip/New Act. But that was just the beginning, MI subsequently got recognitions, year in, year out, with about five studio albums to his name, and several other compilation albums.
I think it’s safe to say he played a monumental role in paving the way for mainstream rap in Nigeria. Here’s a personal favorite of mine, MI ft Wizkid on Fast Money, Fast Cars. Should we talk about how there’s now an even lower chance of getting a collaboration like this, with all the drama going on?
Da Grin
The late Nigerian Rapper left too soon but gave us so much that he absolutely had to make it to this list of the top 10 greatest Nigerian rappers. Da Grin’s career started out on a wobbly note with his debut studio album, “Still On The Matter”, which didn’t get a lot of recognition due to poor promotion.
However, he eventually solidified his sound and style of music as a pioneer of dialect rappers in Yoruba and Pidgin. As this was not so common at the time, he had just paved the way for another style of rap. He had a huge role to play in amplifying how Nigerians heard and fell in love with indigenous rap music that’s for sure. Here’s a Da Grin classic, “Pon Pon Pon.”
Naeto C
Naeto C’s career started out in 2006, but it didn’t take long for it to kick off. He did some recording and music production but was really made for rap and we all knew it. As an upcoming artist at the time, he came in strong with over 50 songs recorded and ready for his debut (pretty impressive). Subsequently, he gave us an album in 2008, “U Know My P” which won him the MTV Africa Music Award for Best new musician, the first of many to come.
If you love good rap, then, of course, you loved Naeto C. He hit the scene with a fresh new way of delivering rap, unlike what we were used to at the time. He had a lot of collaborations, most with his long-time music partner Ikechukwu. Let’s listen to a fire jam from the duo, one that might require one or two fire extinguishers. Enjoy!
Olamide
Next on Soot Africa’s top 10 greatest Nigerian rappers of all time is the self-proclaimed “baddest guy who ever liveth”. Olamide hit the music scene in 2011 and has remained relevant ever since then. Just when we thought there couldn’t be another indigenous rapper like Da Grin, Olamide hit the scene with Yoruba lyricism like no other. His debut album, “Rapsodi” shot him into the public eye, along with several collaborations with Wizkid, Reminisce, and other recognizable artists.
After that was YBNL, which had his hit single “First of All”, subsequently he gave albums year after year after year, further establishing himself as a rapper to reckon with. From 2011 to 2016, he dropped a new album every year. Olamide hit the music industry, came with consistency and got the recognition he deserved. One of the earliest tracks from Badoo, “Eni Duro”, enjoy.
Phyno
Another interesting artist to make it to the list. Phyno reinvented rap to make it his own, with a totally different style of delivery, branding, and lyricism we immediately recognized and loved. His debut album was a hit, “No Guts, No Glory” with massive features from MI, Olamide, and other stars. His 2012 “Ghost Mode” was another hit, directed by Clarence Peters. There were also other hit singles like “Man of The Year”, which I probably knew word-for-word at that time. The song also won the best rap single award at the 2013 Headies.
His style of rap used Igbo and Pidgin, which made rap even more relatable to his audience. Subsequently, Phyno released a good number of projects, with so many awards under his belt. He did rap his own way, and Nigeria loved it. Here’s one of my absolute Phyno favorites, “Man of The Year”.
Vector
Vector’s first rap single, “Kilode” droppped in February 2010. After this, a few other projects were rolled out as he tried to find his footing in the music industry. Before long, he gained his first recognition as a nomination for Best Mainstream Hip Hop video at the Nigerian Music Video Awards, 2011. His wasn’t a straight trajectory to the top, as he had lots of relevant and not-so-relevant periods in his career.
However, if there’s one thing we can applaud about his music, it’s his consistency. He released “King Kong” in 2015, a monumental song that was recognized for its brazen authenticity. Vector, like many other rappers, was often involved in one rap feud or another. One of the major episodes was a clash with MI Abaga, which gave us more hit songs from both rappers.
Ice Prince
This list would not be complete without the renowned singer of “Oleku”. He started writing rap when he was a teenager, till he began to work with artists like MI and Jesse Jagz. He started to gain recognition for his work from as early as 2009 when he won the Hennessy Artistry Club Tour. His 2011 debut studio album was “Everybody Loves Ice Prince”, followed by ‘Fire of Zamani” in 2013.
Basically, Ice Prince made commercial rap that sold to thousands in Nigeria, in addition to his singing style which was smooth and relatable. This gained him a lot of recognition and awards with BET, Chanel O, The Headies and so much more. Here’s a hit song from Ice Prince that we can never get tired of, “Aboki”.
Ill Bliss
We’re ending our top 10 greatest Nigerian rappers of all time with Ill Bliss, a phenomenal artist whose debut album, “Dat Ibo Boy” dropped in 2009. Right from the start, Ill Bliss started to gain recognition for his music as early as 2008, when he won the SMVA award for best Hip Hop video and several other awards followed after that. No surprise there, his music was packed full of influences from the Igbo trade culture and truths Nigerians related to.
Let’s look at one of the hardest rap songs at the time, and an evergreen track from Ill Bliss’ early days, “Bank Alerts”.
