Multidisciplinary is a word that perfectly captures the essence of Munachi Abii. Many recognise her from her latest project, Katangari Goes to Town, where she starred as Sofia Gyang, the wife of the late Chief Bello Gyang. But Abii has been on screens long before the Reuben Reng film.
In 2007, she was crowned the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) and went on to represent Nigeria on the world stage. After her reign, Abii’s career pivoted; she ventured into music. Fans wondered about this detour. Abii could have remained in the beauty and fashion industry and could have done exploits. So, why the switch?
Munachi Abii’s reign as the pageant queen is one she has described as interesting. But she craved something beyond “interesting,” and the beauty race did not prepare her for a tomorrow. “I felt like I was thrust into the deep end quickly,” she explains. “It is not just about me. I feel it’s a beauty pageant industry thing. Beauty pageants never really prepare one for what lies ahead. They just tell you to put yourself together and that’s about it. They tell you that whatever you do, you should make sure you do not disrespect the brand, at least in the first year. There is a whole lot more to it, which I had to learn along the way.”
The entrepreneur and director does not credit coincidence for the different turns her life has taken. “Nothing is a coincidence. Everything I am today, I have always desired to accomplish.”
But the former beauty pageant is well aware of the doors pageantry opened and how it emboldened her. “The crown gave me access to take my dreams a step further. For that, I am most grateful.”
Her gravitation towards music wasn’t out of place; she had always been involved in music. She was a vixen in Psquare’s Ifunaya music video, which was released during her MBGN run. “I always wrote music. I had friends in the music industry, so they brought me along,” she recounts. But Abii didn’t choose the soloist or vocalist path; rap called out to her, backed by her desire to live outside the margin.
“Typically, beauty queens are expected to be singers, but I did not want to be like everybody else. I wanted to stand out, and rapping was something that stood out. To date, I have not come across any beauty queen who raps.” She said in an interview. However, she wasn’t new to rap. Prior to winning the MBGN, Muna had performed as part of a Port Harcourt-based rap group, The Specimen A, and collaborated with Terry da Rapman on the critically acclaimed My PH Girl.
Although Munachi Abii was born into a supportive family that nurtured her artistic dreams, she was not shielded from the coarse realities of making rap music in Nigeria. “The major difficulty I experienced was the lack of proper promotion,” she remarks. But she viewed the hurdles as stepping stones to greatness.
In 2012, she was one of the female rappers to feature and represent Nigeria in the televised BET Cypher for the BET Awards in 2011. The following year, she released two singles, Here To Stay and Down Down Low, that topped charts. Alongside her music career, Abii has also dabbled in DJing, showing proficiency on the wheels of steel.
Regardless of the trophies that lined her shelf, Abii was unable to interact with the critique. “I was very attached to my music and very sensitive about my craft. The craft is me, so if you criticise it, you are criticising me,” she admits. Down the line, she realised she had to separate herself—Munachi— from Muna, the rapper. Then came her saving grace: acting!
“With acting, you learn to become another character without losing yourself. That was something I really wanted to do,” she states. Acting helped her dissociate herself from the craft. Through acting, she learnt that what was being critiqued was the technique; her being was not called into question.
“When I started acting, I became Ada, Nneka, this person, and that person. It became easy for me and I fell in love with it,” she sums up. Some of her popular work includes the sequel to the 1992 classic, Living in Bondage, tagged Living in Bondage: Breaking Free, which earned her a nomination in the best kiss category at the Best of Nollywood Awards in 2020. Her other titles include Finding Hubby, Spellbound, Obsession, and A Perfect Day.
The actress was filled with a yearning to do more and be more. Thus, it is no surprise that acting was not her final destination. Instead, it paved the way for her love for pictures. “I realised that I liked pictures. I have always taken pictures, and the photography thing is good. How about a motion picture?” She didn’t let the idea lie dormant; she began researching and studying directing.
“I was blessed to have people who took a chance on me,” she reflects. Her directorial credits include the 2022 romantic drama Butterflies and the drama My Best Years, which she also starred in.
Whilst the beauty industry is a part of her past, the vocation still flows through her veins. She founded Berryworks, a 100% natural plant-based skincare company. The skincare brand came to life because Abii was in search of a good product that worked for her skin. It also felt like a preordained path. “It felt it was a natural path to follow,” she confirms.
Art is what defines and shapes Abii’s life: “Munachi is an artist and as such, my passion will find its way through any spectrum of art it can pass through.” Whether she is on stage rapping or on set giving a performance of a lifetime, one thing is for sure: at her core, Munachi Abii is an artist.
