Since its advent and popularity in the United States, the gospel of Hip-Hop has spread like wild fire across the globe and it found a home somewhere off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa, Nigeria in the mid 90s. Thanks to the huge influence from the United States and a lot of rap battles in the tertiary institutes in Nigeria, a lot of Nigerian youths started rapping and trying to be as good as the American rappers.
The rap game has always been a male-dominated genre right from its inception and the pattern was no different in Nigeria. However, in the midst of the domination by men, some women came in and made an influence on the rap game in Nigeria. Here’s a list of some of those female MCs:
1. Weird MC: Weird MC is a rapper, producer and songwriter and was one of the first few female rappers in Africa. She kickstarted her career doing rap battles – including the Club 291 Contest in which she came third – and even went on a UK tour with DJ P Tee Money. In 1992, she released her single “I Wanna Make You Jack/Let’s Get Wet” to critical acclaim. In 1996 she returned to Nigeria and introduced herself with the album, “Simply Weird” with “Allen Avenue” as the lead single off the album. Simply Weird is considered as the first full length Nigerian Hip-Hop album, the album also won the first AMEN Award for the Best Hip-Hop Award. In 2006, she released her second album, “After Da Storm” with the Don Jazzy and JJC-produced song “Ijoya” being the lead single. Ijoya won her her an AMEN award for Best Pop Song, and a Channel O Music Video Award for the Best Special Effect. Weird MC’s style of rap is heavily influenced by Fela Kuti, Miriam Makeba, Queen Latifah and Jimi Hendrix giving her sound a distinct yet familiar feeling.
2. Sasha P: Sasha P is a rapper, motivational speaker and lawyer. Sasha is popularly known as the First Lady of Hip-Hop in Nigeria thanks to her success as a rapper which paved the way for other female rappers. She started off under eLDee’s record label, Trybe Record as a signed artiste before moving on to Storm Records where she dropped her debut album “First Lady” in 2007. In 2009 she won the Best Female Artist award in the UK at the Women in Entertainment Awards for her hit debut single “Adara”. In 2008, Sasha P went on to become the first Nigerian female artist to perform at the 20th anniversary of the World Music Awards; she also holds the record for being the first Nigerian artiste to win the Best Female Award at MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA). In 2013, retired from music to focus on her fashion business.
3. Bouqui: Bouqui is an acronym for Born Oncemore Unto a Quickened Unparalleled Image; simply put Rebirth. She started her career with the group G-Vibes which she started before deciding to go solo in order to focus on her career and build a brand suitable to the Nigerian crowd. Her Christian faith was pivotal and integral to her music career. In 2007, she released a self-titled debut album with 17 tracks, a record for being the most tracks on a debut album. “Molejo”, a single off the album, fast became an anthem on the streets despite being a gospel song. In 2010, she dropped her second album titled “Redefinition” with the lead single “Mo Ri Le” becoming a major bop on the streets. In 2013, she set another record by becoming the first female African artiste to drop a double album, “Marks of a General” and “Eve of Independence”. She is credited for creating the Contemporary Hip-Hop Gospel genre. She has several awards to her name including the AMEN Award for the Best Female Act in 2007, Women In Entertainment and Arts for Best Act and Best video in 2009. She also won the Best Female Act in 2010 as well as the Kingdom Gospel Award for Best Hip-Hop Act in 2011.3. Bouqui: Bouqui is an acronym for Born Oncemore Unto a Quickened Unparalleled Image; simply put Rebirth. She started her career with the group G-Vibes which she started before deciding to go solo in order to focus on her career and build a brand suitable to the Nigerian crowd. Her Christian faith was pivotal and integral to her music career. In 2007, she released a self-titled debut album with 17 tracks, a record for being the most tracks on a debut album. “Molejo”, a single off the album, fast became an anthem on the streets despite being a gospel song. In 2010, she dropped her second album titled “Redefinition” with the lead single “Mo Ri Le” becoming a major bop on the streets. In 2013, she set another record by becoming the first female African artiste to drop a double album, “Marks of a General” and “Eve of Independence”. She is credited for creating the Contemporary Hip-Hop Gospel genre. She has several awards to her name including the AMEN Award for the Best Female Act in 2007, Women In Entertainment and Arts for Best Act and Best video in 2009. She also won the Best Female Act in 2010 as well as the Kingdom Gospel Award for Best Hip-Hop Act in 2011.
4. Blaise: Blaise is a rapper with a distinct sound, one that you just can’t hate. In 2001, Trybesmen decided to expand its width and formed a collective called Da Trybe to give buzzing acts a platform to showcase their talents. They dropped the album “The Big Picture” and one of the songs that stood out was “Oya”. On that song, one rapper stood out, making her introduction with an evergreen verse. That rapper was Blaise. Following the dissolution of the collective, she went on to release “The Definition” and featured on Freestyle’s “Bragging Rights” with a stellar verse. She also featured on Evaezi’s “I Don’t Give a F**k”, Suspect’s “I No Send You,” and MI’s “Blaze”; in all these songs, she dropped verses that cemented her place as one of the best Female MCs to grace the Nigerian Hip-Hop scene. Although she didn’t release an album although her career, her status as one of the best female MCs from the +234 remains unshaken.
5. Eva Alordiah: Eva is a multi talented rapper, fashion designer and makeup artist. With early influences from Bob Marley, Michael Jackson and Sade Adu, Eva was poised to be great. Eva started out in her school choir and while in secondary school, she was inspired by Eminem’s “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” and decided to pursue a professional rap career. She dropped her first single “I Dey Play” – a cover of Lil Wayne’s A Milli – featuring Tha Suspect. In November 2011, she released her debut project, “G.I.G.O (Garbage In Garbage Out)” with “I Done Did It” being the lead single. In 2012 she released a second single off the EP titled “High” to critical acclaim. She was reported to have signed on to Da Trybe 2.0 under the leadership of eLDee in May 2012 but the romance between both parties didn’t last very long. She took a break from music then returned with the Sossick-produced single “Mercy” in 2013. Her debut album, “1960: The Album” was released in 2016. She has two mixtapes, one EP and an album to her name. Any list of Female MCs from Nigeria without Eva being included is incomplete.
Worthy mentions: Kemistry, Muna.
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