Once Upon a Time, Nigerian Female rappers shared the spotlight with their Male counterparts. Then the Nigeria Rap Industry was flowing with talented femcees who captivated people’s attention with lyrics, bars and wordplay.
Back then, Nigerian Female Rappers were the equivalent to the current Afro-Pop Divas that dominate the music industry presently.
During those period most female categories in Award shows were won by Female rappers. Sasha P was one of the biggest recipents.
In 2007, DJ Jimmy Jatt has released the critical acclaimed song, “Too Much” which featured Sasha P, Blaise, B.O.U.Q.U.I and Kemistry.
Each lady gave their very best and kept the tempo of the song to the highest degree they could. They ere unstoppable indviadually and as a team.
However, as time passed the Nigeria rap music scene has been missing some girl power for a while. This is contributed by a lot of reasons which include the rise and popularity of Afropop/Afrobeat genre and the evolution of the rap industry.
Today, we would be celebrating the Ladies that held the Rap Industry down and gave us hits to remember.
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Sasha P
Singer/rapper, Anthonia Yetunde Alabi popularly known in the music industry as Sasha P once ruled the airwaves, from Radio to TV with her amazing voice.
Sasha P thrived in what was considered a male-dominated industry, where artistes dished club bangers that rocked and set music lovers on their feet. The rapper in her heyday was the most prominent woman in Nigerian hip-hop, even bagging the title, first lady of Nigeria hip-hop.
She gained success at a time when there were very few Nigerian women in Hip Hop music. Her success helped pave the way for other female rappers and musicians in Nigerian hip-hop.
Her hit singles, Emi Le Gan and Adara, earned her accolades as she was also extremely decorated and achieved a number of firsts for Nigerian women.
In 2008, she became the first Nigerian female artist to perform at the World Music Awards, and two years later, she became the first Nigerian to win the Best Female Artiste award at MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) and Women in Entertainment Awards, UK in 2009 for single titled Adara.
Since her break from music to focus on her clothing line, Eclectic by Sasha, little or nothing has been heard from her musically.
Blaise
Blaise, born Obafunke Martin Luther, is a Nigerian music artist with a distinct sound. She was born in Lagos but spent a portion of her childhood in the United Kingdom and Ibadan.
She began her rap career as a member of one of Nigeria’s most infamous rap crews, Da Trybe. They gained a lot of popularity with their hit song, Oya.
After the dissolve of Da Trybe, she became a solo artist and paired up with one of her ex-group member’s who produced her number 1 singles, “The Definition” and “Bragging Rights.” After this, she gained a lot of respect and popularity in Nigerian Hip Hop.
Her unique approach to Hip Hop was what brought her into the limelight. Her slick delivery could definitely bring her back and take her all the way up on the charts.
Bouqui
Real name- Bukola Afolayan, B.O.U.Q.U.I is a Rapper/Singer/Songwriter. Born at Ife, Nigeria, she started out her musical career as part of an all-female Gospel group, G-Vibes whilst a student of the University of Ife in the 1990’s.
She branched out on a solo career in 1999 and got her break-through in 2005, with the album – “BOUQUI” with hits like “Vanity”, “Molejo” and “Get it started”
BOUQUI hit the air waves with a bang when she released her hit track- Molejo. From then she went from glory to glory. Though her focus is on gospel music, this didn’t deter her from making an impact. She has since relocated to the US.
She has released a total of four albums and an EP.
Mo’Cheddah
When most people think about Mocheddah, they remember a tomboyish girl who stormed into the music scene at a young age.
Modupe-Oreoluwa Oyeyemi aka Mo’Cheddah is both a Nigerian rapper and singer. She released her debut studio album, Franchise Celebrity (while signed to Knighthouse Entertainment.
The album was preceded by the 2009 promotional single “If You Want Me”. 80% of the songs on Franchise celebrity were hits. She parted ways with Knighthouse in February 2012 and established her own label, Cheddah Music.
Eva Alordiah
Elohor Eva Alordiah best known as Eva is one multi-talented young lady. She is a rapper, entertainer, make-up artist, fashion designer and entrepreneur.
Eva has bars for days. The Award-winning rapper got inspired to start rapping after listening to a song by Eminem.
She released her debut EP, The GIGO in 2011 which was supported by four singles: “I Done Did It”, “Down Low”, “Garbage Out (Your Fada)”, and “High”. She later released her first album, ‘1960’ in 2016
Weird MC
Shola Idowu aka Weird MC is arguably one of the pioneers of female rap in Nigeria. Right from her time in the UK, Weird MC was already rapping and topping charts.
When she came back to Nigeria, The rapper released her first hit song “Allen Avenue” off her debut album, “Simply Weird” in the early 90s.
Then in the early 2000s, she ruled the airwaves with the hit song, ‘Ijoya” which is still a classic to date. Her performance on P-square’s “Busybody” can’t be forgotten.
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Kemistry
Kemi Olisemeka known as Kemistry was more popular for her role as an O.A.P than a rapper. After moving back to Nigeria in 2003 she started out at Raypower then joined the sports radio, Brilla FM before moving again to Rhythm FM .
During her time at Rhythm FM, she released tracks like ‘Ijo ti ya’, ‘Shake’ and a did a few collaborations like the hit ‘Too Much’ by DJ Jimmy Jatt ft Bouqui, Blaise, Sasha P and herself.
Hall of Fame
In 2011, Tha Suspect released the Naija Femcees version of his hit song, “I No Send You featuring Sasha, Muna, Eva, Mo-Cheddah, Blaise, and Zee.