These are the top 10 new Nigerian rappers, some of them you probably don’t know
Nigerian social media has been flooded with discussions over the state of hip-hop in the country during the last few weeks, and here are the top 10 new Nigerian rappers, some of them you probably don’t know.
While some music fans and industry insiders say that the genre has succumbed to the upbeat tempo of Afrobeats and Afropop and has died out in Nigeria, others remain firm believers in Nigerian rappers’ ability to weave words together to form bars.
Top 10 new Nigerian rappers, some of them you probably don’t know
1. PsychoYP
A vital part that many rappers are missing these days is a hometown connection that informs the first community that expands into a sprawling fanbase, but PsychoYP has this covered.
Nicholas Ihua-Maduenyi, a 25-year-old rapper from Abuja, has been able to spread his youthified brand of hip-hop, which includes American trap, British grime, and Afropop, beyond his hometown by consistently releasing banger rap tracks after banger rap tracks since 2017, when Soundcloud was the oyster for promising up and comers.
2. Prettyboy D-O
Prettyboy D-O, born Donald Ofik, is many things: the leader of his self-made culture subculture, the African Dennis Rodman, but most importantly, a rapper cut from different fabric and completely in his own lane.
DO has doubled down with hits like Chop Elbow and the Falz-featured remix after becoming a key attraction on the underground scene with his remarkable debut, Footwork, in 2017.
3. Davolee
In Nigerian music, especially the hip-hop scene, a co-sign from a bigger artiste could literally be the answer to an up-and-coming artiste’s prayers, serving to open doors they were miles away from and place them in conversations that would greatly benefit their career.
This co-sign effect has proved especially instrumental in the street-hop scene, gifting music lovers with prolific street-hop rapper and singer, Davolee.
4. SGaWD
If the ratio of singers to rappers in the country is slim, the female representation for the ratio of rappers is even slimmer but this hasn’t stopped SGaWD from making a name for herself as one of the hardest female rappers out of Africa in recent times.
Making an unmissable entry in 2020 first with ‘Like Me’ that saw her flex her vocals, SGaWD soon flipped the coin to reveal her rapper side first on Feel Right with Mafeni and Doz, then on Resistance with Jess Eta, while still fluidly expertly switching roles between singing and rapping.
5. Odumodublvck
If the many elements that come together to make up a rapper and launch them into success were just as tangible as Thanos’ infinity rings.
Then Odumodublvck is well on his way to becoming the ultimate Nigerian rap villain.
With roots in the Southern part of the country and history and community in Abuja, the throat-slashing rapper has been able to blend several of these elements together to present a highly personalized energy-giving iteration of +234drill.
6. Superwozzy
In North America, trap music has been able to revolutionize the movement of hip-hop not only in America but globally, producing the next generation of global rap stars and making a case for the continued viability of Hip-hop.
Back home, while Nigerian trap music may not be as popular, with American trap constantly making the rotation of Nigerians from different walks of life, there are two genres that seem to be swaying the crowd; +234drill and street hop.
7. Eeskay
With the emergence of an equally talented but younger generation eager to stake their claim in the industry and take theirs, comes the feeling of old pillars and the dismantling of the gatekeeper’s post.
For Eeskay, this revolution was plainly highlighted on his standout track, Agbalagba which features Odumodu Blvck– a song about an older person demanding too much and eventually meeting his waterloo.
8. Mojo
Mojo calls himself many things; Orisha meaning oracle, rap Jesu; rap Jesus, as well as ‘the lesson teacher’ and more.
While most mainstream music lovers may only know him for his big break with his Prettyboy D-O featured rap song, Chop Life Crew, he’s proved himself deserving of these self-given monikers over and over.
Always sure to drop double-take worthy bars in English and Yoruba, Mojo has been able to grow out a very supportive fanbase who consistently mark attendance on his singles from Shawarma to Lesson Teacher, down to his collaborations with members of his Chop Life Crew collective and other musicians.
9. Phlow
As the face and pulse of hip-hop continue to change, fewer rappers stick to the traditional cadence and techniques, but not Phlow, who has been able to breathe new life into these templates.
Full name Stephanie Asuai Eyime, Phlow’s flow re-establishes her professional moniker in titanium and has quite literally inserted her in typically male-dominated conversations.
But this is not a first for the talented femcee who started rapping as a teenager to outdo her brother’s verses.
10. Payper Corleone
A full-fledged rapper’s rapper, Payper Corleone is proof that Hip-hop lives on in the ears and hearts of young Nigerians.
Rapping since his secondary school days, Tombra Asikpi or Payper rose to fame in 2015 with the release of two mixtapes; Love & HipHop and Friday Flight Freestyles.
Then he’d cemented his hold on the scene with his commercially and critically successful album, BARS 2.