Top 5 Nigerian notable personalities who used to be rappers before

Lasisi Elenu, a comedian and sketch creator, is another well-known figure whose beginnings may surprise you as a rapper. Genevieve delivered the rap for that song, which continues to be one of the album’s standout tunes, according to Lasisi when talking about his time as a rapper.

Before this, I used to do music and I put out songs but what I did then was I’d sit down in my car and I’d record myself rapping to instrumental. I’d just download any form of instrumental and I’d rap to it. I got comments, maybe 4, 5, 6 as the case may be. I was also consistent in doing that but it took me nowhere.

Genevieve Nnaji

During the now-famous period when some Nollywood actors and actresses were prohibited from performing, well-known actress Genevieve Nnaji notably transitioned to music.

Genevieve released an album at the same time as “No More” called “One Logo Logo Line,” which includes the song “Bump It Up” on track 5 and demonstrates her hip-hop side, but most people only know her for that song because it is her most well-known song.

That song, which is still among the best on the record, featured a verse by Genevieve.

BasketMouth

Nigerian comedian Basketmouth has been open about his past as an unsuccessful rapper. Before switching to humor, Basketmouth wanted to be a successful rapper, but tragically, that dream never came true. When talking about his lack of success as a rapper, Basketmouth stated:

I’m a failed rapper. Yes, I failed as a rapper. But I didn’t fail because it was a case of [not delivering]. On stage, I was funny, but all my friends were funny so I didn’t know it was a gift. I thought it was a normal thing. I was pushing rap; trying to make music but what I was doing then was blending Afrobeat with a hip hop vibe. It was a bit too ahead of my time. People didn’t get it. We struggled, so I’ll say we failed at doing something new

Jim Iyke

We all bore witness to the time when Nollywood actor Jim Iyke decided to go into music as a rapper. It was met with heavy backlash and a lot of laughter at the actor, but don’t worry, Jim is laughing about it today too. Speaking about his time as a rapper, Jim Iyke said:

I jumped into music and you know what? That was a humbling experience. Cuz at the end of the day I discovered that I was probably the worst rapper ever. But I enjoyed the experience.

Frank Edoho

Frank Edoho is the only individual on this list who, at least to me, comes as a surprise. Currently, Frank Edoho is well-known for serving as the show’s host.

But few are aware that before beginning the career he has today, he was a rapper first.

Frank Edoho talked about his experience as a rapper and the reasons he stopped:

Back then, I was well-known as MC Frank during my years at the University of Calabar. I’m a hip-hop head because I used to listen to a lot of rap music. One day, in school, I did a rap to an instrument that was playing during a show I was anchoring on campus. I was like ‘Hey, I can flow on the beat’ and the audience said, ‘I can’t’. So, the DJ hit the instrument and I started freestyling until the crowd started shouting. I thought the shouting was to tell me that I was doing badly – I didn’t know it was an ovation. So after the show, I felt I should maximize the skill but there was no money in rap back then, and that was how I abandoned it.