To begin with, we have to acknowledge that Rap Game in
Nigeria is now a very tight game where only the sickest and dopiest can
survive. It has gotten to the stage were punchlines are been used to punch out
fake emcees and wordplays aren't for kids any longer. It is now at a level
where by for you to stay on top you need consistency and not just parade past
glory. Rappers now need to add creativity and versatility to the talent so as
to produce the kinds of music their fans want to keep hearing over and over
again.
Aforementioned however, it should be taken into cognisance
that the Rap Game in Nigeria wouldn't be what it is today without the likes of
some old folks who infused rap and pivoted it. The likes of Junior and Pretty, Mode 9, Eldee and the Trybes family, Eedris Abdulkareem, DaGrin, Nigga Raw, Ruggedman, M.I,
Six Foot Plus Terry Tha Rapman and Sasha, who at different moments gave a
new look and meaning to rap music in Nigeria. These Rappers have been regarded
as Rap revolutionaries because at different periods in the industry they kept
rap music alive, making it a generally accepted genre of music and also the
most competitive genre of music in the Nigerian Music Industry. Yes you saw
that right, the most competitive!!!
With that been said, on Absolute
Hearts this week, we are going to be taking a critical look at the 10
hottest rappers in Nigeria (#AbsoluteTopTenNaijaRappers)
who have continued to keep the rap fire burning and the flag flying. Note
however, this list is compiled based on these criterions;
- Albums
- Punchlines and Wordplays
- Versatility
- Consistency
- Collabos and
- Fan base.
This means that all the rappers that would be mentioned here
must have released at least an album, have deep understanding of punchlines and
wordplays, must be versatile, should be consistent and also must have a handful
of collaborations. Please note that this article will be in two parts, the
first part carries least 5 of these seasoned artistes and the second part which
would be published later will encapsulate the remaining top 5.
Having this in mind, here are the 10 hottest rappers in
Nigeria (in descending order)
10. JESSE JAGZ:
Born
into the Abaga family, Jesse Garba Abaga is the younger brother to M.I Abaga and he also signed to Chocolate City which now has M.I as the
President. Jesse Jagz who is has also been describe as Nigerian Kanye West due to his flirtatious
experimentation with different genres of music from R&B to Roots Reggae to
Pop broke into the limelight with his hit single Sugarcane Baby and after that there was no slowing down for the
Taraba born star. He went on to release three monster hits Wetin Dey, Pump It Up
and Nobody Test Me ft M.I and Ice Prince as he was preparing for his first solo album. One of his
singles “My Brother” was selected as
part of the International Music
Entrepreneur of the Year (IYMEY) 2008 compilation and in 2009 he was
selected to represent Nigeria at the 2009 edition of Sauti Za Busara Music Festival, a yearly international festival
that has established itself as one of Africa’s leading music festivals which
held in Zanzibar, Tanzania. In 2010, he released his debut album Jag Of All Tradez before staying quiet from
2011 to 2012 as he had a fall out with Chocolate City. He made his return in
2013 dropping two singles and an album which did not only put the spotlight
back on him but also proves that he is one of the greatest rappers in the game.
His latest album Royal Niger Company
has been rated by Hip-hip lovers as the one of the best rap album in 2014 and
would go down as one of the best rap album in the Nigerian musical history, the
album features songs like Louis, High Life, Jargo, to mention a few.
9. SERIKI:
Seriki Omo Owo whose real name is Seriki Ibiyemi is another soldier in
the “Ibile United Movement” and has
stayed consistent and relevant after dropping his smash hit single Agbalumo. The rapper who started
rapping professionally in 2010 got his breakthrough under 9ice’s Alapomeji record label where he released Agbalumo and Undisputed. Seriki was able to prove his critics wrong when he
released two singles “Baba O and Love Song” as these tracks were well
received by music fans and from henceforth Seriki has been everywhere in the
industry jumping on features and releasing single before he dropped his album.
Seriki who also feature alongside Vector,
Olamide, Phyno, Yung6ix, Phenom, Buckwylla and Liu T on
Laylow “What it Do” song which has
been tagged one of the best rap hip-hop collaborative song of all time. He has also
worked with the likes of Reminisce, Baseone, Tupengo, Jahbless, Oritse Femi, Patoranking and 9ice to mention a few. He recently dropped one of
the hottest rap songs SBM (Stand Back
Murdafucker) which features Vector
the Kingkong’.
8. YUNG6IX:
The
acclaimed King of the South whose real name is Onome Onokohwomo was born and raised in Warri. After leaving
secondary school he moved to Lagos to pursue is music career and finally got
his breakthrough when he did the cover of Ice
Prince’s Oleku in 2010. After that, 6ix
like he his fondly called didn't lag as he went on to release songs like Far Gone ft P. Fizzy which was accompanied by a video all from his Green light Green Mixtape. In 2011 6ix started work on his debut album
after his record label 411Enternament
went into a partnership deal with Storm
Record. Follow Me ft Wizkid was the first single off the album.
That same year he released Oh My Gosh still from his Green Light
Green project and that song got him Lyricist on the Roll and Best Rap Single nominations at the Headies Awards the following year. By
2012 he dropped the video for Oh My Gosh
which had cameo appearances from Naeto C,
Jesse Jagz, DJNeptune, and P. Fizzy.
6ix fan base increased when he featured on M.I
Illegal Music 2 mixtape and he was subsequently co-signed and nicknamed King of the South by M.I.
On
February 6 2014, Yung6ix released his debut album titled 6ix O'Clock which featured hit songs like First Class, Say To The
Alter , Kpansh ft M.I and had star appearances from the
likes of Phyno, Ice Prince, Yemi Alade, YQ, Wizkid, Olamide.Yung6ix recent
singles Blessing ft Oritse Femi is currently getting
massive airplay across the country.
7. FALZ:
He is
the son of popular human right activist and lawyer Femi Falana and just like his father he also a lawyer but with a
great passion for music that he had to leave the court. Falz The Bahd Guy whose real name is Folarin Falana didn’t get much attention when he first came into
industry because of his style of rap, he uses a different kind of English/Yoruba
ascent that somehow made music lovers think of him as unserious. The lawyer turn
rapper soon began to get noticed for his funny rap style when he dropped his
mixtape titled Shakara which was
also the name of the hit song off the mixtape. After that Falz went on to
release songs like Cool Parry ft Saeon, 123 ft Oyinkansola and WazUp Guy as he began work on his debut
album titled WazUp Guy. Before
dropping the album in 2014, Falz released three more singles High Class, Currency and Jessica which
finally won the heart of music lovers as they became accustomed to his unique
and comic way of rapping.
Falz
became one of the most sought after rappers after he released the visual to one
of the songs Marry Me ft Yemi Alade and Poe which gained tremendous view on YouTube and from that moment,
this dude has been everywhere. Falz who has worked with the likes of Olamide, Phyno, Omo Akin, Simi, Show Dem Camp, Sir Dauda just but to mention a few as two hot singles that is
making everyone go gaga, Karashika ft
Phyno and Gerrara Here ft Koker
6. ILLBLISS:
In 2009
Oga Boss released his debut album titled Dat
Ibo Boy and it had hit songs like Dat
Ibo Boy and Aiye Po Gan ft Terry G and in 2011 Illbliss returned
to the studio to began work on his sophomore album titled OGA BOSS. The first two singles Anamachi Kwanu and My Heart
Beats enjoyed massive airplay across the country as Illbliss finally
cemented himself as the Oga Boss in the rap game. Illbliss who has worked with
the likes of Timaya, Naeto C, Ice Prince, Silvastone
(U.K. artiste), Chidinma, Phyno, Olamide, Banky W, WizBoy, Tha Suspect e.t.c has a Joint Venture; CAPital Hill Music/Goretti Co. with Clarence Peters
His
latest singles Chukwu Agozigo Gi and
Many Men ft Wizkid which are off his third studio album "Powerful" are currently getting
massive airplay and the album itself has got much praise from his fans and
music pundit.
So
people there you have our least 5 out of the #AbsoluteTopTenNaijaRappers,
is there anyone on the list you feel shouldn’t be there or probably there is
someone that was suppose to make it that we didn’t mention. If so, feel free to
drop your comments in the comment box. You can also make a guess on those you
think will make the list for the top 5 that would be published later this week. Let the comments roll in, you might be
mentioned for your views in our next episode of
#AbsoluteTopTenNaijaRappers
This list was written and compile by
Shojobi Ife a.k.a. OfficialNotch
HaFeest'Nova Onitilo
Contributory Writer
Ajala Nasiru a.k.a. Honorable Of Life
Edited by:
Tunny Ogunnowo
This list was written and compile by
Shojobi Ife a.k.a. OfficialNotch
HaFeest'Nova Onitilo
Contributory Writer
Ajala Nasiru a.k.a. Honorable Of Life
Edited by:
Tunny Ogunnowo
Since there is Jesse Jagz m ok with the list.lol
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