Nigerians love music with a favouritsm for danceable music with lively beats. This is one reason why majority of the musicians we have are afrobeat singers. You hear such music when you go to occasions like weddings, birthdays, and they are also regulars in night clubs, drinking bars, etc.
Whilst we love to dance to afrobeats, Nigerians also love rap music and we have some very good rappers among which are some of the bests out of Africa. In this article, we shall find out the best rappers in Nigeria in 2021.
There are so many Nigerian rappers in the music industry but, here we look at just the top 10 ones;
1. M.I
M.I Abaga is regarded by many Nigerian hip-hop lovers as the biggest rapper to ever come out of the country. While that’s a debate, MI’s success in the industry is as high as any rapper would aim to reach. The talented lyricist entered the industry in 2004. 4 years later, he released his debut album Talk About It which is one of the most commercially successful albums by any rapper in Africa. He’s released 3 more albums and a couple of mixtapes and EPs.
2. Olamide
Baddoo, as he’s popularly called, is a model indeginous rapper in Nigeria. He’s about the most successful indigenous rapper in Nigeria and that position can only be shared with Phyno. With 9 studio albums and 3 EPs/Compilation albums, talent and consistency are two words to describe this star. Olamide is not just talented, he’s also introduced several other talents to Nigerian music lovers. His label, YBNL, was the stepping stone for artists like Adekunle Gold, Lil Kesh, and Fireboy DML.
3. Phyno
Phyno crashed into the mainstream scene in 2012 when he dropped the smash hit, Ghost Mode featuring Olamide. Since then, the Igbo-spitting rapper has shown that he’s one of the best rappers out of Nigeria. His album, No Guts No Glory, was very successful commercially and the same goes for his Play Maker and Deal With It album. Together with Olamide, Phyno sits on the Nigeria indeginous rapping throne in Nigeria. His nickname, Ezege – King of Kings -, says it all.
4. Falz
Falz is a very unique rapper. He’s able to blend comic into hip hop which makes his style a very interesting one. Falz has been around since 2009 but wasn’t until 2011 that some of his singles went mainstream. Since then, Falz has put out 4 studio albums and bagged many awards including a BET Award, City People Entertainment Awards, Nigeria Music Video Awards, multiple Headies awards, and an AMVCA award. This makes him one of the most decorated rappers in Nigeria.
5. Vector
V.E.C, Vec Tha Viper is as good a lyricist as any rapper you’ll find. His career has had much controversy as he’s been in many rap battles with other rappers like M.I and Remininsce. His rap beef with M.I in 2019 was one of the biggest that the Nigerian music industry has seen. Vector has won the Headies Lyricist on the Roll award twice out of three nominations. Since he became active in 2008, Vector has put out up to 7 studio projects including Albums, LPs, and EPs.
6. Ice Prince
Excluding indeginous rappers, Ice Prince is the most commercially successful rapper in Nigeria. Zamani got signed by M.I into Choc City and put out his debut album in 2011. The album had top hits like Oleku, Juju, and Superstar. His sophomore album, Fire of Zamani was even more outstanding. It produced hits like Aboki, I Swear, Whiskey, and more. Ice Prince was the first Nigerian Rapper to win a BET Award after he won it in 2013. He’s won up to 17 different awards.
7. Jesse Jagz
Jesse Jagz may not be a model commercial rapper in Nigeria but when it comes to talent, he’s one of the best out of Nigeria. Brother to M.I, Jesse Jagz signed to his Choc City label in 2010. His style of rapping blends hip hop and dancehall. He’s released up to 5 studio albums and a compilation album with Choc City. Jesse Jagz won the Headies lyricist on the roll award in 2012 and he’s also won a Nigeria Entertainment Award and The Future Awards Africa.
8. Yung6ix
Yung6ix is one of the most talented street rappers in Nigeria. Self acclaimed, King Of The South, Yung6ix started rapping in 2009. He dropped his debut album 6ix O’Clock in 2014 which was well received by Nigerian music lovers. The album contained hit songs like Before I Go Broke featuring Olamide, Follow Me featuring Wizkid, Kpansh featuring M.I, Notice, and First Class. The rapper has released one more album, High Star, which dropped in 2017.
9. YCee
YCee is one of the new school hip hop rappers in Nigeria. In 2015, he was on top the industry after a series of hits including Condo, Jagaban, and Omo Alhaji. His debut album YCee vs Zaheer dropped in 2019 and before then, the rapper has put out 2 EPs. YCee has gotten 9 award nominations out of which he won the Headies Rookie of the Year in 2015 and the AFRIMMA best African hip hop award in 2017.
10. Ladipoe
Talent-wise, Ladipoe is one of the best rappers in Nigeria. Currently signed under Don Jazzy’s Mavins, the rapper is also very understated in this writer’s opinion. The rapper kicked off his career in 2014 and hasn’t worked on a lot of projects.
Conclusion
There you go, the 10 best rappers in Nigeria as of 2021. You can enjoy and dance to afrobeat as much as you want but there is no denying that these rappers are very good at what they do.
These rappers are not just good at what they do, they are also popular in the country having attained fame and most of them command a large fan base. Also, many of them have made Nigeria proud and they put the country in the map by winning several awards both locally and internationally.
Of interest, who is your favourite Nigerian rapper off the list? You can drop their names in the comment box.