Tuesday 18th July 2023How the New Generation is Revitalising Rap in Nigeria
By Makua Adimora - @coldasmaxx ๐
Originally born in the storied city of New York, the American hip-hop wave first hit Nigeriaโs shores in the early โ90s and birthed a whole generation of bar-spitting MCs in fitted caps and baggy tees. Rappers like Ruff, Rugged & Raw, Maintain, The Remedies and The Trybesmen became famous for creating songs that married their local roots with Western influences. The early 2000s saw the rise of more acts like Mode9, Sasha P, Ruggedman, Bouqui, and Weird MC who further cemented hip-hopโs place in the Nigerian music scene. However the genre was still relegated to the sidelines in an afropop-dominated industry.
Things took a turn when M.I Abaga stepped onto the scene and gave the genre a facelift, expertly balancing top-notch lyricism with commercial appeal and paving the way for acts like Naeto C and Ice Prince to follow in his footsteps. Meanwhile, artistes like Dagrin, Olamide and Phyno put indigenous rap on the map and gave Nigerian hip-hop the unique identity it had been desperately missing since its birth. But with the global expansion of afrobeats, Nigerian rap eventually lost its place in the spotlight.
Now, a new vanguard of rap acts is breathing new life into the genre and shaking up the scene, one bar at a time. From mainstream names like Blaqbonez and Cheque to more underground voices like PDSTRN, Reespect, Cozy Kiyo and Ictooicy, these new-generation rappers are brimming with versatility, further showcasing the malleability of rap as a genre and markedly marching down the path towards making Nigerian hip-hop great again.
๎
๏ธ๏ธ๏ธ READ MORE
Things took a turn when M.I Abaga stepped onto the scene and gave the genre a facelift, expertly balancing top-notch lyricism with commercial appeal and paving the way for acts like Naeto C and Ice Prince to follow in his footsteps. Meanwhile, artistes like Dagrin, Olamide and Phyno put indigenous rap on the map and gave Nigerian hip-hop the unique identity it had been desperately missing since its birth. But with the global expansion of afrobeats, Nigerian rap eventually lost its place in the spotlight.
Now, a new vanguard of rap acts is breathing new life into the genre and shaking up the scene, one bar at a time. From mainstream names like Blaqbonez and Cheque to more underground voices like PDSTRN, Reespect, Cozy Kiyo and Ictooicy, these new-generation rappers are brimming with versatility, further showcasing the malleability of rap as a genre and markedly marching down the path towards making Nigerian hip-hop great again.
