For a few years, the Nigerian rap scene has been afflicted and “rappers started dying off the afrobeat fever”.
This year however the recuperation process improved and Nigerian rap music lovers were awakened to the prospects of a full recovery and revival of rap music in Nigeria.
Over the past few years, we’ve only seen or rather heard rappers like SDC, LadiPoe, AQ, M.I, etc and brand likes Hennessey championing the cause of making sure rap music stays alive. It’s all now starting to pay off and well, with that being noted I’d like to share my list of top 10 Nigerian rappers of 2019.
10: Ice Prince – often criticized for not doing much and not living up to the hype, Ice Prince’s ailing music career took a more positive turn this year. The Oleku rapper was on a number of collaborations and also scored a hit song in “Feel Good” and the viral “Born in Naija” record. He also made a constant effort to put out some equal to the par records like, In a Fix, A Verse for Jabba and the DJ Tunez featured record, Hello Esther. He is my number 10 on the top 10 Nigerian rappers of 2019.
9: LadiPoe – “Nigeria’s best chance of a rapper winning a Grammy”, the Mavin rapper has been one of Nigeria’s most consistent rappers in recent years. LadiPoe successfully earned a place in Nigeria’s best rapper discussion with the release of his album Talk About POE in the last quarter of 2018.
2019, LadiPoe kicked off the Revival Movement of which he is the imposed leader with the tag LOTR (Leader of the Revival) to match. With singles like Jaiye, Lemme Know, Based on Kpa under his belt in 2019, LadiPoe is the number 9 on our list.
8: Phyno – The Penthauze music boss made it known that he was more than just a rapper stating that in fact doesn’t want the “rapper” tag anymore. The post-peak Phyno clearly is more interested in making any type of music that would appeal to the mass. But with the release of his latest album, Deal With It we got the better part of him that never left anyways. A deserved placed on the list? You tell me.
7: iLL Bliss – At a time when rap music is scarce in Nigeria, iLL Bliss put out two core rap projects this year, the Illyzilla and Illosophy EP the later a project dedicated to his friend B Elect, an OG who founded the NaiRap radio a movement with the sole objective of celebrating the Nigerian Rap and hip-hop culture. Ill Bliss has carried on and is still very well invested in that movement. The rapper is just one of those not too many Nigerian rappers who have carried the torch of Nigerian rap this year.
6: Dremo – While fans waited for Vol 2 of the Codename series, Dremo was only able to whet the appetite with a four-track EP, “Icen Before The Cake” released on his birthday. He went ahead to release a number of singles and freestyles of which “Chairman” comes as the latest.
Dremo’s beef with Davolee backed up with a couple of pretty okay diss records provided a lot of entertainment to the Nigerian rap scene. The DMW rapper put his budding reputation on the line to battle a Davolee who very well needed the attention to resuscitating his ailing career. And well, with a couple of diss tracks to that regards it’s no arguing that Dremo won that hands down.
5: A-Q – This one na carryover lol. A worthy mention and place on this list. Lyricist on the roll Headies 2019, A-Q is one of the few Nigerian rappers that have stuck his guns. Yes, it’s finally paying off.
4: M.I Abaga – Nigerian rap legend! This year the long-brewing beef with Vector came into full light. The two rap icons decided to stop taking shots here and there and go all-in by releasing fully dedicated tracks to the course. M.I failed to come through with the Judah EP he promised fans this year but well, his beef with Vector is definitely at the top of the highlight of events. We’ll leave the discussion of who won that beef to later.
3: Blaqbonez – Nobody took him seriously until he announced himself as the best rapper in Africa, a claim which he took to the streets to proclaim and dropped records to back up.
Signed under 100 Crowns an imprint of Chocolate City, Blaqbonez left rap for a min hid under the identity of his alter ego to release his Mr.Boombastic EP, a project which generally turned out good. The young king is sure basking under the tutelage of M.I and will soon become a force to reckon with in the Nigerian rap scene. For 2019, he is my number 3 top 10 Nigerian rappers of 2019.
2: Vector – a very well respected wordsmith, Vector broke the Nigerian internet after he bounced back from what was presumed a knockout from M.I’s The Viper diss record with his Judas The Rat reply.
Earned his respect and reputation back as one of Naija’s greatest MCs, he’s clearly made it known he bites, Tha Viper spits venoms and is not the one to mess with.
Contracted by Hennessey to oversee the V Class, a movement that has continued to champion the cause of making sure Nigerian rap stays alive, Vector is a treasure to Nigerian rap music. To cap off the year, he blessed our playlist with the very well accepted Vibes Before Teslim EP, a project fans had to wait six months for.
1: Falz – Rap album of the year and best rap single at the Headies 2019 what else do you want to know? Falz started off the year with Moral instruction, an album that addresses social issues such as corrupt politicians, corruption, police brutality, prostitution, social injustice, nd internet fraud. He also dropped a number of feel-good tunes before finally capping off the year with the joint project “Make E No Cause Fight” with Ajebutter22 & BOJ. He is not just Nigeria’s best rapper of 2019 but the most versatile Nigerian rapper I’ve seen in recent times.
