The Best Rapper in Nigeria

Who is the best rapper in Nigeria? This post is going to be like a question- i am asking you all, and i would like to get your views on the topic. But, i would give my analysis of all the rappers worth mentioning.

Starting off with no order in mind, i would like to talk about Mode 9. When it comes to doing the real hip hop, real rap, no one comes close to this guy in Nigeria. But this has limited his growth, and success, because the masses don't want to know how intelligent you are with words, they just want you to make them dance. And contrary to what a lot people think, mode 9 is not really a conscious rapper- he is good with the word play, in fact you can call him a beast on the mic, but he is not a deep rapper.

For his passion alone, i can give Naeto C an A in the hip hop school. Naeto is the next rapper i am going to be talking about- i think he is brilliant on the mic. It is evident, in his rap style that he was highly influenced by American rapper, T.I. And you can say also say he has a little of Jay-Z in him. Naeto might not be heavy with the the metaphors and wordplay, but his delivery makes up for all that. He ain't super-lyrical, but he got a super-flow.

Next up is Ruggedman. This man brought real hip hop to the country, or should i say, he helped real hip hop gain the acceptance it is enjoying now. Before him, there just a lot of crappy rappers. He has enjoyed a lot of success, and if you had asked me 5 years ago who the best nigerian rapper was, i would have said ruggedman, but things have changed, there are now a lot of great rappers on the scene. He is the type of rapper that does not form up stories in his raps and does not talk a lot of bullshit. His voice is clear and you can hear every word he raps, and that is the very quality i respect in him.

M.I blew up last year, and a lot of people are giving him the position of the best rapper in Nigeria. I used to be one of them till he started doing music just to sell records. It is very evident from his recent works that he has dumbed down his raps to appeal to the masses. His debut album, "talk about it" was a huge success without going commercial, so i wonder why he had to go that route.

Terry Tha Rapman. I think this dude is the perfect blend between the streets and the clubs. This dude can make a party jam and still drop dope lines. He can appeal to the masses and still be intelligent on songs. I think with the right marketing he could rise higher up the ladder.

Okay, those are the names that are worth mentioning, and based on impact, success, and rap style, the crown still goes to m.i till someone else proves he can have a better balance. If i didn't mention any rapper, it is because they have not been relevant for a long time, or that they have deviated from rapping.

Okay, i have done my analysis, i would now like to hear from you guys- name who you think is the best and give a reason.

m.i and modenine beef

Like the cold war that went on between the east and western world a couple of decades ago, their has been something similar going on with m.i and modenine. Everybody recognised modenine as the best rapper in nigeria a couple of year ago; eventhough there was a lot of debate then who had the crown between he and rugged man, but the real rap enthusiast knew the crown was comfortably on mode's head. That is until the kid m.i showed up about two years ago, and turned things around.

M.I came on the seen around 2007, but started gaining a lot of buzz around 2008, and then he exploded last year, 2009. Since then, there has been a silent debate on who holds the crown for the king of rap in the country. Although mode is known to stay true to the art, rapping with no gimicks, m.i has the mass appeal with his unique style of rhyming. Apart from being a lyrical m.c, m.i also has a very catchy delivery to his raps.


For a while now there has been some sort of beef between m.i and modenine. I happen to have a friend in the entertainment world that gives me information, "classified", information on what is really going on when these artiste hang out outside the studio, and i heard that you would never catch m.i and modenine in the same room. And then my source told me that the song "somebody want's to die", was directed at modenine.

After i heard that, i started listening for any form of subliminal diss from either of them, untill i heard modenine's new single, "badman". On the third verse of the song, mode dropped the line, "you're just a generic version of lil wayne". I don't think you need anybody to tell you that line was meant for m.i. Just make time out to listen to m.i' especially that "safe" song, and tell me m is not biting off wayne's style. Unless you just want to be a blind fan, then you would agree that he stole wayne's style and swagger.

Anyway, i don't even need anydoy to tell me otherwise, because he said it himself on an interview on "top f.m". About a year ago, he came on "top fm" and during the course of the interview, he said he was listening to a lot of lil wayne before and during the recording of his album; "talk about it."

What i just want to know is who would win in a lyrical battle between m.i and modenine. I have to tell you i am on neither's side, because as much as i do agree that m.i is a generic version of lil wayne, mode is not so different, because modenine's whole style is built on dropping metarphors, and if you are a lil wayne fan, and lisen to his rap, then you know that is his big advantage.

I just need your opinions and comments on this one.

IS M.I STILL THE KING OF RAP IN NIGERIA.

I remember when M.I blew up sometime towards the end of 2008,he had everybody all of a sudden saying he was the king of rap in NIGERIA. Well, i accepted that fact, cos at the time, no other rapper, asides from MODENINE, was dropping anything. And he came with a solid formula, and didn't have to spit his rhymes in vernacular or anything like that.

He got all the shows, and his debut cd, TALK ABOUT IT, was the must anticipated album of that time. I can say his album is the must anticipated rap album a Nigerian rapper ever dropped.

I got the cd immediately it dropped and i was not disappointed; from the beginning till the end had some form of creativity, and flows was crazy. He came with the lyrics; delivery was tight; and he had a story to tell, so i can say it was a complete album.

After the album dropped, a lot of people started the argument about who was a better MC, he or MODENINE. I stuck with him cos in my books mode is a very rigid rapper. I like when a rapper can be flexible enough to flip his flows, and not sound the same on a considerable amount of tracks. I just thought mode was all metaphors and similes, plus one same style of delivery.

I guess m.i won me over, and i started preaching the gospel. He started getting shows like dance hall and r&b artist do, and the celebrity life began. Then he dropped a mixtape, sometime in the first quarter of 2009, and i was so disappointed with it. He was sounding too much like LIL WAYNE on must of the tracks, and it was like he was no longer serious with rap. He would just play over a track, and not really say anything that made sense. Then he started talking about making an r&b album, and then i just lost all respect for him.

He came back towards the middle of 2009 with his latest single, "somebody wants to die", and he got back the respect i had for him. He went in hard on the track, and he hard the lyrics on point.

Right now, in 2010, i don't know if he stands as strong as he used too, and i think if a serious artist came up with enough fire power, that artist would take his title. In fact, i don't think it is still his title, i think that post is vacant. I think the throne is empty.

Talking of an empty throne, i think NAETO C is gunning for the throne, and i think with a little more work he can get it. I never took naeto seriously when he dropped his first album; not like i didn't feel him, or respect how he came up, i just thought he was the type that was just doing the rap thing for fun, but he surprised me how he kept dropping single after single, till the crowd accepted him. Now that he has his new single, "ako mi ti poju" blasting on radio, and the video constantly been played, on MTV, and CHANNEL O, i think if he drops his second album soon, then he would get the title.

As for mode trying to switch up his flow, as he said on radio a couple of months ago, i wish him luck, cos he really needs to do that to keep up the weather in recent rap scene.

Another rapper that i think is a worthy contestant for the throne, is none other than ELDEE DA DON, the founder of TRYBES RECORDS, and former member of the group, TRYBES MEN. Eldee has been on the scene longer than must of the acts, at list 10 years running. Even when he was away in AMERICA, he kept the music coming. Now that he is back home, i think he is out for the money, explaining why his recent songs, are more like r&b songs. I think if not for this, he would be holding the throne, because you have to agree with me that eldee is incredible on the mic.

So, right now, i think the throne is vacant, till a rapper comes up and claims it.

RAP CATEGORY IN THE UPCOMING HIPHOP WORLD AWARDS.

The rap category in the upcoming hip hop world awards comprises of four album nominations, and i can tell you it is not going to be an easy pick. The four rap albums nominated for album of the year are, "lord of ajasa's" "second turning to the left", modenine's "paradigm shift", m.i's "talk about it", and naeto c's "you know my p" album. I have personally listened to this four albums, and i can say they are all classic material.
All the four artist killed it in their on zone, or accomplished what they had in mind when they set out to make the album, perfectly. Naeto c is the swagger rapper, with songs you can bump in your car(good production all through the album). Lord of ajasa brought that yoruba mixed with english rap style, and i can say he killed it with the stories he has on the album, and catchy choruses(i actually thought i was going to get bored listening to the album, but i did not skip one song.). M.I, Mr Incredible, came with the lyrically proficiency all through the album mixed with a lot of whitty rhymes. You would wonder how he manages to cook up so much lyrics in such a short verse. And each song has that high point where you would want to shout WHAT!!! Last, but definately not the list, Modenine, the lyrical messiah of rap in Nigeria. You would know this guy had fallen in love with words early in life. It's like he has a dicionary in his head. Mr lyrically, KRS ONE of our Generation, the metephorical genius. The album achieves what i felt he had lacked on his previous albums, he had interesting topic matters, and he utilized his lyrically ability better than ever.
The awards are not untill May, so we still have some time to analyze this albums untill then. So i am going to review the four albums one after the other starting with naeto c's album. That would probably be tomorrow.