Over the years, rap culture in Nigeria has grown tremendously, and despite having to contend with other music genres such as RnB, Soul, Dancehall and Pop-that seems to be the rave of the moment. I make bold to say that rap in Naija has come a long way and blossoming too. Long gone are the days rappers were compared with gangsters and rated next to nothing, but all that gone with the wind, these song smiths are living larger than life and respected for their grind but most importantly for the racks they spill.
The year 2012 was all-encompassing and as far as rap was concerned, a
fruitful year that saw a lot of rappers smiling to the bank. The year witnessed the introduction and growth of various upcoming rap acts like Boogey, A-Q, Ajebutter, Ayology, Pope da Hitman, 5Mics , Barzini, Ghetto P, Blaqbones, etcetera. Cracker jacks Phyno, Skales, Olamide, XO senavoe, Vector, Phenom, Ice prince, Jesse jags, Yung Six, Reminisce and a host of others during the year sealed their claim to stardom, while the veterans M.I, Naeto C, Illbliss, Sauce kid (Oluwasinzu), Terry tha rapman (who in my opinion should be doing better than he is in terms of cash flow) kept their end of the deal. Though only little was seen of Mode 9 this year, still this rap virtuoso knows how to hold it down anyday.
Of special interest and one that got rap-maniacs talking this year was the beef between barrack boi Vector and the kako bi chicken crooner Reminisce. The battle saw a lot of mixtapes and heavy punch lines. Both rappers did well as word play were on point and every new release got rap faithfuls downloading ceaselessly. And just like every battle there’s always a winner and the winner without prejudice is……*drum rolls* VECTOR! (Read Gidibase analysis of the beef ).
Other duel this year was between the Bariga boi a.k.a Young erikina- Olamide VS Choc city bois, albeit the tug was a little subdued.
The year didn’t end without controversy and topping the list this year was the Everybody Loves Ice prince (E.L.I) album whether or not a rap album. All in all it was a wonderful year and one that would remain memorial to rap observers.
So here is a recap of awards and rappers that edged out for 2012.
Headies
Best rap single- Angeli (Vector ft 9ice)
Best rap album- E.L.I. (Ice Prince)
Lyricist on the roll- Vector (Angeli)
Nigerian Entertainment Award
Best rap act of the year – Vector
Rap unlike other genres requires minimal beat and instrumentation, though essential as it makes the song more palatable, but gaining respect in the rap world depends on style, delivery, eloquence, but largely on word play. A rapper with good word combination and heavy punch lines (not literally abusive words) will hit fame land faster than it takes Usain Bolt to finish the 100m dash.
In hip-hop, it’s all about having that one rap- that smacks of brilliance (and sometimes, hilarity) that punches competition in the face. Selecting the illest lines for year 2012 was quite a hectic challenge; digging a little deeper and going line for line, bar for bar, but with help of the team—super mortals who eat, breathe, bathe and married rap, coming out with the perfect list wasn’t much of a hassle.
The year was characterised with frequent release of chart bursting tracks, and lyricists were all on rampage making the game undoubtedly tighter but above all, some bars came out dopest than others. So without ado here is the top #10 lines that killed it for year 2012 in descending order.
#10 “Am havin S****X with ur dream girl in real life…” Sauce Kid-Kitchen Street
#9 “By June next year, I’ll be trying to get my maybach” (May back) – Phenom – 6ft7 w/ M.I
#8 “U wanna blow, there’s a Protocol, u need a Video and am the pro-to-call…” Igho-Komije (Jimmy Jatt)
#7 “They say love is blind, Haters can u see me here, cos right now am feeling like am P square, all the ladies wanna do me here, and I don’t force it it comes natural….Pubic Hair” Yung6-Export (MI)…
#6 “….. Joke around I eat you clowns so ur digesting” (die jesting) – Boogey – Ridiculous w/ M.I
#5 ” your past man wasn’t fresh, did you say Yes? His ugliness was the height Ape-ex” (Apex)… Vector- Tuwo
#4 “I let the numbers do the talking ..figures of speech” – Ayology – Call To Glory
#3 “They wanna take all I gat but I gat all it takes, I’m sorta like a calendar av gat all ur dates… “Phyno- Ghost Mode
#2 “See this haters raising disciples just to come and get M, look (Luke) Mark my word i’ll be at the John pissing”. M.I- 6ft7
#1 “Cos u bleached your skin don’t mean ur enlighten P.” Vector – Distraction
Well , here is vector’s sneak album HERE
You can agree with me that there are some undeniable ones on our list—shout to Vector, M.I and Yung Six who were all up in my face during the selection. But some sleepers made the cut, too— isn’t that why we love the game!
🙂
P.S: for lines you think should have made the cut voice, your opinion in the comment box. Thanks
Culled from KR ..
Share your views guys!!!!