2020 African Rap Music in Review: Nasty C, Ill Bliss and Eclipse Nkasi held it down
Rap music in Africa have in the past seven years been under attack by Afrobeats and Afropop. Rap music have in recent times had its influence in the African market reduced with Nigeria taking the lead in that aspect. Many Rappers have liquefied their sound to accommodate the Afropop elements. This made a lot of Rap music lovers in Africa to seek for MCs outside the sores of Africa.
However in 2020, the Corona Year, three Rappers came into the radar of cillacritic.com. Their projects defined what rap music should be. It had Rhythm and Poetry. It had variety, stories and punch-lines that made ears twitch. Although we cannot really rate them side by side because every one of the projects were crafted with different lyrical and sound theme. We must agree that they represent what African rap music should strive to be.
Zulu Man with Some power: The biggest African Rap Album
African Rappers have been having a really hard time shipping their music abroad. Although we cannot fault them because we cannot teach people how to make their music, we must understand that Nasty C did some real work on that. Working with his Atlanta Georgia connect in the industry, he created an album which was fire. The project which was a trap music rap album is one of the best Rap album of 2020. Using some autobiographical lyrics and happenings in the world around him to make his music, Nasty who is a South African, made an album that Africans around the world would feel. Songs like “La Vida Loca”, “Zone”, “All in” and a host of others could get any rap music lover around the world vibing. In terms of reach, he was able to break into the America circle especially with the help of TI who featured in two tracks from the project. This action project put his music in a place that most African Rappers won’t touch him.
Ill Bliss Illicapo X Album: The most lyrically comprehensive Album
When Rap music is talks about, one thing that is taken serious is the quantity and quality of information in the project. Ill Bliss, who is a Nigerian MC created an Album that has every topic you can think about. He made songs that addressed love, corona Virus, humility, money, hustle, tribute, women, partying and more. Using his Boom Box rap style to flow his rap, he created one of the most comprehensive rap projects. Songs like “Heal the earth” which addresses the struggles of the world with corona Virus, Ill Bliss showed the world that being a lyricist is all about being able to fuse the issues around into the music. In terms of the purity of rap, Ill Bliss also kept his sound comprehensive. The flows and poetry were not stylized but kept clean from the first track to the last. Unlike many rappers who swap their rap verses for singing, Ill Bliss kept his rap clean. The only thing he did was to use dope beats-be it afropop, hiphop or folk music beats to flow his rhymes.
Eclipse Nkasi Child of Destiney Album: The Next rated African Hardcore rapper
We listened to a lot of rap projects in the year 2020. But the first real project of 2020 was by the artist know as Eclipse Nkasi. He is relatively new rapper to many people in Nigeria and Africa. Rapping for the Wild bunch record label, Nkasi created one of the best rap project of 2020. The rap and purity of his lyrics are just dope and can be understood by anybody. The message of the album which is predominantly about the hustle, Nkasi created some of the best songs of early 2020. With the type of project which he released in 2020, it would be nice to have him signed to some the biggest record labels in the world. He might not be widely known but he is definitely one of the best MC African has produced in recent times.
2020 African Rap Music in Review: Nasty C, Ill Bliss and Eclipse Nkasi held it down
