Fans of Nigerian hip-hop are aware of the burgeoning underground battle rap scene. All you have to do to discover the Nigerian battle rap culture, if you were unaware of it for any reason, is search for “battle rap Africa” on YouTube. As long as Nigerian hip-hop has been, the country has had a battling rap scene. Vector gained popularity at the University of Lagos for being a battle rapper. He was so good that rappers nationwide went to Unilag to compete against him.
When i was battling rappers in Unilag and some would come from other schools (I remember a rapper from PH ) to battle Vector, most of them and the fans of the culture thought i was a serious with battle rap. Ironically, i was always more of a music mind than just a battle rapper.…
— Teslim. (@VectorThaViper) April 5, 2023
Vector, in an interview with the Loosetalk podcast, said he was undefeated during his time at the university. Even though these battles were unofficial, they still drew much attention.
Additionally, there was a bustling community on Facebook, Blackberry Messenger, and Nairaland. The rappers were referred to as “Textcees” on that platform. They competed on those platforms, garnering significant attention for their battles. Blaqbonez is one rapper who was successful in creating a noticeable buzz on one of these platforms.
For those who have followed Blaqbonez from the start of his career, you will know that he was a vicious, villainous, disrespectful battle rapper who took great joy in causing his opponents to cry before he turned into the melody-moulding, chart-topping superstar that we all know and love today.
Blaqbonez did not have much of a following as a Textcee, but he was a major contributor to the growth of the Nigerian battle rap scene. The scene received a lot of attention because of his popular battle with HollyField. That fight continues to be one of the most talked-about battles in Nigerian battle rap history.
Even though Blaqbonez has long since left the scene, it is still growing as more rappers become well-known and loved.
But it’s crucial to recognise—and sadly so—that Blaqbonez is still the only superstar rapper that the Nigerian battle rap industry has produced recently. This raises many concerns about how effective the scene is.
Not even HollyField, who was once hailed as Nigerian hip-hop’s next big thing, has been able to break through in the mainstream. Given that Nigerian hip-hop is expanding at an exponential rate and appears to be entering a new golden age, it makes sense that the country’s battle rap scene will produce another mainstream Rapstar.
It is important to note that transitioning from a battle rapper to a mainstream rapper is not a necessity. Battle rap in itself is an art form and should be respected as such. In America, the Battle rap scene is as big as the Nigerian Hip-hop scene and has a lot of history.
Rappers like Loaded Lux, Aye Verb, Murda Mook, Hollow the Don, Charlie Clips, Arsonal, Dizaster, Hitman Holla,Tay Roc, Pat Stay, K-Shine, T-Rex, DNA, Goodz, John John Da Don, Iron Solomon, Conceited, Calicoe, B Magic, Jaz the Rapper and a lot more are respected and considered legends of the battle rap game.
The American battle rap scene has been around since the Genesis of Hip-hop and has grown over the years into a lucrative and profitable venture sponsored by big brands and followed by millions of fans
By hosting nationwide tournaments with some of the top Rappers in the world, leagues like the Ultimate Rap League (URL), King of the Dot, and Rare Breed Entertainment have grown to have sizable and passionate fan bases. Today, these organisations give top dollar to M.C.s who can maintain fan engagement and outperform the competition.
Hundreds of rappers are vying for the respect and money that come with being a top-tier battle rapper these days.
Thanks to its excitingly produced events, URL has amassed hundreds of millions of streams and filled venues with more than 1,000 seats. Battle rap as a street art has been transformed into a viable industry by groups like URL through ticket sales, ad revenue, pay-per-view broadcasts, and app subscriptions.
Superstars from the mainstream have taken notice of this expansion and are keen to invest in the sport. Drake, for instance, has funded several URL events.
Unfortunately, in Nigeria, the same cannot be said. Battle rap is not lucrative and profitable enough. There aren’t many organisations willing to invest in the Nigerian battle rap scene, and there’s not a lot of support from the mainstream.
The scene is so poorly supported that even the quality of the videos leaves much to be desired, hence the need for most of the rappers to transition into mainstream rappers.
It is also important for rappers from that scene to successfully transition to the mainstream to draw more attention to the scene. The more rappers can build a solid community and crack into the mainstream from that scene, the more labels, label services, and organisations would be keen on stamping their presence in the scene with hopes of finding the next rap star and making money.
However, for that to happen, these rappers need to ‘blow’, and in a soundscape like ours where hip-hop is not the most prominent genre, it is quite a difficult task.
Battle rappers are the most limited set of musicians you’ll ever come across.
Of course, they are some of the best songwriters and wordsmiths you’ll ever meet. This is because they always need to impress and excite an often ruthless audience, so they spend long hours sharpening their pen and focusing on detailed storytelling.
However, that’s the only thing a lot of them are good at. Most of them cannot even rap on a beat. A lot of them also belong to the purist school of hip-hop, which has an undying loyalty to the original elements of the culture and the traditional styles of rap music.
This means a lot of them are not really open to other styles of music or the idea of tweaking their style in order to sell records. Which is the most prominent reason why battle rappers don’t make it out of the underground?
Rappers from Nigeria who have recently experienced success in the mainstream have been able to identify the present soundscape and comprehend the necessity of broadening their musicality in order to create rap music that appeals to a wider audience.
LadiPoe, Odumodublvck, MI Abaga, Phyno, Olamide, Naeto C, Naira Marley, Zlatan, and ultimately Blaqbonez (who is the focus of this piece) are all battle-hardened rappers with years of underground work who have been able to evolve into pop artists who use hip-hop as a base but infused pop music elements to impact the culture on a mainstream level. It does not mean that they are not rappers anymore. They remain among some of the most astute lyricists you will encounter. Every rapper who has had an influence on culture in any way understood this formula and made the most of it.
Blaqbonez, for one, is one of the most diverse creators in the Nigerian music industry. His openness to music and willingness to be daring with his music are the prime reasons his music is always refreshing and satisfying. For every rapper looking to crack the mainstream, Blaqbonez is the template. His vision and, most importantly, his adaptability are the reasons why he is one of the most relevant Nigerian rappers of his generation and why he is on course to be one of the greats. His adaptability is also why he is the only rapper in recent times who has been able to transition from an underground battle rapper to a mainstream superstar.
He is also very unapologetic when promoting his music, something that is not common among rappers. Rappers like to consider themselves ‘cool’ and aggressively market their music on the Internet as Blaq does, which can be seen as uncool. However, we live in an era where people consume only what’s given to them. For your music to get to them, you have to force it into their consciousness.
The Nigerian battle rap scene can grow into something spectacular. There are a lot of ridiculously talented M.Cs that need a platform to thrive. The battle rap scene can become that platform. However, the scene needs a lot of support and investment. And that investment can only come on the scene when it shows signs that it can be profitable.
Nigerian hip-hop is on the rise, and the battle rap scene needs to benefit from the incoming boom. That can only happen if the Rappers there take a cue from the Blaqbonez playbook.
