Eva Alordiah

Elohor Eva Alordiah (born 13 August 1988), better known as Eva Alordiah or simply Eva, is a Nigerian rapper, make-up artist, and entrepreneur. Her contributions to the Nigerian music industry have earned her several accolades, including one Nigeria Entertainment Award, one Eloy Award, and one YEM award. Eva's debut extended play, '' Gigo (Garbage in Garbage Out)'', was released for free digital download on 20 November 2011. She co-founded the platform Kobocourse.com, which hosts courses for African innovators. Eva released her eponymous second extended play, ''Eva'', in November 2014. Her debut studio album, ''1960'', was released in September 2016.

Career

1989–2009: Early life and career beginnings

A native of Delta State, Eva Alordiah was born on 13 August 1989, in Abuja, Nigeria. She was introduced to music by her mother, who listened to musical recordings from the 1970s and 1980s. Eva has cited Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Sade Adu, The Carpenters, John Lennon and Don Williams as her key musical influences. Growing up, she partook in several forms of art and was fond of drawing and reading books. She joined the theatrical club in secondary school and sang in the choir at her church. When she was 10 years old, she wrote a short story in her notebook and dreamt of being an author. After learning of Eminem, she began to write rap verses and was inspired to pursue a professional career in rap music. Eva's love for words and rhyming pulled her deeper into the hip-hop genre.

At the age of 16, she found herself balancing school and business. With an ambition to make money and become independent, she started auditioning for acting and modeling roles. Eva sold second-hand clothing in school as a means to an end, and began her career as a photography model. She graduated with a degree in computer science from Bowen University. Eva's first-ever studio recording, "I Dey Play", was released in 2009 and includes a rap verse by Tha Suspect; the track was recorded over Lil Wayne's "A Milli" instrumental.

2011–2013: ''Gigo (Garbage in Garbage Out)'' and Trybe Records

Eva was featured on Strbuttah's single "Make 'em Say". The Rcube-directed music video for the song was released in January 2011 and features a cameo appearance by Eva. In March 2011, Eva appeared on the female version of Tha Suspect's song "I No Send You", which was released along with its music video.

Eva started working on her debut extended play (EP), '' Gigo (Garbage in Garbage Out)'', as an independent artist. The 9-track EP was released on 20 November 2011 and supported by the singles "I Done Did It", "Down Low", "Garbage Out (Your Fada)", and "High". The EP's production was handled by Sossick, Tintin, and Gray Jon'z. "I Done Did It" was produced by Sossick and released as the lead single. In a 2012 interview with Halley Bondy of ''MTV Iggy'', Eva said she had fun recording the EP and was honored to have worked with the aforementioned producers. Eva released the second single "High" in 2012. Mex directed the song's music video and released it on 24 May 2012. When the video premiered on MTV Base in May 2012, many people misconstrued the song's meaning and thought it alluded to drug use. Eva told Bondy that "High" is about overcoming the struggles and hardships of life.

In May 2012, several media outlets reported that Eva signed a recording contract with Trybe Records, a record label owned by record producer and recording artist eLDee. In November 2013, ''Ariya Today'' reported that Eva was dropped from Trybe Records. According to the press release signed by the management of the recording outfit, Eva's ideas and foresight didn't align with the label's plans. In an interview with ''BellaNaija'', Eva denied reports about being signed to Trybe Records despite the press release statements from the label. After the Trybe Records saga in 2012, she took a break from the music scene and spent time reflecting on her craft.

In February 2013, Eva released the single "Mercy", which was produced and co-written by Sossick. The track was made available for download on her blogsite. In December 2013, U.K producer Drox featured her in the music video for his song "Mercy". He released several official remixes of the song, including a "Summer" mix and a "Jackin Storm" mix. On 29 July 2013, Eva released the promotional single "Lights Out", which was produced by Gray Jon'z. The music video for the song was directed by Patrick Elis. In an interview with the media outlet ''Leadership'', Eva said she recorded "Lights Out" to showcase her versatility as an artist. In August 2013, she signed a management deal with Radioactiiv. That same month, Nokia Nigeria enlisted her as one of the judges for its annual Don't Break Da Beat competition.

2014–present: ''1960'', ''Eva'', and ''Because You Been Waiting''

In 2012, Eva started working on her debut studio album ''1960'', which was produced by Tintin and Gray Jon'z. On 24 January 2014, she released the album's lead single "Deaf", which was produced by Gray Jon'z. The song was remixed by rapper Boogey and premiered three months after the release of the "Lights Out" video. The music video for "Deaf" was filmed by Patrick Elis. Eva promoted the song by organizing a rap competition exclusively for girls. She said she loves creating visual content and has successfully co-directed all of her music videos to date.

Eva was featured in the Lagos edition of BBC Radio 1xtra's Live Lounge, alongside M.I, 2face Idibia, Wizkid and Iyanya. As part of the feature, artists were asked to freestyle. Eva collaborated with Burna Boy, Endia, Yung L, and Sarkodie on an unreleased song that was initially intended to be the theme song for the third season of ''Shuga''. Instead of using the Chopstix-produced song, MTV Base chose the Del B-produced track "Sweet Like Shuga", which features vocals by Flavour N'abania, Sound Sultan, Chidinma, Kcee and Professor. Eva debuted her rendition of the unreleased theme song, "Shuga", on 11 March 2014.

On 31 August 2014, newspaper ''Thisday'' reported that Eva joined Olamide and Phyno as ambassadors for Guinness Nigeria's Made of Black campaign. Eva performed at the campaign's launch and was featured in its television commercial. On 25 September 2014, "War Coming" was released as the second single from ''1960''. The song was produced by Tintin, who is now known as Focus Ramon, and features guest vocals by Sir Dauda.

On 6 November 2014, Eva announced the album's title and said it would be released in January 2015. ''1960'' features guest collaborations with Darey Art Alade, Femi Kuti, Yemi Alade, Olamide, Sarkodie and Sir Dauda. On 20 November 2014, Eva released her eponymous second extended play, ''Eva'', for free digital download. On 6 March 2015, she premiered the Mex-directed music video for "War Coming".

Eva's debut mixtape, ''Because You Been Waiting'', was released on 1 March 2016. It comprises five tracks and contains a sample of DMX's 2000 single " What These Bitches Want". In January 2020, after a hiatus from music, Eva released the Jesse Alordiah-produced single "Friend or Foe" and co-directed the song's music video with Ibukun Williams.

Discography

;Studio albums
*''1960'' (2016)
*''Evarything Good'' (2022)
;EPs
*'' Gigo (Garbage in Garbage Out)'' (2011)
*''Eva'' (2014)
;Mixtapes
*''Because You Been Waiting'' (2016)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

Eva Alordiah
at SoundCloud

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alordiah, Eva
1989 births
Nigerian women rappers
Living people
21st-century Nigerian rappers
Musicians from Abuja
Bowen University alumni
Nigerian cosmetics businesspeople
Nigerian make-up artists
Nigerian hip-hop singers
Nigerian reggae singers
21st-century Nigerian women musicians
Women hip-hop singers