Vanessa Mahi (born 17 December 1997), known professionally as Ivorian Doll, is a British-German rapper and internet personality of Ivorian descent. She made her debut in collaboration with Abigail Asante, releasing singles under the name Abigail x Ivorian Doll. She has since gone on to release several singles as a solo artist.

Early life

Mahi was born in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

, Germany to parents from the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

and moved to East London when she was three years old with her father. Her mother initially stayed in Germany, later joining the family when Mahi was a teenager and her parents reunited. Her pseudonym refers to her Ivorian heritage. Mahi's father is a pastor. He took her to acting classes from the age of 11. She attended

Haggerston School Haggerston School (previously Haggerston Girls' School) is a secondary school and sixth form located in Weymouth Terrace in Haggerston, London Borough of Hackney, England. The school is noteworthy and of historic importance in the East End of ...

Career

Before starting her music career, Mahi was a YouTuber. Mahi describes herself as having gone into a rap career "accidentally". After making her musical debut collaborating with Abigail Asante, Mahi began releasing music as a solo performer in late 2019. Her debut single was "Queen of Drill". She released her breakout track, "Rumours", in April 2020. The music video for the track on YouTube reached a million views within a month. Mahi was nominated for Best Newcomer in the 2020 MOBO Awards. In December 2020, Birmingham rapper

Lady Leshurr Melesha Katrina O'Garro (born 15 December 1987), known professionally as Lady Leshurr (), is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. She is known for her ''Queen's Speech'' series of freestyles, the fourth of which became popular i ...

released a

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...

about Mahi, "DIV". Mahi was announced as part of the

Wireless Festival ''Wireless'' Festival is an annual rap and hip-hop music festival that takes place in London, England, which is owned and managed by Live Nation Entertainment, Live Nation. Debuting in 2005, the festival's earlier years primarily featured rock an ...

2021 lineup in April 2021. She also performed at Reading Festival 2021. In 2021, she collaborated with Birmingham's

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

on the track "Hammerhead" for their album '' Future Past'', released in October 2021.

Artistry

Mahi has described

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

and Foxy Brown as musical influences.

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

External links

* 1997 births Living people Black British women rappers British women rappers British Internet celebrities English people of Ivorian descent German emigrants to the United Kingdom German women rappers German Internet celebrities German people of Ivorian descent Rappers from London UK drill musicians British drill musicians {{hiphop-bio-stub