Nadia Nakai Kandava (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Dlamini; born 18 May 1990), is a Zimbabwean-South African rapper and television personality.

Early life and education

Nakai was born in South Africa. Her father is South African and her mother is Zimbabwean. When she was 16 years old, her surname was changed from her father's to her mother's. Nakai attended Fourways High School in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

for a year then finished her schooling in Kenya. She later studied a degree in marketing, communication, and media studies at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

, Johannesburg.

Career

2013–2017: Beginnings

Nakai made her first television appearance on the

e.tv e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. Founded in 1998, the company is headquartered in Cape Town. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the ...

hip hop show ''Shiz Niz'' where she won the Mixtape 101 competition, making her the first female to win the competition. She then rose to prominence in September 2013, when she released her debut single "Like Me". The following year, she was featured on the remix of

Riky Rick Rikhado Makhado (20 July 1987 23 February 2022), known professionally as Riky Rick, was a South African rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur. He was also the founder and owner of record label ''Cotton Club Records'' and ...

song, ''Amantombazane'' amongst various

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n acts. As for June 2015, Nakai released her third single "Saka Wena" featuring rapper

Ice Prince Panshak Henry Zamani (born 30 October 1986), better known as Ice Prince Zamani or just Ice Prince, is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after releasing "Oleku (Ice Prince song), Oleku", one of Nigeria's most remixed son ...

, following her second single, "Whatever" featuring DotCom and Psyfo. In August 2016, Nakai pre-released her single "The Man" featuring

Cassper Nyovest Refiloe Maele Phoolo (born 16 December 1990), professionally known as Cassper Nyovest, is a South African rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, record producer and amateur boxer. Born and raised in Mahikeng, North West (South African province), Nor ...

from her EP, ''Bragga''. ''Bragga'' was then released on 15 September 2016. In November 2017, Nakai released her critically acclaimed single "Naaa Meaan" featuring Cassper Nyovest. The song topped charts in several radio stations in South Africa. On 4 November 2016, she hosted the red carpet special for

MTV Africa MTV Africa (formerly MTV South Africa) is an African pay television from Paramount Networks EMEAA. It focuses mainly on rebroadcasting MTV US content as well as airing local-produced reality series. Founded by Alex Okosi and launched as 'Afri ...

at the

2018 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2018 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) was held at the Bizkaia Arena (Bilbao Exhibition Centre) in Barakaldo, part of Greater Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, on 4 November 2018. The ceremony's host was Hailee Steinfeld. Th ...

2017–2020: ''Nadia Naked'', and Def Jam Africa

In 2019, Nakai co-hosted the MTV Base hip hop show, ''

Yo! MTV Raps ''Yo! MTV Raps'' is an American two-hour television music video program, which first aired on MTV Europe from 1987 to mid-1990s and on MTV, MTV US from August 1988 to August 1995. The American version of the program (created by Ted Demme and Pe ...

South Africa'' alongside television presenter Siyabonga Ngwekazi. On 3 May 2019, Nakai confirmed that her debut album '' Nadia Naked'' would be released on 28 June 2019. On 18 May 2019, "Imma Boss" was released as the third single accompanied by the album's artwork cover. On 15 October 2020, she released a documentary on Showmax about the making of the album ''Nadia Naked''. In May 2020, she signed a record deal with

Def Jam Africa Def Jam Recordings Africa (marketed as Def Jam Africa), is the African division of the international record label, Def Jam Recordings. The label is owned by Universal Music Africa, a flagship of Universal Music Group. Founded in 2020, and operati ...

. At the 6th ceremony of AFRIMA, she took-home Best Female Artist award. She was awarded the most stylish performing artist at the 2020 SA Style Awards.

2021–present: TV shows

In 2021, Nakai hosted the first season of

Channel O Channel O is a South Africa–based music channel that started transmission in 1997. Its main concept is African music in Africa and the diaspora. Channel O can be accessed via DStv, a satellite pay TV service for pan-African households. The ch ...

's ''Gen-Z South Africa'' television show. In June 2021, she left

Family Tree Records Family Tree Media is a South African independent record label established in 2014 by Cassper Nyovest Refiloe Maele Phoolo (born 16 December 1990), professionally known as Cassper Nyovest, is a South African rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, ...

to pursue her own label. At the 2021 South African Hip Hop Awards, Nakai received a nomination for Artist of the Decade. In 2022, Nakai appeared on the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

original reality show '' Young, Famous & African''.

Influences

Nakai was inspired by a female Kenyan rapper, Nazizi, who she met while she was staying in Kenya. She said that Nazizi influenced her in starting her rapping career.

Personal life

She was in a relationship with the late South African rapper AKA.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Studio album

Extended Play

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

Notes

External links

* Living people 1990 births South African women rappers South African songwriters South African hip-hop musicians Monash University alumni South African people of Zimbabwean descent English-language singers from South Africa {{commons category