Nicholas Ihua-Maduenyi (born 28 October 1998), widely known as PsychoYP, is a Nigerian

alternative hip hop Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap and experimental hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip-hop group ...

rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is a member of the music collective Apex Village. He came into the music scene with a critically acclaimed mixtape, ''YPSZN'', which earned him a nomination at the SAMAs, and the Headies for his second fit album ''YPSZN2''. Dubbed "The Fresh Prince of Nigerian Rap", he is regarded as one of Nigeria's

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

pioneers in the

alté Alté (locally pronounced as "ahl-teh") is a fusion genre of music that combines elements of afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, hip hop, and alternative R&B. The term was coined in the 2010s by Nigerian music group DRB LasGidi, meaning alternative ...

music scene.

Early life

Ihua-Maduenyi was born on 28 October 1998 in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, and comes from

Rivers State Rivers is a states of Nigeria, state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed on 27 May 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Nigeria, Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo State, Im ...

. While in secondary school in 2013, he met with Kuddi Is Dead, a member of Apex Village. In an interview with ''

OkayAfrica OkayAfrica (stylized as okayafrica) is a digital media platform dedicated to African culture, music and politics. Founded in 2011 by Vanessa Wruble and Ginny Suss as a sister site to The Roots frontman Questlove's Okayplayer, the site has become ...

'', he said "as a kid, I was always around music. My mum would play Nigerian music, music from other African countries, and foreign music. I like to think she played a big role in putting me on this path by being in love with music. We'd have

P-Square P-Square are a Nigerian music duo composed of the twin brothers Mr. P (singer), Peter Okoye and Rudeboy (singer), Paul Okoye, who co-write and co-produce most of their songs. Noted for their artistic reinvention, musical versatility, and Visual a ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

, and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

(to name a few) on repeat every weekend. My two siblings and I all had experience with singing and rapping, but something about it just kept me going".

Career

YP is an acronym for "Yung Papi". In 2016, he launched his music career as a rapper on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

as Psycho, while based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and went on to release his EP "''Lost In The Sauce''" on 26 August 2016. In the following year, YP and Kuddi is Dead released a collaborative 4-track EP "''This Is What You Wanted''" on 21 May 2017, and released a SoundCloud exclusive with "''This Is What You Wanted II''" on 21 February 2018, featuring Ayüü, Zilla Oaks, and Marv OTM. On 8 June 2018, he released "''YPSZN''", with guest appearances from Fasina, Marv OTM, Denzel Oaks, Zilla Oaks, and Remy Baggins. The project spawned the hit track "Oga". On the 28 October 2018, he released a music video for Oga, directed by Kuddi is Dead, and Lekinson. On 22 March 2019, he released "Oga (remix)" featuring

Blaqbonez Emeka Akumefule (born 29 January 1996), known professionally as Blaqbonez, is a Nigerian rapper and singer signed to Chocolate City. Blaqbonez is popularly known for his distinct rap style as well as his creative ingenuity. In 2019, he was prof ...

, and

Ycee Oludemilade Martin Alejo (born 29 January 1993), known professionally as Ycee (pronounced ; also stylized as YCee), is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. He gained popularity after his single "Condo", which features vocals by Patorankin ...

. On the 4th of November, 2019, he released "''YPSZN2''", with guest appearances from BOJ, Terri, Nathalie Sade, Dami Oniru, Ayüü, Zilla Oaks,

Ladipoe Ladipo Eso popularly known as Ladipoe or Poe, is a Nigerian rapper and singer. On 28 February 2017, Ladipoe signed a record deal with Mavin Records. He rose to prominence with the song "Feel Alright" where he got featured by Show Dem Camp, SDC "Sh ...

Skales Raoul John Njeng-Njeng (born 1 April 1991), better known as Skales (an acronym for "Seek Knowledge Acquire Large Entrepreneurial Skills"), is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2000, he started writing rap songs in Kaduna. Between 2 ...

, and

. On the 12th of November, 2020, YP and

Azanti Azanti (born: Nathan Ayomikun Otekalu-Aje), is a Canadian-based Nigerian singer, songwriter, and music producer, signed to Apex Village, and Def Jam Recordings. He came into the music scene with a collaborative eponymous extended play titled ''Y ...

went on to release their self-titled debut EP "''YP & Azanti, Vol. 1''". The extended play spawned the minor hit tracks "Caro", and "Focused". On the 11th of March, 2021, the official music video for "Caro" was released, directed by Cindy Ihua, and produced through Ceeander Entertainment, and Legacy Films. On 26 August 2021, YP released his first solo EP ''Euphoria'', with guest appearances from Trill Tega, Rasstokyo, J Molley, PatricKxxLee, and Alpha P. On 20 December 2021, he headlined his first Lagos concert at

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...

in Nigeria, featuring guest appearances from

Dremo Aboriomoh Femi Raymond, known by his stage name Dremo, is a Nigerian songwriter, singer, record producer, recording artist, and stage performer. He was currently signed to Davido Music Worldwide (DMW). He recently dissed sarkodie for saying he ...

Laycon Olamilekan Massoud Al-Khalifah Agbeleshebioba (born 8 November 1993) known professionally as Laycon, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter and media personality. He was the winner of Big Brother Naija season 5 and is currently the youth ambas ...

, Wurld, Alpha P,

Terry Apala Terry Alexandar Ejeh (born 27 July 1988) better known by his stage name Terry Apala, is a Nigerian Afrobeat, Hip-Hop and Apala (traditional Yoruba music) musician. Background and early career Terry Apala was born and raised in Mushin, Lagos, ...

, Laime, Mojo, SGaWD,

King Perryy Anthony Offiah (born 28 April 1997), professionally known as King Perryy, is a Nigerian Afrofusion, afrofusion singer and songwriter. He gained popularity with the single "Man on Duty" featuring Timaya which was released in 2018 under Timaya's ...

, and many more. In 2022, he released his third mixtape album ''YPSZN3'' on 2 November. The mixtape album's lead singles include "Bando Diaries", "IC3", and "Stronger", which features a guest vocal from

Zlatan Zlatan ( sr-Cyrl, Златан) is a male given name of Slavic origin meaning ''Golden''. The name is common amongst all South Slavic countries, namely in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia. The name is found in ...

. On August 17, 2022 he collaborated with Favi and Hotkid on Crime. On 8 November 2022, ''YPSZN3'' debuted on the newly launched Nigeria ''TurnTable'' Top 50 chart at number 26.

Artistry

PsychoYP is known for fusing

Afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

Afroswing Afroswing, also known as Afrobashment, or less commonly Afrobbean or Afrowave, is a genre of music that developed in the UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of dancehall and afrobeats, with influences from trap, British hip hop, R&B, and gri ...

Hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

, Trap,

Grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust Music * Grime music, a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * "Grime", a 2023 song by Macklemore from ''Ben'' * "Grime", a 2024 song by Kittie from ''Fire ...

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and R&B, to create his musical element. In high school, his friends began calling him Yung Papi, and "Papi Chulo". Nicholas eventually picked up "Yung Papi" as an acronym for YP, before adopting Psycho, from a movie he watched to form the stage name PsychoYP. Nicholas "PsychoYP" cited the Nigerian rapper M.I, and the American rappers

, and

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...

, as his musical influence and/or inspiration while growing up.

Discography

EPs

Collaborative EPs

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

Awards and nominations

Featured in

* Crime By Favi

References

{{reflist Living people 1998 births Nigerian musicians Nigerian hip-hop singers Nigerian male rappers Nigerian rappers