Weird MC (born Adesola Adesimbo Idowu on 9 July 1970) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

rapper, songwriter, and producer. Known for her English/

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...

lyrics, Weird MC, who is also known as Shola Idowu and The Rappatainer, is one of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

’s most popular female rappers, and one of the few Nigerian female artists associated with

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecti ...

.Weird MC
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Early life

Ogun Ogun or Ogoun (Yoruba: Ògún, Portuguese: Ogum, Gu; also spelled Oggun or Ogou; known as Ogún or Ogum in Latin America) is a spirit that appears in several African religions. He attempted to seize the throne after the demise of Obatala, who ...

-native Idowu was born in the United Kingdom to conservative parents who disapproved of their daughter pursuing a career in entertainment. She attended Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School, Lagos, where she made friends with four other girls with whom she formed the hip-hop group Weirdos. Despite their popularity on the campus circuit, they failed to land a record deal and soon disbanded. Idowu subsequently gained admission into

Ogun State University Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye is a state owned and operated university located in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria. The university was founded on 7 July 1982 as Ogun State University (OSU) and was renamed Olabisi Onabanjo University on 29 ...

to study

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

, although she left after a year to focus on her music career and later gained a qualification in Music Technology. Prior to this she aspired to become a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, but as the Nigerian Sports Commission did not fully support women in this field, Idowu returned to the UK with the intention of emigrating to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

and pursure her ambition.

Music career

1990-1996: Early career

Influenced by

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she w ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

and Jimi Hendrix, Idowu competed in various rap battles including Club 291 contest, similar to America's

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, in which she came third. She toured the UK with DJ P Tee Money in the later half of 1990 and throughout 1991. In 1992 after working with music producer Kevin Best for two months, Idowu released the single "I Wanna Make You Jack''/''Let's Get Wet", which received positive reviews from music critics and reached number one in the

Choice FM Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a Global-owned radio station that broadcasts on 96.9 FM and 107.1 FM in Greater London. Nationally, it is heard on DAB Digital Radio, Freesat, Sky, Virgin Media and Global Player. It specialises in hi ...

charts. By now, Idowu had begun to use the name by which she is now known - Weird MC, which was coined from the name of her former group.

1997: ''Simply Weird''

In 1996, Idowu returned to her homeland where she released the album ''Simply Weird'' - a blend of American hip hop and

afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecti ...

- and featured the self-produced video-single "Allen Avenue", making her the first Nigerian artist to release a song via that medium. Although ''Simply Weird'' has been described as the first ever full-length hip hop album, this milestone had been reached nearly a decade earlier by Nigerian-American band Sound on Sound with the album ''From Africa From Scratch'', and

Pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...

rap duo Junior and Pretty were also a household name in the early nineties. Despite the popularity of "Allen Avenue", ''Simply Weird'' failed to sell an impressive number of copies; critics agreed that it was ahead of its time. However, Idowu was honoured with several awards, including the very first AMEN award for Best Hip Hop Album.

2006: ''After the Storm''

In 2006, Idowu released her second album, ''After Da Storm''. Hip hop was now recognised as a major form of music in Nigeria, and the Don Jazzy and JJC-produced single "Ijoya" was a massive success, earning her an AMEN award for Most Pop Song, and a Channel O Music Video Award for ''Best Special Effect''.

Other work

Apart from being a solo artiste, Idowu has collaborated with other artists including

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, Women's ri ...

and close friend Kween, and in 2010 she was the last woman remaining in the celebrity version of reality show ''Gulder Ultimate Search''. In various interviews she has spoken of how she was discriminated against by her male counterparts in Nigeria's hip-hop industry, and has criticised its females rappers for not persevering in order to earn their place in the music industry.

Award and nominations

Nominations

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

The Headies The Headies (originally called the Hip Hop World Awards) is a music awards show established in 2006 by the '' Hip Hop World Magazine'' of Nigeria to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry. The annual ceremony features p ...

- Artiste of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weird MC Nigerian women rappers Black British women rappers English people of Nigerian descent Nigerian songwriters Yoruba women musicians British emigrants to Nigeria Rappers from London Participants in Nigerian reality television series English people of Yoruba descent Yoruba-language singers Olabisi Onabanjo University alumni 1970 births Living people