Nadia Nakai’s is one of the “baddest” female rappers in Africa. 

The Naaa Mean hitmaker worked in advertising before leaving to focus on her music full-time.

Her degree in Marketing, Communication, and Media Studies has no doubt helped her create a brand that is loved by both men and women.

With over one million followers on Instagram, Nadia Nakai built a huge fan base before dropping her first solo studio album. 

Nadia burst onto the music scene in the early 2000s. She appeared on e.tv’s hip-hop show, Shiz Niz,   and became the first female rapper to win the show’s Mixtape 101 competition.

She released her debut single, Like Me, in 2013 under Sid Records – a label owned by fellow musician Psyfo (now known as Sidwell).

Nadia released two more songs under the label before signing with  Cassper Nyovest’s Family Tree. Cassper helped Nadia drop her biggest hit to date, Naaa Mean in 2017. 

She has collaborated with artists such as Riky Rick, Gemini Major and Ice Prince. 

Six years after releasing her first single, Nadia finally dropped her highly anticipated debut album, Nadia Naked in June 2019.

The offering features some of the biggest names in Africa including Khuli Chana, Ycee, Lady Zamar, Tshego, Sio and of course Casper Nyovest.

English rapper Stefflon Don also makes an appearance. 

Nadia is often compared to Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj but she is adamant that she is not trying to imitate the American rappers, and instead is forging her own unique path in the industry.

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Nadia Nakai’s real name is, well, a bit complicated. She was born Nadia Nakai Dlamini. When she was 16, she changed her surname to Kandava, which is her mother’s maiden name. Her legal name is now Nadia Nakai Kandava. 

Nadia’s middle name, Nakai, causes a bit of confusion for her South African fans. It’s a popular girl’s name in Zimbabwe and many of her fans in Mzansi had not heard of the name until Nadia came along. Nakai means “be beautiful” in Shona. 

Nadia is also known as Bragga, which is the title of her 2016 EP.  She got the inspiration for the name from a character in one of the Fast & Furious movies.

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Nadia was born on May 18, 1990. The 29-year-old has achieved a lot at a young age, and she has big plans for her future. She hopes to one day fill up the Dome like her mentor Cassper Nyovest – hopefully before she turns 30!

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Nadia Nakai’s parents are no longer believed to be together. Her father is a South African and her mother is Zimbabwean. Little is known about her father, but Nadia often speaks about her mother in interviews.

She grew up with her mother, who had a big influence on her taste in music as a child. Nadia’s mother was a fan of Sade, Erykah Badu, Seal and UB40. The Money Back hitmaker’s love for rap music developed when she attended high school in Kenya. She met a female rapper named Nazizi who inspired her to rap.

We guess you could say her mother helped build her music foundation and Nazizi helped her find her passion.

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Nadia Nakai’s close relationship with Cassper Nyovest led some to believe he is her boyfriend. But she described the rapper as “family” and nothing more.

Nadia was most recently linked to Major League’s Bandile Mbere. The couple confirmed they were dating in early 2018 but by early 2019 they had gone their separate ways. More Drugs, one of the songs on her debut album, was inspired by her heartache over the breakup.

Nadia poured her energy into the album after their split and has seemingly had little to no time for dating.

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Some of Nadia's fans are convinced she is married. But Nadia does not have a husband and has never been married.

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"Spent a milli on my bus and my Audi," Nadia raps on Naaa Mean. Like most entertainers, Nadia has spent her hard-earned cash on fancy cars. She bought herself a white Audi A3 as a Valentine’s Day gift to herself in 2017. Nadia also owns a mini-tour bus to make getting from gig to gig a whole lot easier. 

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While some publications claim Nadia Nakai’s net worth is around R11.8 million, it’s unclear how much the star is worth. But between her rap career, her work as a social media influencer and several endorsement deals, including Reebok and Redbat, Nadia is worth a pretty penny. She is also a voice-over artist and TV presenter.  Nadia hosted the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards red carpet. She is also a co-host on Yo! MTV Raps Africa.

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Nadia Nakai made headlines in 2018 when a picture of her with no makeup went viral. The image was taken during a Valentine’s Day spa with her then boyfriend, Bandile. Twitter users were shocked to see her without makeup and called her ugly names. 

But Nadia put her haters in their place. “I’m not embarrassed when I don’t have makeup on… Women should feel comfortable in showing their true beauty, bare faced and all,” she wrote on Instagram.

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Nadia Nakai’s outfits sometimes get more attention than her music. The rapper is known to wear racy outfits, which often reveal a whole lot of skin. All hell broke loose in June 2019 when she wore a skaneskin leotard during her Castle Lite Unlocks performance. “I can't be the only one who thinks Nadia Nakai is using her booty to stay relevant,” one Twitter user wrote. 

Cassper Nyovest came to her defence on Twitter.

“Why is it that Ya'll always on Nadia's Case about how she dresses? Who are you to tell a woman how to dress? It's her body!!!!  Let the poor girl enjoy her body!!!! This has to stop,” he tweeted

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Read more:
Nadia Nakai Is Waiting On The Critics
WATCH: We Sat Down With The Nadia Nakai
Different Shades Of Bragga

Main image credit: Instagram/@nadianakai