Nneka was born and raised in Warri, Nigeria, but relocated to Hamburg, Germany when she was 19 years old. She received much of her musical upbringing in Nigeria and was influenced by the likes of free-spirited world music giants such as Fela Kuti and Bob Marley as well as the conscious rap of Lauryn Hill and Mos Def. Though Nneka traveled to Hamburg with the purpose of studying anthropology she quickly became swept up in the city’s entertainment/art scene and soon forged a music career for herself.
Her music exerts a cool/collect hip hop mood accentuated by deep house grooves and bright classical guitar, often drawing lines of comparisons to nu-soul artists like D’Angelo and Erykah Badu. In 2003 Nneka formed a working relationship with hip-hop producer DJ Farhot and started to gain recognition in Hamburg through her frequent performances at local venues. One of the gigs saw her opening for Jamaican dance hall rapper Sean Paul.
These performances struck interest amongst record labels and eventually led to her recording contract with Yo Mama’s Recording Company, through which she issued her first EP “The Uncomfortable Truth”. She supported the release by embarking on a European tour with Patrice Bart-Williams and concluded the year with her 2005 studio debut “Victim of Truth”.
The album received widespread acclaim. It was regarded as the next ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ and cited by the UK’s Sunday Times as “the most criminally overlooked album’ of the year”. The hype surrounding this release found her playing a slew of festivals and opening for R&B mainstays such as Bilal, Seeed, Gnarls Barkley, and Femi Kuti.
Her follow up album “No Longer at Ease” came out approximately three years later and contained her first top 50 German single “Heartbeat”. This release also featured an overtly political undertone and took it’s name from a book by Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe. The release of this album was succeeded by a string of live dates in France, Italy, and Portugal as well as an opening spot on Lenny Kravitz’s 2009 French tour.
Nneka kept occupied throughout 2009, accepting the award for Best African Act at the MOBO Awards, leaving for her 1st US tour and participating as a special guest for the Roots Jam session. By early 2010 her 3rd album came out through the label Decon and marked her first official US release. The album entered the US Billboard Heatseekers at No. 18 and No. 57 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Later this year she supported Nas and Damian Marley on their Distant Relatives tour and shortly afterwards performed at the Lillith Fair Concert next to acts like Tegan & Sara, Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, and Rihanna.
In 2012 Nneka issued her 4th studio album “Soul Is Heavy”. Like her preceding releases it was saturated with politically driven lyrics, but featured a more complicated and fuller sound, blending the organic vibe of a backing band with the stark digitalism of computer production. In 2013 she made a guest appearance on Tricky’s song “Nothing Matter”, which was featured on his 10th album “False Idols”. Apart from her music career Nneka is heavily involved in charity work and is responsible for co-founding the “ROPE Foundation”.
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Charli XCX
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