Presenting Nneka - A Very Talented Reggae Artist and Actress

Intro

Nneka Lucia Egbuna was born in Warri, Nigeria but she moved to Hamburg, Germany when she was just 19, with the idea of studying Anthropology.

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She is a very talented and diverse musician, with a strong political inclination in her lyrics.

Her main musical influences and idols are the legends Fela Kuti and Bob Marley as well as the contemporary urban American artists Mos Def and Lauryn Hill. As soon as she landed in Germany, Nneka pursued a musical career.

2003

In 2003, Nneka met and started working with DJ Farhot which lead to her first recording EP, released in 2005 under the name "The Uncomfortable Truth".

Her talent didn't go unnoticed and, later in the same year, Nneka released the full-length album "Victim of Truth".

Here's the only videoclip launched from that album:

2008

She didn't take too long to follow up with another great album called "No Longer at Ease", released in 2008. This was the album that catapulted her to an international career as its lead single - "Heartbeat" - was a world wide phenomena and reached the German Top 50 as well as the UK Top 20 Hit.

Another excellent song from that album is "Walking", filmed in her own homeland of Nigeria, in the city of Lagos:

The third and last single from that album is "Kangpe", shot at Ivory Coast:

2009 / 2010

Nneka's musical style is a fusion of Hip Hop, Soul and Reggae and she sings in both Igbo and English. Most of her songs are very political and critical of the corruption that riddles her home-country of Nigeria.

It wasn't long before she won the MOBO Awards ("Music of Black Origin") in the category Best African Act in 2009.

Early in 2010, the album "Concrete Jungle" is launched, with several songs from previous albums, as this was her first album released in the USA.

Later in 2010, because of her talent and political message, Nneka was invited by FIFA to make a song as a tribute to the first Football World Cup on African soil, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. This song is called "Viva Africa":

2012

Nneka's musical career kept evolving fast and steadily and in 2012, the album "Soul Is Heavy" is released, reaching number #38 in France, #30 in Switzerland and #46 in Austria.

This album has one of my favourite songs, "Lucifer (No Doubt)":

As her musical career progressed, she become more internationally known, so it's no doubt that many songs of the album have videoclips.

"Sleep" featured Ms. Dynamite and it's a great song where the vocals of both artists complement each other pretty well.

Next, we have "My Home", another song about her African roots, with a heavy political message:

The next videoclip - "Shining Star" - is really different from the others, as it was shot in the middle of a forest:

Still from the same album, the song "Restless" is a strong ballad reflecting on love and what we do for that love:

Another interesting videoclip is "Stay", which was produced as a cartoon. Nneka's Hip Hop roots are strongly present in this song:

She carries on with her heavy political message on the videoclip "Soul Is Heavy" where she's not afraid to tell things how they really are, by exposing the lies that are taught at schools about Nigeria's past:

The last videoclip released in for the 2012 album is called "Valley" and it's another love ballad:

2015

Nneka's latest album is called "My Fairy Tales" and it was released in 2015.

The song "My Love, My Love" is, obviously, another love ballad.

With the song "Book of Job", the Reggae style returns in style. This is a perfect song, if you happen to enjoy Reggae:

Nneka's last released videcoclip is called "Romans 8: 37-39" and it's a calm yet powerful love ballad.

Music Collaborations

More recently, Nneka and Joss Stone joined forces (and voices) to release a videoclip for the song "Babylon", included in "My Fairy Tales", Nneka's last album:

Nneka has also participated in other artists albums and collaborated with artists such as Tricky, Eric Wainaina, Ikechukwu Onunaku, Blinky Bill, Chambao, Ziggy Marley & Eeday and Les Amazones d'Afrique...

Tricky featuring Nneka - Nothing Matters

Eric Wainaina featuring Nneka - Other People's Lives

Ikechukwu Onunaku featuring Nneka - Good Good Love

Blinky Bill featuring Nneka - No Touch Am

Chambao featuring Nneka - Ahi Estas Tu

Nneka featuring Ziggy Marley & Eeday - Express Yourself

Les Amazones d'Afrique featuring Nneka - La Dame et Ses Valises

As a bonus, here's a full performance of Nneka, at the Uprising Reggae Festival 2016:

Besides being a talented musician, Nneka is also an actress and has participated in the following movies:

• Lake of Fire (2004)
• Offside (2005)
• Relentless (2010)
• Drexciya (2012)
• Fifty (2015)