Profile: All African Cypher Female Artists

DJ Hazel Eyez

(Real name: Helena O) is a Canadian-based Female DJ, her name is synonymous with great Entertainment and Musical Creativity. She is Edmonton's best-kept secret, and today's most in-demand DJ for exclusive events and private parties. Word of mouth has played a powerful role in the career of DJ Hazel Eyez and this has resulted in heavy underground and mainstream buzz. Targeting a particular niche of people has been key in her DJ career, by appealing more to music lovers and people who crave a great experience. "I don't play at every party, I play at the right parties". DJ Hazel Eyez has never felt threatened in this Male dominated business, because she knows she brings a different touch. Her motto "Music has no boundaries" says a lot about the kind of DJ she is. "For you to truly enjoy music, you have to be open to different genres, but it is up to me, to make it a worthwhile experience for you".

BLAISE:

Born in Lagos, Blaise is a rapper, lyricist, composer, and spoken word poet who has given herself completely to the pursuit of music as a life-long career. Born with a natural way with words and a God-given talent in writing she soon evolved into a poet and lyricist, abilities that were very much at home with hip-hop music.  Meeting with Trybesmen front man Eldee the Don proved to be a turning point for her, and not long after she demonstrated her skills. She was soon after featured on the famous hit single Oya, in 2002, as part of the Trybe Records collective Da Trybe. In 2005, she made an attempt at the music business by teaming up with former Da Trybe mate Freestyle, who produced her first radio single The Definition, and hit collaboration track Braggin Rights. The statement was made as both tracks individually went to Number 1 on radio stations across the country. She also earned several award nominations at the Hip Hop World Awards and Amen Awards respectively in 2007. Blaise has since unraveled other areas of musical interest namely production and events by starting a monthly open-mic and artist showcase called “Baseline”, as a platform for upcoming artists. She also composed and produced music for the Nigeria’s maiden edition of world acclaimed The Vagina Monologues and an Mnet/DVWorx short film called MamaPut. Her much anticipated album titled Delivery Report, was released on her own label, The Beat Cellar. Appearing on DJ Jimmy Jatt’s mix tape and Tha Suspect’s Femcee Re-mix of I No Send You, she remains a prominent part of the hip-hop movement in Nigeria.

EVA:

Born Elohor Eva Alordiah, Eva is a Nigerian dancer, rapper, creative writer, and model from Delta State. Taking the time to study the music making process by going in and out of studios, she recorded a song with  Tha Suspect of Capital Hill records in 2008. The song, titled I Dey Play, featured Tha Suspect and was inspired by M.I's single, Safe. Later in 2009, her collaboration with 'Str8buttah' churned out the rap single Make ‘Em Say, successfully crowned Eva as a lyricist to be reckoned with.  Also in the same year, she was featured in Cartiair's single Owo Ati Swagger, which went on to be nominated in the Hip Hop World Awards and the Sound City Music Video Awards. Eva has also collaborated with artists such as  ID Cabasa, Knighthouse, Kel, Beazy, M.I, Show Dem Camp, eLDee, CONtradiction, Sasha, Mo’cheddah and many more. In 2011, Eva announced the release of her first body of work "the GIGO EP" and called it -her pet project to the fans before her debut album is released. She teamed up with top Nigerian act P-Square in their recently released album The Invasion and recorded Shake It, which also features hip-hop artist Muna. Eva was also featured in Bez's album Supersun along with eLDee and Ice Prince. The song Supersun Remix, produced by award winning producer, Cohbams Asuquo, has gone on to become a fan favorite. Still unsigned to a record label and working as an independent artist, she has proven relentlessly time and again, how dedicated she is to her music. Eva is currently working on the GIGO EP and her yet-to-be titled debut album concurrently. 

MUNA:

Munachi Abii is a Nigerian rap hip-hop artist, songwriter, former beauty queen, television presenter and model who performs under the name Muna.  During her second year at University in 2007, Muna won the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Beauty Pageant. Prior to winning MBGN, Muna performed as part of Port Harcourt-based rap group The Specimen A, and collaborated with Terry da Rapman on the critically acclaimed My PH Girl. As a songwriter, she has written songs for artistes such as J Martins and Waje, and has also appeared in several music videos, most notably in P-Square's Ifunanya.  Muna continues to collaborate with other hip-hop artists; in early 2011, she wrote the lyrics and featured on Waje's hit single So Inspired, and also appeared in rapper Suspect's video for I No Send You, before appearing on P-Square’s recently released album The Invasion by performing with rapper Eva, on the track, Shake It. Muna’s first solo effort is titled I Feel Real (The David Guetta Mix) and she plans to go the international route. Muna is already recording her debut album, featuring collaborations with Nigerian and foreign artists from Lagos to California. Her yet untitled album is going to be a mix of techno rap and a fusion of genres to create a sound unique to her but universally acceptable. Muna, who recently signed a multi-year deal with The RMG Company is finally breaking out of the ‘just a pretty face’ box that most former beauty queens are categorized. According RMG’s Ayo Shonaiya “This girl is properly insane when she’s in the vocal booth, and the plan is to make her a worldwide star.”

SASHA:

Sasha also known as the "First Lady" of Nigerian Hip Hop, has remained the most visible female artist in Nigeria for over 7 years, with the success of her debut album First Lady, and support from her record label STORM, she has continued to increase her dedicated fan base and has been nominated for various awards home and abroad.  Without a doubt, she has earned the respect of her peers from her dedication, hard work, and stellar performances some of which include her being the first ever Nigerian female artist to perform at the 20th anniversary of the World Music Awards in October 2008. She has shared stages with a host of International and National acts which include Boys II Men, Dru Hill, Rihanna, Shakira, P Diddy, John Legend and R Kelly. As a designer of her own clothing label (Eclectic by Sasha,) she remains arguably one of the busiest artists in Nigeria but she always makes time to give back to the community which she believes made her who she is " I believe as an individual, I have a social responsibility to make a difference any way I can," and this she has done consistently over the years. Sasha has enjoyed major rotation of her single Gidi Babe from her sophomore album and multiple hits from her third album, Sasha Speaks.  Earlier this year, she also featured on The Suspect’s Femcee Remix of his hit track I No end You. Without a doubt she has lived up to her name and the whole world awaits the First Lady to keep taking them by storm.

ZEE:

Dzakeh Maria Ekpong, also known as rap artist “ZEE” is a young talent who made her debut early 2010 when she appeared on Come Get With Me, a 2 minute video by Tha Suspect, a famous Producer and artist under Capital Hill Music. This feature helped jump start her career and brought her to noteworthy status as an emerging fire spitting female emcee in the Nigerian music industry. Graduating with a degree in French from the University of Lagos, ZEE started her journey in music in 2006 under a talent management called XXL Untertainment alongside other artistes like General Pype and Vector where she began honing her skill. Currently, she has put heads together with Capital Hill Music owned by the famous video director, Clarence Peters to create and put out her own music materials first of which is Mic Check is released online. Her appearance on Tha Suspect’s Femcee version of his hit record, I No Send You, certainly placed her on the map of Nigerian hip-hop artists on the rise.