Nneka

Biography

Nneka Lucia Egbuna (; born 24 December 1980) is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. She sings in English, Igbo and Nigerian Pidgin.

Early life

Nneka Lucia Egbuna was born and raised in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria, to a German mother and Nigerian father. She is the youngest of four siblings. When Nneka was two years old, their German mother abandoned the family. When her father remarried, his new wife tortured and terrorized the children of the first marriage, especially the two youngest—Nneka and her brother, Anato—in an effort to make their lives intolerable.
In 1999, she relocated to Hamburg, her mother's home city. At first, she lived in a residence for asylum seekers close to the airport. Later, she moved into communal housing for youths. She learned German very quickly, and after a year and a half, she completed her high school diploma at a secondary school that had a graduation track for non-native speakers of German. After graduating from high school, she studied anthropology and African studies at the University of Hamburg, while making music on the side. Subsequently, she began performing in the underground dancehall scene in order to finance her degree.

2003–2007: Early career and Victim of Truth

Nneka first gained public attention in 2004 while performing as an opening act for dancehall reggae star Sean Paul at Hamburg Stadtpark, and following much acclaim, she announced her intentions to record her first album. After releasing her debut EP, The Uncomfortable Truth×The Uncomfortable Truth2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1The Uncomfortable Truth (Manny Marroquin mix)3:492Heartbeat3:113Africans4:294Beautiful4:09, she performed on her first tour in April 2005, playing shows in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2005, Nneka's debut album, Victim of Truth×Victim of Truth12 September 2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Intro2:002Stand Strong3:413The Uncomfortable Truth3:494Beautiful4:105Africans4:316Quit3:517Changes3:448Material Things4:149Burning Bush (Everybody)3:2610Confession4:5211Showin' Love3:5412Warrior3:0513In Charge3:5314Make Me Strong (interlude)0:3315God of Mercy3:2916Your Request3:24, was released across Europe, Nigeria and Japan. Garnering rave reviews from the media, the UK's Sunday Times later declared Victim of Truth "the year’s most criminally overlooked album". Despite universal acclaim, the record did not manage to chart. Nevertheless, Nneka enjoyed a sustained and successful period of touring, performing with label-mate Patrice Bart-Williams. During her tour, she played at Chiemsee Reggae Summer, Haarlem (Bevrijdingsfestival), The Hague (Park Pop) and Saint-Brieuc (Art Rock Festival), and in respected venues, such as La Maroquinerie and New Morning in Paris, Tivoli in Utrecht, Paradiso in Amsterdam, and Cargo and ULU in London. She has also supported artists such as Femi Kuti, Bilal, Seeed, and Gnarls Barkley.
In 2006, Nneka also performed on the German television network WDR, where she performed her single "Gypsy", while a dance group performed a dance routine they had worked on specifically for the song. The dance group was supported by the organization Schlauberger.

2008- 2011: No Longer at Ease and Concrete Jungle

In February 2008, she released her second album, No Longer at Ease×No Longer at Ease25 April 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Death (intro)4:002Heartbeat3:113Mind vs. Heart4:164Suffri5:545Come With Me5:246Gypsy3:477Halfcast2:568Something to Say4:149Streets Lack Love4:0510Niger Delta3:2311From Africa 2 U3:5312Running Away4:3213Focus4:2314Kangpe3:5815Deadly Combination / Walking10:17. The title of the album is taken from a novel of the same name by Chinua Achebe and reflects the lyrical content of the record. Many of the songs are political, talking about the plight of the Niger Delta and the corruption in Nneka's homeland. No Longer at Ease combines the political and the personal in "a winning mix of soul, hip-hop and reggae". The lead single from the record, "Heartbeat×Heartbeat4 April 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Heartbeat3:112Heartbeat (Chase&Status We Just Bought A Guitar Mix)3:563Walk The Line3:12", became Nneka's first song to break into the German Top 50. In September 2009, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at no. 20. "Heartbeat" has since been remixed several times, most notably by Chase & Status, was sampled by Rita Ora for her chart-topping single, "R.I.P.".
In the following months, Nneka toured in France, Italy and Portugal, while she also supported Lenny Kravitz on his French tour in April 2009.
Nneka was nominated in three categories for the 2009 Channel O Music Video Awards, and won an award for Best African Act at the 2009 MOBO Awards.
In late 2009, she was chosen as of one Beyond Race Magazine's "50 Emerging Artists", resulting in a spot in the publication's No. 11 issue (with Bodega Girls and J. Cole on the cover), as well as an exclusive Q&A for the magazine's site.
In November 2009, Nneka began her first concert tour of the United States, where she performed shows in New York City, Vienna (Washington DC), Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Furthermore, she was a special guest on The Roots Jam session. Her first US release, Concrete Jungle, was set for 2 February 2010, and the album charted at no. 57 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and at no. 18 on the Heatseekers Albums chart, where it spent a total of five weeks.
Her track "Kangpe" is also featured as a soundtrack on EA Sports video game, FIFA 10.
In January 2010, Nneka appeared in Late Show with David Letterman in New York before getting her US tour underway, and in the following June, she won the reggae category of the Museke Online Africa Music Award 2010 with her hit song, "Africans".
Nneka toured with Nas and Damian Marley for their Distant Relatives album. Her highly rated track, "Heartbeat" was remixed with Nas, and was released via iTunes on 5 October 2010.
She participated in the 2010 Lilith Fair Concert, where artists such as Tegan & Sara, Sarah McLachlan, Kelly Clarkson, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Corinne Bailey Rae, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna have performed. During her US tour for Concrete Jungle, she performed also in Washington, Raleigh and Charlotte.
Nneka recorded a song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa called "Viva Africa×Viva Africa11 June 2010 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Viva Africa3:332Heartbeat3:49"; the song is a tribute to the premier mundial on African soil.
In 2010, Nneka won the award for best indigenous artist in Nigeria at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards, which was held in New York. Since then she has won the NEA award for best international artist several times.
Nneka made an appearance on the Nigerian drama film, Relentless, co-produced and directed by Andy Amadi Okoroafor; the film also featured Gideon Okeke, Halle Mordu, Jimmy Jean-Louis and Tope Oshin Ogun. Relentless was released on 13 October 2010 at the BFI London Film Festival.
In 2011, Nneka was featured alongside Ziggy Marley on the song "Express Yourself", produced for the film Beat the World.

2012–present: Soul is Heavy and My Fairy Tales

In March 2012, she appeared on BET 106 and Park Music Matters. On the show she performed a live acoustic set with one of Nigeria's best Afro classical acoustic guitarists Clef nite and Black Thought the front man and rapper for the popular hip hop band The Roots. She also made similar appearance on MTV Iggy, with Clef nite on the second acoustic guitar.
Nneka recorded her album Soul Is Heavy×Soul Is Heavy7 October 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Lucifer (No Doubt)4:352Sleep3:353My Home4:084Shining Star4:085Restless4:456Don't Even Think3:507J3:508Stay3:249Soul Is Heavy4:0310Do You Love Me Now3:5611Valley5:2312V.I.P.3:5313Camouflage3:4014God Knows Why3:4715Still I Rise3:19 in Nigeria, and the album was released in March 2012. Soul is Heavy charted in France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and peaked at no. 38 on the UK R&B Albums chart. The album's most successful single, "Shining Star×Shining Star2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Shining Star (Joe Goddard remix)9:022Shining Star (Joe Goddard remix radio edit)3:14", charted at no. 97 on the UK Singles Chart, her second and final song to do so. The record received an average critical response and was awarded a score of 70 on Metacritic.
In 2012, Nneka collaborated with American footwear and clothing brand Reebok. In May 2013, she appeared on False Idols by Tricky.

Musical style

Even though Nneka sings more than she raps, she names hip hop as her primary musical root and most important source of inspiration, while citing artists such as Fela Kuti and Bob Marley as well as contemporary rappers Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Lauryn Hill as key influences in her own pursuit of musical recognition.
Her lyrics reflect much of her history and life in Nigeria as well as her time spent in Western Europe. Her songs stress the issues of capitalism, poverty and war and are often loaded with moral and biblical messages and references, with some music commentators comparing her to Erykah Badu, Neneh Cherry, and Floetry.

Advocacy

In 2012, Nneka co-founded the Rope foundation, alongside Ahmed "Genda" Nyei. The Rope Foundation serves as a platform for young men and women to express themselves through art, and the charity also focuses on working with sexually abused women at the WAGA (War Affected Girls & Adults) Foundation, located in the Bo Town region of Sierra Leone. Nneka described The Rope Foundation as working "to give a platform to help people express themselves and their issues in society".
Nneka also serves as the Arts Ambassador for the African Women Development Fund [AWDF] in Ghana. She has worked extensively in charity and arts with the foundation in Sierra Leone.

Albums

2005: Victim of Truth
2008: No Longer at Ease – Germany #31, France #34, Switzerland #42, Austria #49
2010: Concrete Jungle
2012: Soul Is Heavy – France #38, Switzerland #30, Austria #46
2015: My Fairy Tales
2022: Love Supreme

Compilation albums

2009: To and Fro (3-CD Boxset)
2009: The Madness (Onye-Ala) (with J.Period)

EPs

2005: The Uncomfortable Truth
2010: Heartbeat EP (featuring Nas)
2022: About Guilt

Singles

2005: "The Uncomfortable Truth×The Uncomfortable Truth2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1The Uncomfortable Truth (Manny Marroquin mix)3:492Heartbeat3:113Africans4:294Beautiful4:09"
2006: "Beautiful"
2006: "God of Mercy"
2007: "Africans"
2008: "Heartbeat×Heartbeat4 April 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Heartbeat3:112Heartbeat (Chase&Status We Just Bought A Guitar Mix)3:563Walk The Line3:12" – #9 Portugal, #20 UK (BPI: Silver), #34 Austria, #49 Germany
2008: "Walking"
2009: "Kangpe"
2012: "Shining Star×Shining Star2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Shining Star (Joe Goddard remix)9:022Shining Star (Joe Goddard remix radio edit)3:14"
2012: "Soul is Heavy×Soul Is Heavy7 October 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Lucifer (No Doubt)4:352Sleep3:353My Home4:084Shining Star4:085Restless4:456Don't Even Think3:507J3:508Stay3:249Soul Is Heavy4:0310Do You Love Me Now3:5611Valley5:2312V.I.P.3:5313Camouflage3:4014God Knows Why3:4715Still I Rise3:19"
2012: "My Home×My Home30 September 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1My Home3:50"
2013: "Shining" – #7 South Africa
2021: “Love Supreme×Love Supreme11 February 2022 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1With You4:182Love Supreme3:553Tea?3:304Yahweh5:415This Life3:386About Guilt3:167Space2:378Sweet Spirit3:179Yansh2:4710Walk Away3:0111Maya4:0112Buckle Up3:3713Sea4:28”
2021: “Tea?”
2021: “Yahweh”
2021: “This Life×This Life17 September 2021 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1This Life3:38”
2021: “With You”
2021: “Maya”