RAP means Rhythmically Applied
Poetry, it is not just a genre, it’s an
art, therefore there are certain rules,
laws and basic factors that guide and
determine how good at the art you
are.
Based on this, the team at
Celebrifacts have gathered the most
popular factors that make a good
rapper and graded some of the best
rappers out of Nigeria against these
factors on a scale of 1-5. Hence its
‘Top 10 most gifted Nigerian
Rappers’ list!
Find the factors and how your
favorite rappers score below, then
finally the list itself based on their
individual cumulative scores.
1. Lyrical Content: Figures Of
Speech
It’s a lot of words filling up each 16
bars. The content in there and
construction of these words are a
half of what makes up a rapper’s
style.
Messages in a song’s content could
be best expressed artistically
through figures of speech like
similes, metaphors, word plays,
hyperboles, etc. In hip-hop, these
are referred to as “Punchlines”.
A rapper don’t necessarily have to
master all figures of speech, but
being highly skilled in at least two
puts you on a higher pedestal than
rappers who drop lame lines
(straight sentences).
- Modenine – 5
- MI – 4.5
- Vector – 4.5
- Olamide – 3
- Sauce Kid – 4
- Ice Prince – 3
- Phyno – 3.5
- Ikechukwu – 3.5
- Jesse Jagz – 3.5
- Naeto C – 2.5
2. Content/Subject Matter:
Staying In Context On Songs
Some rappers you’ll rate as “wack”
are actually good, problem they
have is they stray on songs too
much!
The ability to pick a topic for your
song and perfectly deliver on it
without straying to other topics just
to beef up your content makes you a
master of the art.
Modenine – 5
MI – 5
Vector – 3.5
Olamide – 3.5
Sauce Kid – 3.5
Ice Prince – 3
Phyno – 4
Ikechukwu – 3.5
Jesse Jagz – 3.5
Naeto C – 3
3. Delivery: Flow/Clarity/Diction
This is what makes up the second
half of a rapper’s style. Having a rap
delivery that is unique to you is what
gives you your own niche and
identity.
If your flow is top-notch, diction is
exemplary and you’re clear enough
for your audience to hear? That’s a
good rapper!
- Modenine – 4
- MI – 4.5
- Vector – 4
- Olamide – 5
- Sauce Kid – 3.5
- Ice Prince – 4
- Phyno – 4.5
- Ikechukwu – 3.5
- Jesse Jagz – 3.5
- Naeto C – 4
4. Versatility
A rapper that can bend in numerous
directions and still be original is
bound to hold your attention a lot
longer than one who is rigidly facing
just one direction, because the
possibility of him boring you is slim
when he’s able to switch from for
example, story-telling to battling, to
flossing, to love-rap, to party-rap,
etc.
A versatile rapper can be featured a
hundred times, on different songs
from different genres, by any kind of
artistes, and still deliver without
sounding like he was struggling or
sounding too rigid on the song.
- Modenine – 1.5
- MI – 4.5
- Vector – 4.5
- Olamide – 4
- Sauce Kid – 4.5
- Ice Prince – 4
- Phyno – 3
- Ikechukwu – 4
- Jesse Jagz – 4
- Naeto C – 4
5. Commerciality
In business-environments/record-
label-offices, this comes before
anything else. It’s not so respected
in hip-hop but at the end of the day,
it’s a rule we all have to obey.
In business, you don’t put money on
a product that won’t yield returns, so
why should anyone put money on an
artiste who isn’t connecting with his
own market?
The ability to keep it real and still be
able to sell your music is what
cements your status as a successful
rapper.
- Modenine – 2.5
- MI – 5
- Vector – 4.5
- Olamide – 5
- Sauce Kid – 4
- Ice Prince – 4.5
- Phyno – 4
- Ikechukwu – 4
- Jesse Jagz – 3
- Naeto C – 5
6. Sound
Some really gifted rappers have
come and gone without having so
much to show for it. This isn’t
because they’re not good, but
because they kept spitting on the
wrong beats!
The beat is the foundation on which
the song lays. It’s mostly the first
thing that catches your ear/attention
so if it not the right one for the song,
it can neither connect the way it
should nor stand the test of time.
Selecting the right beats for songs is
a step in the right direction but the
big picture itself is not just selecting
the right beats but selecting the
right beats all the time! That’s how
you create your own sound.
- Modenine – 3.5
- MI – 4.5
- Vector – 4
- Olamide – 4.5
- Sauce Kid – 3.5
- Ice Prince – 4.5
- Phyno – 4
- Ikechukwu – 3
- Jesse Jagz – 4.5
- Naeto C – 4.5
7. Originality
Rap music is a conscious genre which
relates directly to people and what
they go through, therefore most
times the kind of songs you make
are a reflection of who you really are.
How much of yourself do you put in
the music? Or perhaps how much of
things you feel the people want to
hear do you put in the music?
Yes, you should be able to make
money by finding a way to
commercialize your s__t but then
when you’re all about what the
people want to hear rather than
what you feel within you, you don’t
stand for yourself therefore don’t
deserve to have a following.
- Modenine – 5
- MI – 4.5
- Vector – 4
- Olamide – 5
- Sauce Kid – 4
- Ice Prince – 4
- Phyno – 5
- Ikechukwu – 3.5
- Jesse Jagz – 4.5
- Naeto C – 3.5
8. Longevity
One hit single don’t make you a
good rapper, neither does one good
album/mixtape.
The ability to go from one album or
mixtape to the other and still
maintain or even surpass the
standards you’ve set for yourself on
all the elements of being a good
rapper as listed above, is what
makes you a rap LEGEND.
- Modenine – 5
- MI – 4.5
- Vector – 4
- Olamide – 3.5
- Sauce Kid – 4
- Ice Prince – 4
- Phyno – 1.5
- Ikechukwu – 4
- Jesse Jagz – 3.5
- Naeto C – 4
CELEBRIFACTS’ TOP 10 MOST GIFTED
NIGERIAN RAPPERS
1. MI – 4 and a half mics (37
points)
2. Olamide – 4 mics (33.5 points)
3. Vector – 4 mics (33 points)
4. Modenine – 4 mics (31.5 points)
5. Iceprince/Sinzu (Sauce Kid) – 4
mics (31 points) – [Tie]
6. –
7. Naeto C – 4 mics (30.5 points)
8. Jesse Jagz – 4 mics (30 points)
9. Phyno – 3 and a half mics (29.5
points)
10. Ikechukwu – 3 and a half mics
(29 points)
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