Best Hip Hop Artist 2014: N.I.A

Newly crowned Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist of the year 2014 at the NAMAs, N.I.A is a Namibian native of Herero, Colored and German decent.
Raised in the States for the most part of his life, he started rapping at the age of 13, "I used to memorize lyrics to different songs and perform them at school talent shows. My passion for rap started when I heard the Tupac Thug Life album, I just immediatly knew that this was what I wanted to do" said the rapper. In 1997 he came home to visit from DC, where he resided at the time and produced a few songs with a producer named Pieter Hoakhoab who worked at NBC then. The songs aired on radio, and were the first of his commercial releases.

In May 2013 N.I.A released Road To History his debut album. The first single titled "My Baby" featuring Lil D stayed on the Base fm Countdown, in the top 5, for five months and at number 1 for four months, while the second single More Love was on the Base fm Countdown for three months also reaching number one for two months. He also won the Base fm Artist of the Month award (May 2013) for the song My Baby. Six of the songs from his album aired on both Base fm and Radio Energy's Top 10 countdown shows.

-To our dismay, Hip Hop fans turned to social networks with disrespectful remarks claiming to not know who N.I.A is after he was awarded Hip Hop Artist of the year at last weekend's Namibian Annual Music Awards event hosted in Swakopmund. Many feeling that he is not as deserving as the other rappers in the category because they "don't know who N.I.A is" and others simply stating that "NAMAs are a joke with the exclusion of Black Vulcanite in the category", though an official representative of Black Vulcanite released the statement saying "just to set the bar straight, i am on the management team for BV, the NAMAs management did nothing wrong, we got our application process for the NAMAs all wrong, vote for us next year, but thanks for the flying our flag high, congratulations to N.I.A! We salute. See you guys Friday 9 May at FNCC for the show."


"I know I worked hard 100% on this project, plus I am independant so thats a challenge by itself. I am humbled and proud to be awarded for my work and I am willing to represent hip hop in Nam anywhere in the world. I have had 100% love and support from everybody who actually listened to my music, they feel like I deserve the award and so do I. I just want people to remember that its 'music', thats what the award is for, I definetly welcome anybody to speak their mind but just keep it about the music, I thank everybody including you guys (NHHN) for doin everything you can to help promote hip hop in Nam" concluded the rapper.