The Sunday News
When she came into the South African male-dominated industry, she decided to learn everything there was to know about the game.
Now hip-hop artiste, Zimbabwe-born Nadia Nakai is her own boss and there’s no turning back.
With a new record label, new music in the works and other projects in the pipeline, she’s been manifesting some of what she’s achieved through her songs, she said.
In her lyrics, she always talks about pushing boundaries, being the “baddest” and solidifying her brand and she is doing just that.
After years of being an artiste in fellow rapper Cassper Nyovest’s record label Family Tree, they’ve gone their separate ways and she’s been working on her own record label Bragga Records since last year.
In a chat with DRUM, the award-winning rapper, real name Nadia Nakai Kandava, said it was time for her to grow on her own.
Being under Cassper’s wing, she felt that she has learned enough about the business side of music while she was at Family Tree.
“It is a normal trajectory for an artiste that eventually you have to grow and stand on your own two feet and figure out things on your own.
I felt like it was time I have learned so much information being at Family Tree. I have learned the whole business from the label, and I get to implement all that I have learned.”
She was always going to become her own boss because she is always competing with herself.
The marketing graduate and Nah Mean hitmaker says everything she learnt about what it takes to build a successful business helps in the day-to-day business of the record label.
She has always been hands-on in her music, she said and the record label is just making it official that she is now fully liable for the success of her music.
“Bragga Records was always in the pipeline because every time I achieve something monumental I always think about the next big thing I can work on.
I am very self-sufficient and self-motivated and I just always want to be able to break barriers for myself as well. To be able to achieve things is exciting and there is a level of growth when you can one up to your previous move,” she said.
Nadia said anybody who is ambitious in life thrives and strives to think outside of the box to be successful.
At the moment she is the only artiste signed under the label and wants to get her house in order before she can bring in other artistes.
She released her first song under the label called Yacht after 13 months of not releasing any music.
The song is also about getting your money up so that you can celebrate your wins on a Yacht.
“We haven’t been able to travel since the pandemic hit and traveling is a luxury we didn’t think would be taken from us. I just wanted to remind people that they can still enjoy themselves but still package it in a Bragga brand.
It is also to tell people to play our part and party responsibly so that the numbers can go down and we can go back to normal again,” she said.
This is not the only win Nadia celebrated recently. She has a fashion range that is out in-store and she is part of a Netflix reality show coming out this year which features the most influential game-changers in Africa called Young, Famous and African.
“I am excited about this year, I plan to drop an EP and an album. And the Netflix African reality show is coming out in the first quarter of this year which is also a big deal and I am excited about that debut.
It is about how we have our growth, impact, and what we do to elevate our careers. It is an interesting and amazing show with a cast of hard-working people I can’t wait for people to see,” she said. – www.news24.com/drum
