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Early October saw a number of musicians abroad for Independence Day parties, concerts and celebrations. Styl-Plus and Mike Orki were rumored to perform in New York city while, JJC, Tony Tetuila, Sasha and others played in London.

As usual, the cameras were on hand to capture the happenings. Check out the most up to date photos of some of Nigeria’s top Hip-Hop and R&B stars.

While most Nigerian MCs rap either in their native language, pidgin, Nigerian-tinged English, in poor attempts at American/British accents or in some combination, none of them sound quite like Abuja-based MC, Mode Nine. Taking a distinctly different path, Mode Nine’s style is not mainstream.

Being one of the most popular styles in Nigeria today, Hip-Hop has drawn vast numbers of people looking to cash in on the craze. Overall this has lead to some serious quality control issues, but as mentioned earlier, there are a number of acts out there doing it right. Mode Nine is one of them.

Lyrically tallented, with clever delivery and a sharp wit, together with topics that tends towards the serious, Mode Nine has carved out a unique niche in the Nigerian Hip-Hop scene. At first listen, it’s not always clear that Mode Nine is Nigerian. His accent sounds like it’s been influenced heavily by the US and UK, but unlike many others, it’s consistent and not awkward.

Before going on any further about Mode Nine, check out some of his music on the video, “Formidable,” off the Malcolm IX, The Lost Sessions album.

Mode Nine - Formidable 7.5MB (WMV)

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Check out the Mode Nine photos in the gallery

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As one of the Nigeria’s most enduringly and popular reggae musicians, Ras Kimono continues to perform after almost two decades. With six albums to his name, including gold and platinum releases, Ras is still perhaps best known for his early work. The hits, “Rumbar Stylee” and “Under Pressure” from his first album, Under Pressure [PolyGram International 1988] (gold) are among the most popular.

Currently based in the United States, Ras Kimono, together with his Massive Dread Band continue to perform his unique naija-inspired take on reggae, that is quite unlike the many other unique flavors of Nigerian Reggae (including Majek Fashek, Blackky and Orits Wiliki to name a few.)

Check out the photos a friend passed along of a Ras Kimono concert at Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia (US) circa fall 2003.

Check out the Ras Kimono concert pictures in the gallery

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Ras Kimono - Rumbar Stylee

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