Real Name:
Adesola Adesimbo Idowu
Music Genre:
AfroHiphop
Afropop
Record Label:
0907 Ent
Date of birth:
09-07-1970
Age:
56
Nationality:
NIGERIA
Weird MC
- Background
- Break
- Did you know?
Adesola Adesimbo Idowu is a Nigerian rapper, songwriter, and producer. Known for her English/Yoruba lyrics. Weird MC - also known as Shola Idowu and The Rappatainer - is one of Africa's token number of female rap artists and one of the few Nigerian women associated with Afrobeat
Ogun-native Idowu was born in England to conservative parents who did not encourage her to go into show business, yet she was not discouraged She had her secondary school education in Nigeria, where she made friends with four other girls, with whom she formed the hip-hop group Weirdos. Despite their popularity on the campus circuit, they failed to land a record deal and soon disbanded.
Idowu gained admission into Ogun State University to study Law, but left a year later to focus on her music career. Influenced by Fela Kuti, Lauryn Hill, Da Roots,Miriam Makeba, Queen Latifah and Jimi Hendrix, Idowu travelled back to England where she competed in rap contests in London, including Club 291 contest, similar to America's Apollo, in which she came third. She also toured the UK with DJ P Tee Money from 90 to 1991 as a dynamic duo. After working with music producer Kevin Best for two months, Idowu released the single Wanna Make You Jack/Let's Get Wet, which received positive reviews from music critics and reached number one in the Choice FM charts.
By now, Idowu had begun to use the name by which she is now known - Weird MC, which was coined from the name of her former group.
After a long sabbatical, Idowu returned to her homeland where she released the album Simply Weird, a blend of American-style hip hop and Afrobeat, and featured the video-single Allen Avenue - she was the first Nigerian artiste to release a video-single, which she also produced. The Allen Avenue video raised controversy, as her androgyny made fans question her true gender.
Simply Weird has been described as the first-ever full-length rap album, yet this milestone was reached a decade before, with artistes like Emphasis, Junior 'n' Pretty, and Sound on Sound. Nevertheless, despite the popularity of Allen Avenue, the album failed to sell an impressive number of copies. Critics agreed that Simply Weird was ahead of its time ("People felt it was too foreign… not rootsy, or ‘African’ enough."). Despite this setback, Idowu was honoured with several awards, including the very first AMEN award for Best Hip Hop Album.
In 2006, Idowu released her second album, After Da Storm. Hip hop was now recognised as a major form of music in Nigeria, and the Don Jazzy and JJC produced single Ijoya - which means Time To Dance - was a massive success. Ijoya earned her an AMEN award for Most Pop Song and a Channel O Music Video Award for Best Special Effect. Following the success of After Da Storm, Idowu studied Music Technology in London.
Apart from being a solo artiste, Idowu has collaborated with other artists including Femi Kuti and close friend kween and many more.........in recent times
Did you know Weird Mc is a Road Safety Marshall?
Did you know Weird Mc & Faze have the same birthday January 1st?
Did you know Weird Mc lived at Agidingbi, Ikeja a 5 minutes walk away from her close friends Femi Kuti’s African Shrine?
Did you know Weird Mc’s Simply Weird' album was one of Nigeria's first full-length rap album?
Discography
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In Full Swing
Released in 1993
Produced by RUMOUR RECORDS U.K.
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SIMPLY WEIRD
Released in 1997
Produced by DISC ENETERTAINMENT NG
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ORIGINAL AFROBEAT (Comp)
Released in 1999
Produced by RUMOUR RECORDS
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Popdeurope - migrating sounds (Comp)
Released in 2003
Produced by EMI
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AFTER DA STORM
Released in 2006
Produced by 0907 Ent
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LAGOS STORI PLENTI
Released in 2006
Produced by OUTTHERE RECORDS
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RIRANWO/STEP UP (EP)
Released in 2008
Produced by 0907 Ent
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BROKEN SILENCE
Released in 2009
Produced by 0907 Ent
References
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weird_MC
Singles
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2005
Title Album Ijoya AFTER DA STORM
