Mr. Real

Nigerian rapper Mr Real made a rapid ascent to stardom with his undeniable 2017 street-hop anthem, "Legbegbe." With a hit song to his credit and features on prominent cuts by D'banj and Jaywon, he soon landed a major-label deal and made a prolific run of follow-up singles and collaborations with acts like CDQ and Slimcase. Born Okafor Uchenna Victor in Lagos State, Mr Real developed a gritty, rhythmic street-hop style and at one point was a member of the rap group Plantashun Boiz, which also included Faze and 2Face Idibia. Active since the mid-2000s, his rise to fame was a slow one and he cut his teeth working on tracks with artists like Klever Jay, Seriki, and Terry G. His breakout came in 2017 with the release of "Legbegbe," a street anthem that topped charts around the country and name-dropped iPhones 1-8 in one of its hooky refrains. Suddenly a public commodity, Real earned a Best Rap Artist nomination at the 2018 Headies and won a Nigeria Entertainment Award for Hottest Single of the Year. Features on tracks by DJ Neptune, Jaywon, and DJ Lambo followed, as did a label deal with Sony. He continued to establish himself with tracks like 2019's "Onigbese" and the 2020 Tplan collaboration "Falipupa." ~ Timothy Monger