Speaking in a recent interview with Pulse, South African rapper Cassper Nyovest listed M.I Abaga ‘as probably the best rapper in Africa.’ He made the statement when he was asked about the state of Nigerian Hip Hop and how South Africans relate to it.
“I don’t know about Nigerian Hip-hop that much. I don’t know if it will ever be as big as South African Hip-hop because the Nigerian hip-hop that is big, is mostly indigenous.” Cassper said. “Like Olamide and Phyno, that’s the Hip-hop that’s big in Nigeria, and for that to translate into South Africa is difficult because we’re still struggling to understand pidgin English, so when you go deeper into Igbo and Yoruba, it’s like we can’t even hear anything. It’s a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because Hip-hop can relate more to people in Nigeria because of Olamide and Phyno, but it stops them from crossing over.”
Cassper further acknowledged that although South African Hip-hop has more crossover potential than that of Nigeria, the West African country still possesses the greatest rapper on the continent – M.I Abaga.
“There are still guys like M.I, and Ice Prince that are dope rappers. I think M.I is probably the best rapper in Africa. M.I is the best rapper on the continent. So if we could have more of M.Is, probably we could relate more.” he said.