Bragga, whose real name is Nadia Nakai Kandava, was born on 18 May 1990. She is a South African rapper and songwriter who has managed to beat the competition in the industry and make a name for herself. She boasts of being the first female rapper to win the Mix Tape 1010 competition on e.TV and is making waves in the Mzansi entertainment scene with her hit songs.
Early Life
Nadia Nakai was born into a family of mixed ethnicity – her father is South African while her mother is Zimbabwean. Though she is often called Bragga, she was born Nadia Nakai Kandava and was welcomed into her family on 18 May 1990. She went by the name Nadia Dlamini until she was sixteen years old when she adopted her mother’s name, Nadia Nakai.
Education
After completing her high school education at Fourways High School, Nadia continued her academic pursuit at a higher institution. She studied for a double major in Media Studies, Communication, and Marketing at Monash University. She later relocated to Kenya to continue her studies where she connected with Nazizi. Meeting the Kenyan female rapper had a great influence on her music.
Career
Nadia’s music career dates back to when she was under Nazizi’s mentorship in Kenya. This made her come up with the decision of becoming a professional rapper. She holds the record as the first female rapper to win e.tv’s Shiz Niz’ Mixtape 101 Competition. In September 2013, she dropped her debut single “Like Me” and released her first single under Sid Records.
Nakai landed a feature on Amantombazane Remix and collaborated with Ice Prince, a Nigerian artist, on Saka Wena upon performing at the Chanel O music video awards. In 2018, she had the opportunity to rap for Sway Calloway. As a host, she was selected as a red carpet host for MTV Africa awards in Bilbao Spain.
Album
She dropped her first album, Nadia Naked, in 2019 and has been recognized among the best female MCs in South Africa. Though music lovers and her fans anticipated Nadia Naked II, the rapper gave a hint to drop the second album. She fulfilled her promise and gave fans what they wanted – Nadia Naked II. The song made waves in the country and in no time climbed to number one.
The album features household names in the industry including Kwesta, Kuli Chana, Tshego, and Lady Zamar. It also features Vic Mensa, a rapper, singer, and record producer from the United States. Fans and music lovers loved the Nadia Naked II album earning her “the best female rapper in Africa”. This increased her fan base as she records a huge presence on social media. Nadia sure knows how to impress lovers of good music no wonder her name is on many lips in the country.
Music
In an interview session, Nadia revealed how she was able to work with Nigerian artiste Ice Prince. According to her, she bombarded him with emails requesting a collaboration. Fans and followers of Nadia Nakai’s music can get raw updates of her songs on her YouTube channel which has around 36.5K subscribers.
Personal Life
Rumors had it that Nadia Nakai was dating Bandile Mbere. They confirmed that they were in a relationship in 2018 but it seemed their relationship did not last long as they called it quits the following year. Her track “More Drugs” on her first album was a product of heartache over their breakup.
Net Worth
In 2018, Nadia Nakai was estimated to have a net worth of around US$800 000 (R12 133 280). In 2017, she bought an Audi A3 worth around R550 000 which she flaunted on social media.