| Adesola Adesimbo Idowu | |
|---|---|
| Born | England |
| Residence | Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian, British |
| Other names | Weird MC |
| Occupation | Rapper |
Weird MC (born Adesola Adesimbo Idowu) [1] is a Nigerian rapper, songwriter, and producer. Known for her catchy English/Yoruba lyrics, androgynous appearance, and rumoured sexuality, Weird MC - also known as Shola Idowu and The Rappatainer - is one of Africa's token number of female rap artistes,[1] and one of the few Nigerian women associated with Afrobeat.[2]
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Idowu, whose parents are from Ogun State, was born in England to conservative parents who did not encourage her to go into showbusiness, yet she was not discouraged.[3] 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.[2]
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. 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; it was also number one in the Choice FM charts.[4] By now, Idowu had began 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 her debut album Simply Weird. It was a blend of American-style hip hop and Afrobeat, which 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 man-like appearance made people question her true gender.
Simply Weird has often been described as the first ever full-length rap album,[5] yet this milestone was reached about a decade before, with artistes like Emphasis,[6] Junior 'n' Pretty,[7] 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.").[8] Despite this setback, Idowu was honoured with several awards, including the very first AMEN award for Best Hip Hop Album.[9]
In 2006, Idowu released her second album, After Da Storm. Hip hop was now recognised as a major forn of music in Nigeria, and the 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.[4][10] Following the success of After Da Storm, Idowu studied Music Technology in London.[11]
Apart from being a solo artiste, Idowu has collaborated with other artistes including Femi Kuti and close friend Kween.[12]
In 2000, after months of public speculation and personal denial, Idowu came out as a lesbian on the Channel Five documentary Black, Bent and Beautiful, in which she said members of her family in Nigeria tried to take her to an African herbalist who would "cast out the evil spirit of lesbianism". Other relatives, including her brothers who abused her on a daily basis, had disowned her.[13][14][15] In an interview with Omega magazine she stated: "I thought to myself as my career is progressing every time, the question will come up one day - 'Weird, are you gay?' I'd say 'no,' I'd say 'no,' and there is a very popular saying in the hip hop world: keeping it real. I thought to myself that I was not keeping it real, not 100%. So I thought to myself this would be an opportunity for me to bring that across. Some people are going to fault me for it, I can imagine, but that's what I am, that's who I am, and I am no longer ready to deny it... Every time I see a beautiful woman, I wanna jump at her and have her on [the] bed." [16][17][18] She also added that while she is fond of children, she can only adopt as opposed to bearing her own offspring as she does not fit into a typical Nigerian family set-up [19] Her decision to come out of the closet cause an outrage, as homosexuality in Nigeria is illegal.[20]
In 2010, it was believed that Idowu was in a lesbian relationship with singer Goldie, which was promptly denied.[21]