Posted on: January 25, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Pop music is a “here today, gone tomorrow” world. A starburst of YouTube

notoriety and then oblivion. Or at least it is for most.

But when your journey has been as long and extraordinary as Nneka’s – when you’ve travelled 10,000 miles and are still only just starting out – then instant celebrity is the last thing on your mind.

When your heart is as big as your Afro, when your talents stretch from teardrop soul-singing to freestyle rapping to a first-class degree from a top Continental university, when you’ve got so much to say about so much, then you are in it for the long haul.

Nneka is this artist. Every year since her musical career took off in 2005, this Afro-German warrior princess has built on her successes, stretched her muscles, and widened her range. Her debut album, Victim of Truth (released in the UK in 2007) – an inspirational mix of hot loops, black consciousness and 21st-century soul music with equal parts Bob Marley, Nina Simone and Erykah Badu in the mix – was garlanded with praise by the British media. ‘As good as The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,’ said UK’s The Sunday Times. Her sophomore release, No Longer At Ease, stepped up the game, generating a growing fan-base across Europe and beyond, building strong foundations France and Germany, as well as putting her center-stage on tour with the likes of Lenny Kravitz among others.

Nneka’s first US release, Concrete Jungle (in stores February 2, 2010), stands as an offering of love, hope and optimism dedicated to the people of Warri & the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Holding it all together is the emotional focus of her beautiful voice, located in a place somewhere between yearning and rage.

Nneka fans number in the hundreds of thousands across two continents, as she divides her time between homes in Lagos and Hamburg, Germany. Get ready to add a third continent to the mix, as Nneka prepares for her U.S. debut. With everything we’re going through here these days, the timing of Nneka’s optimistic message couldn’t be better!

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