Following the Incomparable Nneka from Nigeria

Event management company Funday Entertainment brought the sparkling Nigerian female artist Nneka to Tbilisi Philharmonic Concert Hall on September 12, adding to the list of musicians of various genres and ethnic backgrounds that Tbilisi has recently been able to enjoy.

Nneka, a physically tiny and young woman but one offering a giant inner world, was distinguished from all those who had been on the stage before her by her depth, intellect and candor.

Prior to the performance, Tevdore Makashvili, founder of Funday Entertainment, told GEORGIA TODAY: “Our company has worked in event management, artist management, and team-building for four years, cooperating with Georgian and international private and state structures. Nneka is very popular in Georgia and so the choice was simple. We choose artists based on a variety of factors but public demand plays the main role in our decisions who to invite. Nneka had received a number of invitations to come to Georgia, and we are pleased she chose Funday Entertainment- a decision made based on our experience and contacts.”

The figures support Makashvili’s observations: Nneka’s live song “Walking” alone has around 5 million views and around 90% of the comments on it are written by Georgians.

Named an “incomparable artist” by hip-hop legend Nas, Nneka Lucia Egbuna studied in Berlin, and from the age of 19 became an active singer and song-writer, regularly performing with such artists as Roots, Gnarls Barkley, Nas and Damian Marley. Nneka was acknowledged as the best African singer of 2009. In 2010, she recorded Viva Africa, dedicated to the World Cup. My Fairy Tales is her latest album, distinguished by a Retro Groove style, as well as traditional authentic afro-groove elements. The Sunday Times called Nneka a young Lauren Hill and compared her debut album to Hill’s Miseducation of Lauren Hill.

There is not even a hint of commercialism in Nneka’s voice, nor are there any fake elements in her manner or repertoire. Nneka sings, dances and communicates naturally.

With the minimal visual effect and hardly any make-up, without any coquetting or costumes, she took her Tbilisi audience around the world. The endings of songs, through her unusual, unbelievable vibration of voice, gave the effect of electronic music. It is not easy to find so much metal and at the same time warmth such as Nneka’s voice gave.

Nneka confided with Georgian journalists that her creative work is connected with love, kindness and God. Without doubt, her positive loving rhythm will stay in the mind of Georgians for a long time, at the very least until Nneka’s next promised visit.

Maka Lomadze