Eva Alordiah
Alordiah in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Elohor Eva Alordiah
Born	(1989-08-13) 13 August 1989 (age 34) Abuja, Nigeria
Genres	Hip hop reggae
Occupation(s)	Rapper entrepreneur make-up artist fashion designer
Years active	2008–present[1]

Elohor Eva Alordiah (born 13 August 1989),^[2] who is better known as Eva Alordiah or simply Eva, is a Nigerian rapper, make-up artist, fashion designer and entrepreneur.^[3][4] A native of Delta State, Eva was born and raised in Abuja, and is regarded as one of the best female rappers in Nigeria.^[5][6] Her contributions to the Nigerian music industry have earned her several accolades, including one Nigeria Entertainment Award, one Eloy Award, and one YEM award.^[7] Her debut extended play, Gigo (Garbage in Garbage Out), was released for free digital download on 20 November 2011. Eva is the owner of makeupByOrsela, a company that specializes in makeup services.^[4] She released her eponymous second extended play, Eva, in November 2014. Her debut studio album, 1960, was released in September 2016.^[8][9]

Career

1989–2009: Early life and career beginnings

A native of Delta State, Eva Alordiah was born on 13 August 1989, in Abuja, Nigeria.^[10][11] She got introduced to music by her mother, who listened to musical recordings from the 1970s and 1980s.^[12][13] Eva has cited Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Sade Adu, The Carpenters, John Lennon and Don Williams as her key musical influences. Growing up, she partook in several forms of art and was fond of drawing and reading books. She sang in her church's choir and joined the drama club while in secondary school.^[2] When she was 10 years old, she wrote a short story in her notebook and dreamt of being an author. After learning of Eminem, she began to write rap verses and was inspired to pursue a professional career in rap music. Eva's love for words and rhyming pulled her deeper into the hip-hop genre.^[2]

At the age of 16, she found herself balancing school and business. With an ambition to make money and become independent, she started auditioning for acting and modeling roles. Eva sold second-hand clothing in school as a means to an end, ^[13] and began her career as a photography model.^[13] She graduated with a degree in computer science from Bowen University.^[12] Eva's first-ever studio recording, "I Dey Play", was released in 2009 and features a rap verse from Tha Suspect; the track was recorded over Lil Wayne's "A Milli" instrumental.^[14][15]

2011–2013: Gigo (Garbage in Garbage Out) and Trybe Records

Eva was featured on Strbuttah's single "Make 'em Say".^[16] The music video for the song, which was directed by Rcube of Strbuttah and included a cameo by Eva, was released in January 2011.^[17] In March 2011, Eva appeared on the female version of Tha Suspect's song "I No Send You", which was released along with its music video.^[18][19]

Eva started working on her debut extended play, Gigo (Garbage in Garbage Out), as an independent artist. The EP was released on 20 November 2011 and comprises nine tracks. It was supported by the singles "I Done Did It", "Down Low", "Garbage Out (Your Fada)", and "High". The EP's production was handled by Sossick, Tintin, and Gray Jon'z. "I Done Did It" was produced by Sossick and released as the lead single.^[20][21] In a 2012 interview with Halley Bondy of MTV Iggy, Eva said she had fun recording the EP and was honored to have worked with the aforementioned producers.^[22] Eva released the second single "High" in 2012; its music video was directed by Mex and released on 24 May 2012.^[23][24] When the video for "High" premiered on MTV Base in May 2012, many people misconstrued the song's meaning and thought it alluded to drug use. In the aforementioned interview with Bondy, Eva said "High" is about overcoming the struggles and hardships of life.^[22]

In May 2012, it was reported that Eva signed a record deal with Da Trybe 2.0, a record label owned by record producer and recording artist eLDee.^[25] In November 2013, Ariya Today reported that Eva was dropped from Trybe Records. According to the press release signed by the management of the recording outfit, Eva's ideas and foresight didn't align with the label's plans.^[26] In an interview with BellaNaija, Eva denied reports about being signed to Trybe Records despite the press release statements from the label.^[27] After the Trybe Records saga in 2012, she took a break from the music scene and spent time reflecting on her craft.^[2]

In February 2013, Eva released the single "Mercy", which was produced and co-written by Sossick. The track was made available for download on her blogsite.^[28] In December 2013, U.K producer Drox featured her in the music video for his song "Mercy".^[29][30] He released several official remixes of the song, including a "Summer" mix and a "Jackin Storm" mix.^[31][32] On 29 July 2013, Eva released the promotional single "Lights Out", which was produced by Gray Jon'z.^[33] The music video for the song was directed by Patrick Elis.^[34] In an interview with the Leadership newspaper, Eva said she recorded "Lights Out" to showcase her versatility as an artist.^[3] In August 2013, Eva signed a management deal with Radioactiiv.^[2] That same month, Nokia Nigeria enlisted her as one of the judges for its annual Don't Break Da Beat competition.^[35]

2014–present: 1960, Eva, and Because You Been Waiting

In 2012, Eva started working on her debut studio album 1960, which was produced by Tintin and Gray Jon'z. On 24 January 2014, she released the album's lead single "Deaf", which was produced by Gray Jon'z. The song was remixed by rapper Boogey and premiered three months after the premiere of the "Lights Out" video.^[36][37] The music video for "Deaf" was shot and directed by Patrick Elis.^[38] Eva organised a rap competition exclusively for girls to promote the song.^[39] Eva stated in an interview that she loves creating visual content, and has successfully co-directed all of her music videos to date.^[2]

Eva was featured in the Lagos edition of BBC Radio 1xtra's Live Lounge, alongside M.I, 2face Idibia, Wizkid and Iyanya.^[40] As part of the feature, artists were asked to freestyle.^[40][41] Eva collaborated with Burna Boy, Endia, Yung L, and Sarkodie on an unreleased song that was initially intended to be the theme song for the third season of Shuga. Instead of using the Chopstix-produced song, MTV Base chose the Del B-produced track "Sweet Like Shuga", which features vocals from Flavour N'abania, Sound Sultan, Chidinma, Kcee and Professor. On 11 March 2014, Eva released her version of the unreleased theme song titled "Shuga".^[42]

On 31 August 2014, Thisday newspaper reported that Eva became an ambassador of Guinness Nigeria's Made of Black campaign alongside Olamide and Phyno. Eva performed at the campaign's launch and was featured in its television commercial.^[43] On 25 September 2014, "War Coming" was released as the second single from 1960. The song was produced by Tintin and features guest vocals by Sir Dauda.^[44] On 6 November 2014, Eva announced the album's title and said it would be released in January 2015. 1960 features guest collaborations with Darey Art Alade, Femi Kuti, Yemi Alade, Olamide, Sarkodie and Sir Dauda. On 20 November 2014, Eva released her eponymous second extended play, Eva, for free digital download.^[45] On 6 March 2015, she premiered the Mex-directed music video for "War Coming".^[46]

Eva's debut mixtape, Because You Been Waiting, was released on 1 March 2016. It comprises five tracks and contains a sample of DMX's 2000 single "What These Bitches Want".^[47] In January 2020, after a hiatus from music, Eva released the Jesse Alordiah-produced single "Friend or Foe". She co-directed the song's music video with Ibukun Williams.^[48]

Discography

Studio albums

• 1960 (2016)

EPs

• Gigo (Garbage in Garbage Out) (2011)
• Eva (2014)

Mixtapes

• Because You Been Waiting (2016)

Awards and nominations