RISING STAR Nigeria’s Sasha P

Yetunde Alaba, better known as Sasha P is a hip hop artist  and a fashion designer. She started off rapping as a hobby then got a record  deal with Trybe Records in 2001. She signed to Storm 360 in 2004 and soon after become one of hip hop’s brightest stars on the continent.


The Nigerian hip hop scene is huge but there are very few female MC’s. I asked her if it had been struggle for her to get to where she was. “I wouldn’t use the word struggle, but I do believe gender has had its benefits and disadvantages, in general the female hip hop artiste has to work extra hard to be seen and that also means being really good at what you do.”

For young women who would like to pursue her line of work she has this advice “ the work NEVER stops you have to keep getting better at what you do and breaking even your own record, find out what it is you are genuinely good at and would do for free then do that thing like your last breath depended on it.”



One of the perks of being Nigeria’s first lady of hip hop is the glamour  and lifestyle that come with being a celeb. Sasha enjoys being part of the growing celeb scene in Nigeria. Her  perfect day involves hanging out with her girlfriends and then shopping, shopping and  doing some more shopping. Asked what she would do with USD 50 she doesn’t hesitate to say she’d buy shoes, shoes and more shoes.

This girly, fun side is nicely balanced by how much she thinks about African celebrities and personalities who have come before her.  When asked about 4 African heroes she names the following: Nelson Mandela because he epitomizes the African spirit of resilience.

 Fela AnikulaPo-Kuti for his foresight to use his western training to re brand and package African culture and history to the world which is still being celebrated even now that he’s gone. Brenda Fassie  for daring to be different and Jay Jay Okocha- for being a living example of an African Boy with a dream and he ties with (Tuface Idibia) who she added for showing an admirable strength of character through the ups and downs of stardom.

In every profile piece I ask all our interviewees what era they would like to live in. Sasha says she would like to go back in time and find out what it would be like to be a Zulu Princess. Or, “I’d like to have been in Nigeria in the past because my mom regales me with tales of how things were much easier and maybe I’d have liked to be signed to one of the international record labels that were in Nigeria at the time, sporting lots of sequins and an afro!”

She is shy. Extremely shy. It’s hard to believe it until you spend a day with her. During the shoot, she was quiet, lady like and demure. When we saw her performing  later on that day she transformed into a diva who owned the stage. Her costume, presence at performance on stage are sassy, powerful and a transformation from her everyday persona. She designs most of her red carpet and performance ensembles because  she was not always able to find a right outfit for  her performances. Through word of mouth she’s started growing a loyal client base for her label “Eclectic by Sasha”.

She slips back into shy mode when asked about the most famous person programmed into her phone “ That would be relative I guess but then again I wouldn’t want my phone stolen so  my lips  are sealed.” Even through the shyness you get glimpses of her sparkly personality. Does she have people she doesnt like speaking to ? “in my phone book all the people labeled “don’t pick up” would fall into that category” she giggles. Who is jucy to her? A pause, then “I might get in trouble but just for fun Sizwe Dholomo!” another laugh.


Before the interview ends I ask her what the best part of her job is “hearing people tell you how one or more of your songs touched their lives in some way, feeling it go from just a record to becoming part of someone’s story that’s just so amazing and rewarding!”


Nzinga Qunta manages content for JucyAfrica. She plans on building an African media empire. When not running the site she impersonates a legal geek, model and liker of things. Contact her on nzinga@jucyafrica.com
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