What Is South African Rapper Nadia Nakai's Net Worth?

South African-born Zimbabwean rapper Nadia Nakai, 31, is part of the cast on Netflix’s new show Young, Famous & African. In her career as a rapper, songwriter, and television personality, Nakai has earned a net worth estimated at around $1 million.

The unscripted Netflix show features the who’s who of African music, media, fashion, and Instagram stars who come together to “work and play, flirt and feud” in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“Being a part of a Netflix reality show on this scale is very exciting because Netflix’s global platform is a very incredible platform — but I also think the story that they are telling is what is needed or lacking globally. The fact that they are putting a spotlight on black and African creators that are in different industries and spheres of their life,” Nakai told The South African.

Although she may be somewhat unknown in the U.S., Nakai has made quite a name for herself in the South African music industry. In 2019, she was named best female artist by the South African Hip Hop Awards and best female artist in South Africa by the All Africa Music Awards. In 2018, Nakai was named artist of the year by the Zimbabwe Music Awards.

Nakai grew up in Johannesburg, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing and communications and media studies from Monash University.

Nakai’s career launched after she was the first female to win a mixtape competition on the South African television show Shiz Niz. In 2013, she released her debut single, “Like Me.” A year later, her appearance on the remix of Riky Rick’s song, “Amantombazane,” caught the attention of South African rapper and record producer Cassper Nyovest. Nyovest owns the South African record label Family Tree Records.

Nakai and Nyovest collaborated in 2016 on the Nakai’s album "Bragga" and the single “Naaa Meaan,” which topped the South African music charts in 2017. The two worked together again on Nakai’s following albums "Nadia Naked," released in 2019, and "Nadia Naked II" released in 2020.

Producing the "Nadia Naked" album was one of the hardest things she has ever done, but she found strength in her vulnerability, Nakai told South Africa’s Sunday World.

“What comes hard to me is being vulnerable, writing songs that hit home and are relatable,” Nakai told Sunday World. “I want women to see themselves in the stories I tell, and I want to speak on different subjects, from a woman’s perspective. When you listen to my music, it should feel like you are embodying me.”

Nakai split from Nyovest’s Family Tree Records in 2021 to work on her own record label, reported SlikourOnStyle, a South African music publication.

“I need to be able to stand on my own. Funny enough, I was actually scared to tell Cass. Even after I told him, I could feel that he was a bit sad, but we are good,” she told SlikourOnStyle.