Munachi Abii (born Munachi Gail Teresa Abii Nwankwo) is a Nigerian rapper/hip-hop artist, songwriter, television presenter model, and actress who performs under the name Muna. She is the winner of

Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria – often abbreviated as MBGN – is a pageant organised by Silverbird Group with the main purpose of sending representatives to international competitions. Originally known as Miss Universe Nigeria, it was rena ...

(MBGN) 2007. She is an Igbo lady who hails from

Imo state Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

Early life

Born and raised in Port Harcourt and Owerri Nigeria. Muna was encouraged by her family and friends to pursue her passion for music and arts. After obtaining her

O'Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate (UK), School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alo ...

qualifications from Federal Government Girls' College, Abuloma, she studied International Relations and Diplomacy at Benson Idahosa University.

Career

Pageants

While she was 20 years ol

during her second year at University in 2007, Muna won the

pageant. Her platform as reigning queen was Polio and Sickle cell Awareness, and she represented Nigeria at

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss Int ...

in China later that year. In 2009, Muna worked with

MBGN Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria – often abbreviated as MBGN – is a pageant organised by Silverbird Group with the main purpose of sending representatives to international competitions. Originally known as Miss Universe Nigeria, it was rena ...

2000 winner Matilda Kerry on a project to raise awareness for

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

Music

Prior to winning

, Muna had performed as part of Port Harcourt-based rap group The Specimen A and collaborated with Terry da Rapman on the critically acclaimed ''My PH Girl''. Contrary to popular belief, Muna did not start her music career with rap group Ijaw Boyz, although she did perform with them as a guest artist. As a solo rapper, she performed as ''Babyrella'' before changing her stage name to Muna, and as a songwriter, she has written songs for artistes such as J Martins and Waje. She also appeared in several music videos, most notably in P Square's "Ifunanya". In June 2010, after years of collaborating with various artistes, Muna signed a multi-year management contract with Ayo Shonaiya's RMG company and started working on her debut album ''The Goddess, The Hustler'', which will include the singles ''I Feel Real'', and ''Killer Queen''. Muna continues to collaborate with other hip hop artistes; in early 2011, she wrote the lyrics and featured on Waje's hit single ''So Inspired'' and also appeared in rapper Suspect's video for ''I No Send You''. Muna was one of the female rappers to feature and represent Nigeria on the globally televised BET Cypher for the BET Awards in 2011, and in April 2012, Muna released two singles ''Here To Stay'' and ''Down Down Low''.

Acting

In 2019, Muna featured in the Nollywood movie '' Living in Bondage: Breaking Free''. In 2020, Abii co-starred in the romantic drama film, '' Finding Hubby'' and in 2022 she featured in

Obsession Obsession may refer to: Psychology * Celebrity worship syndrome, obsessive addictive disorder to a celebrity's personal and professional life * Fixation (psychology), a persistent attachment to an object or idea * Idée fixe (psychology), a p ...

Other work

In 2011, Muna signed an endorsement deal with Unilever as a model for

Lux The lux (symbol: lx) is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the intensity, as perceived by the ...

and featured in a commercial for the brand, following in the footsteps of Patti Boulaye and Genevieve Nnaji. In April 2011, after shooting the video for her feature on Michael Word's ''Pop Sugar'', she co-presented the television series ''

Malta Guinness Guinness () is an Beer in Ireland, Irish stout, dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands w ...

Street Dance Africa''. Muna also presented the Mr Nigeria Pageant and in 2012, The Nokia Don't Break The Beat multi-city Rap Battle contest.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muna 1987 births Miss World 2007 delegates Living people Igbo beauty pageant contestants Igbo rappers Rappers from Port Harcourt Women hip hop musicians Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria winners Nigerian female models Nigerian women rappers 21st-century Nigerian musicians Nigerian hip hop singers Television personalities from Rivers State Songwriters from Rivers State Port Harcourt hip hop Beauty pageant contestants from Rivers State Benson Idahosa University alumni 21st-century women musicians Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria contestants Nigerian beauty pageant contestants Nigerian television personalities Igbo actresses Nigerian television presenters Actresses from Imo State Nigerian film actresses