Matar Henrikki Samba, better known as Näääk (born 29 March 1983), is a Swedish singer and rapper of Gambian and Finnish ancestry.

Career and early life

Näääk was born and raised in the Stockholm suburb

Rinkeby Rinkeby () is a district in the Rinkeby-Kista borough, Stockholm, Sweden. Rinkeby had 19,349 inhabitants in 2016. The neighbourhood was part of the Million Programme. The Stockholm metro station Rinkeby was also opened in 1975. Rinkeby is n ...

to a Finnish mother and a Gambian father. He moved to

Gullmarsplan Gullmarsplan () is a place in Johanneshov, Stockholm. The Town square, square there was built at the same time the new city area was developed in the 1940s. The business area around the square was inaugurated in 1946. It was named after Gullmarn, ...

when he started high school and he has been living there ever since. A couple of years after high school (the beginning of 2000), he began to record lyrics that he wrote himself. This hobby continued for five more years, until some producers from the studio Safe House, run by the record label Slang Musik in Stockholm, heard him and wanted him to guest some songs from other Swedish rappers. He continued with his song-writing at the same time, as he was the guest rapper of many songs. His Wiley interpretation of "Mina Gangsters" ("My Gangsters") is today an underground classic with hundred thousands of views on YouTube. In 2009, Näääk released his debut album ''Näääk Vem?'' ("Näääk Who?") which he recorded with Safe House Studios during 2008. The debut was nominated for the prize of "This Years Rap Album" on the Swedish radio station

Sveriges Radio P3 Sveriges Radio P3 (P3) is a Contemporary hit radio, semi-mainstream CHR/CHR Alternative-formatted station operated by Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcasting organization Sveriges Radio. The P in P3 originally stood for Program (''Pro ...

's "Gold Awards", but did not win anything. Many producers contributed to the songs from the album and it ended up as an album with g-funk-inspired beats, melodic loops and a general funky sound. His album reminds of artist such as Devin the Dude and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. The latest album, ''Mannen utan mask'' ("The man without mask"), was released on 26 September 2012 and was declared as a more mature album, unlike "Näääk Vem?". When ''Näääk Vem?'' was released, the rap duo Näääk & Nimo from Stockholm was formed, who often guest each other's songs and they tour together as a team. ''Jetlag'' and ''Blåser min rök'' ("Blow my smoke") are two singles that Näääk released with Nimo as the guest rapper, which were on the top list on Swedish radio stations for a long time.

Personal life

In an interview in 2010, Näääk said he was single and according to him, he did not have any desire of being in a relationship either. But since his younger days, his dream girl has always been

Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry ( ; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant of 1986 and also placing six ...

. He claims that he got his name, Näääk, which he has been using since 2003, from a friend who tried to spell the word "Negro" in Finnish, but misspelled it and wrote "N-Ä-Ä-Ä-K-E-R-R-I" instead of the right spelling; "N-E-E-K-E-R-I".

Discography

Albums

* ''Näääk Vem?'' (21 October 2009) * ''Mannen utan mask'' (26 September 2012)

Singles

*2007: "Mina Gangsters" *2012: "Jetlag"

Other and featured singles

References

External links

Safe House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naaak Swedish male rappers Musicians from Stockholm Swedish-language singers 1983 births Living people Swedish people of Finnish descent Swedish people of Gambian descent