Nídia

Nídia crafts propulsive dance music rooted in Afro-Portuguese traditions including kuduro, batida, and tarraxinha while forging a singular identity. Her concise productions, generally spanning two or three minutes, swing from high-impact pieces driven by pounding percussion to atmospheric, refined compositions. The Lisbon imprint Príncipe Discos has issued her work, earning strong praise for the 2017 album Nídia é Má, Nídia é Fudida.

Born to Cape Verdean and Guinea Bissauan parents in Vale de Amoreira, Portugal, she assembled the all-female dance collective Kaninas Squad during her youth. At age 14 she relocated to Bordeaux, France in 2011 and adopted the alias Nídia Minaj to honor Nicki Minaj. Her inventive SoundCloud uploads quickly circulated through underground dance circles, leading to the digital release of her first recording, Estúdio da Mana (“Sister’s Studio,” also the name of both her bedroom workspace and her crew), on Melbourne’s Brother Sister Records. She soon joined Príncipe Discos, widely regarded as one of Lisbon’s most progressive dance labels, and issued the 2015 Danger EP to widespread critical notice; she also featured on the Warp Records compilation Cargaa 2, which surveyed the Lisbon scene.

Dropping the surname Minaj, she delivered her debut full-length for Príncipe in 2017 with Nídia é Má, Nídia é Fudida (“Nídia Is Bad, Nídia Is Dope”). Returning to her childhood apartment, she constructed a home studio and resumed both production work and international DJ appearances. Among these projects she co-produced Fever Ray’s “IDK About You” and supplied remixes for Elza Soares, Yaeji, and Kelela. In 2020 she issued her second Príncipe album, Não Fales Nela Que A Mentes, alongside the 7-inch Badjuda Sukulbembe, which presented her two longest tracks to date. Both releases adopted a slower, more deliberate, and mature approach than her prior output.