Queen Naija

A frank songwriter with a lithe voice, contemporary R&B artist Queen Naija has progressed from social media star to hitmaker with a clutch of platinum singles. She first reached the charts with the retribution ballad "Medicine" (2018), and has since hit the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 with missunderstood (2020), her first album. She subsequently released singles with Ari Lennox, Big Sean, and YoungBoy Never Broke Again.

Based in Detroit but raised a county away in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Queen Naija Bulls started singing in church and writing songs during early childhood. As a teenager, she became known nationwide as a contestant on multiple seasons of American Idol, including the 13th season in 2014. Following that, she became famous as an Internet personality for her YouTube channel, on which she and her then-husband posted videos with an emphasis on pranks. Upon the couple's split, Naija remained active on social media and focused again on music. She debuted with "Medicine," a single that in April 2018 entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 45, and topped the Adult R&B Songs chart. Shortly thereafter, major-label Capitol announced its signing of Naija, who quickly followed up that year with another number one Adult R&B Songs hit, "Karma," and "Butterflies," which became her third consecutive platinum single. All three songs, along with "Mama's Hand" and the No I.D. collaboration "Bad Boy," were featured that year on the Queen Naija EP.

Naija issued a handful of tracks through 2019, and in 2020 offered her first full-length, missunderstood. Boasting several singles and featured appearances from Lil Durk, Mulatto, Kiana Ledé, and Jacquees, the album entered the Billboard 200 at number nine, and reached number six on the R&B/hip-hop chart. A deluxe edition titled missunderstood...still appeared in 2021, with the Ari Lennox collaboration "Set Him Up" charting at number 14 on the R&B singles chart. Naija teamed up with Big Sean on the 2022 single "Hate Our Love." She kicked off 2023 with "Let's Talk About It." This was followed by "Words of Affirmation" and "No Fake Love" (with YoungBoy Never Broke Again). ~ Andy Kellman