Nneka Lucia Egbuna was born and raised in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria, to a German mother and Nigerian father.

When her father remarried, his new wife tortured and terrorized the children of the first marriage, especially the two youngest—Nneka and her brother, Anato—in an effort to make their lives intolerable.

[2] Nneka first gained public attention in 2004 while performing as an opening act for dancehall reggae star Sean Paul at Hamburg Stadtpark, and following much acclaim, she announced her intentions to record her first album.

[1] After releasing her debut EP, The Uncomfortable Truth, she performed on her first tour in April 2005, playing shows in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Garnering rave reviews from the media, the UK's Sunday Times later declared Victim of Truth "the year’s most criminally overlooked album".

During her tour, she played at Chiemsee Reggae Summer, Haarlem (Bevrijdingsfestival), The Hague (Park Pop) and Saint-Brieuc (Art Rock Festival), and in respected venues, such as La Maroquinerie and New Morning in Paris, Tivoli in Utrecht, Paradiso in Amsterdam, and Cargo and ULU in London.

[7] "Heartbeat" has since been remixed several times, most notably by Chase & Status, was sampled by Rita Ora for her chart-topping single, "R.I.P.".

[11] In November 2009, Nneka began her first concert tour of the United States, where she performed shows in New York City, Vienna (Washington DC), Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

In January 2010, Nneka appeared in Late Show with David Letterman in New York before getting her US tour underway, and in the following June, she won the reggae category of the Museke Online Africa Music Award 2010 with her hit song, "Africans".

[14] She participated in the 2010 Lilith Fair Concert, where artists such as Tegan & Sara, Sarah McLachlan, Kelly Clarkson, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Corinne Bailey Rae, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna have performed.

[16] In 2011, Nneka was featured alongside Ziggy Marley on the song "Express Yourself", produced for the film Beat the World.

Even though Nneka sings more than she raps, she names hip hop as her primary musical root and most important source of inspiration, while citing artists such as Fela Kuti and Bob Marley as well as contemporary rappers Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Lauryn Hill as key influences in her own pursuit of musical recognition.

Her songs stress the issues of capitalism, poverty and war and are often loaded with moral and biblical messages and references, with some music commentators comparing her to Erykah Badu, Neneh Cherry, and Floetry.

[2] The Rope Foundation serves as a platform for young men and women to express themselves through art, and the charity also focuses on working with sexually abused women at the WAGA (War Affected Girls & Adults) Foundation, located in the Bo Town region of Sierra Leone.