Based: Johannesburg 

Nakai was born in South Africa, Her father is South African and her mother is Zimbabwean. She studied Marketing, Communication, and Media Studies at Monash University, Johannesburg.

Nakai made her first television appearance on the e.tv hip hop show Shiz Niz where she won the Mixtape 101 competition, making her the first female to win the competition. She then rose to prominence in September 2013, when she released her debut single Like Me. The following year, she was featured on the remix of Riky Rick song Amantombazane amongst various acts.As for June 2015, Nakai released her third single Saka Wena featuring rapper Ice Prince, following her second single Whatever featuring DotCom and Psyfo.

On August 2016, Nakai pre-released her single The Man featuring Cassper Nyovest from her then upcoming EP, Bragga. Bragga was then released on September 15, 2016. In November 2017, Nakai released her critically acclaimed single Naaa Meaan featuring Cassper Nyovest. The song topped charts in several radio stations in South Africa. On November 4, 2016, she hosted the red carpet special for MTV Africa at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Nakai is currently the co-host of MTV Base hip hop show Yo! MTV Raps South Africa alongside television presenter Siyabonga Ngwekazi.On May 3, 2019, Nakai confirmed that her debut album Nadia Naked would be released on June 28, 2019.On May 18, 2019, “Imma Boss” was released as the lead single accompanied by the album’s artwork cover.