Continued from Pt 5.
ENTERTAINMENT:
TOP 10 BIGGEST NIGERIAN MUSICIANS IN 2021
For many people around the world, music can be seen as a form of self-expression or in some cases, protest global and societal issues. For others, it is simply a great, simple way to wind down and relax after long periods of work.
Nigerian music has been breaking boundaries over the years with artists such as Wizkid, Davido Tiwa Savage, and Burna Boy gaining global recognition for their works in recent times.
After a very long year that forced the world to shut down and isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic, the world needed to reboot and the Nigerian in 2021 contributed her quota in making that process seamless.
Read Also: Africa Today News, New York Magazine (February Edition) Pt 5
From the widely travelled Afrobeats to R&B, and from TikTok to the Global Citizen Live stage, Nigerian artistes put in so much hard work last year to put Nigeria on the global map. That said, the need to celebrate some of them is justified.
Read Also: Wizkid’s ‘Essence’ Hits Ninth On Billboard Top 100
Making contributions on the topic ‘Top 10 Best Musicians in Nigeria’ is never easy and it often turns out controversial. The truth is that the major problem one would face while tracking the top 10 best musicians in Nigeria is that it can rarely be achieved this without bias.
There is a wide range of music genres in Nigeria and each it has its unique audience therefore, reaching a consensus as to identifying who and who should make the list would be difficult.
To achieve this, we have decided to use an objective metric to reduce the level of bias. For the purpose of this contribution, we would be judging our list of music stars using:
- Commercial success
- Impact within desired demographic
- Body of work as an added advantage and finally,
- Impact and success of releases in/within Nigeria alone judging from airplay both from radio and TVs. Enjoy!
- Ayra Starr
Born Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe on the 14th of June 2002, she is professionally known as Ayra Starr. She is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and model.
It’s true that Ayra Starr is just about a year old in the Nigerian music industry; she actually did have a great 2021. In the year under review, she put out two impressive bodies of work which she backed up with chart smashing singles such as ‘Away,’ ‘DTR’ and ‘Bloody Samaritan.’
The success of ‘Bloody Samaritan,’ especially in the first two quarters of the year was earth shaking.
Many people may not know that Ayra Starr is a 19-year-old musician who started her musical career by simply doing covers of popular songs on Instagram. She’s simply a proof to every young Nigerian that with social media, your reach is limitless, and you can be anything you want to be.
After getting signed to Mavin Records which is unarguably one of the biggest record labels in Nigeria she released her first album 19 & Dangerous which did massive numbers all year.
9.) Joeboy
His full name is Joseph Akinwale Akinfenwa-Donus, professionally he is called Joeboy. He is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and performer.
In 2021, Joeboy dropped an album he called ‘Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic’ that performed amazingly well on every digital platform. The numbers and streams, the songs did were simply eye-catching.
Joeboy’s place on this chart was not made possible by just the album alone, singles such as ‘Show Me,’ ‘Door,’ ‘Alcohol’ were all national anthems at different points in time in the year. The young lad surely deserves every accolade and acclaim he is getting.
- Adekunle Gold
His real name is Adekunle Kosoko. He was born on 28th January 1987. He is professionally known as Adekunle Gold.
While Adekunle Gold’s 2021 success might not have been so pronounced, the first two singles he dropped in the year under review which are; ‘It is what it is’ and ‘sinner’ managed to find their way into the hearts and minds of many Nigeria – especially ‘Sinner.’
Just when it was least expected, ‘High’ took the country by storm. The commercial success of his singles at different points in the year was enough to earn him a place on this list.
Adekunle Gold’s sound has really matured and it’s easier to see why many Nigerians resonates better with him now.
- Buju
His real name is Daniel Benson, he is better or popularly known as Buju or Bujutoyourears. He is a Nigerian Afro fusion record producer, singer, and songwriter.
There is no way anyone would talk about the records of the Amapiano log drums which were dominant in 2021 without talking about the handsome Buju.
The young man clearly relied on the strength of his comeback story to win many Nigerians to his side.
His record smashing hit, ‘Feeling’ was really a genuinely nuclear record and it did amazing numbers. His EP ‘Sorry For The Wait’ actually convinced his fans that the wait was worth it in every sense. In 2021, chart topping singles such as ‘Outside,’ ‘Feeling,’ ‘Cold Outside,’ ‘Testimony,’ ‘Confident,’ ‘Never Stopped,’ ‘Alubarika,’ and ‘Mood’ among so many others is the reason Buju is sitting pretty cool on our number seven spot.
- CKay
Ckay’s hit tune, ‘Love Nwantiti’ became the number one song on the planet on Shazzam’s global charts sometime in September. Although originally released in 2019, ‘Love Nwantiti’ caught fire first on TikTok this year and ever since then, it has now done over 5 billion views on the platform. CKay would surely have his stars to thank for the organic growth which took the world by storm.
CKay was born Chukwuka Ekweani. He is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and record producer presently signed to Warner Music which is based in South Africa. He is our number six on the list, should have been higher on the list if he had other supporting singles or many a successful body of work.
- Olamide
Olamide Gbenga Adedeji was born and raised in Bariga, Lagos State. He is a Nigerian rapper, singer, and song writer. He is popularly known as ‘Olamide Baddo’, or ‘Baddosneh’ or simply ‘Olamide’. He is the founder of the YBNL Nation, a record label where several top Nigerian music stars such as Adekunle gold, Lil Kesh, Lyta, Fireboy amongst many others first had their major breaks.
In 2021 Olamide had an amazing year commercially speaking. His body of work, ‘UY Scuti’ has a whole different vibe from what Nigerians or maybe his fans were used to, he simply announced his versatility on that album, and he surely deserves all the accolades that album has been raking in. He is number five on our list and it can only get better for the ‘Pon Pon’ crooner.
- Davido
David Adedeji Adeleke, professionally known as Davido, is a Nigerian-American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is presently the most followed music star from Africa on social media.
Although he dropped no major body of work, his smash singles such as ‘Jowo,’ ‘La La’ featuring Ckay, ‘The Best,’ ‘Ke Star (Remix),’ ‘High’ by Adekunle Gold and lastly ‘Champion Sound’ were all good enough to keep constantly on people’s play lists. He is amazing and his place on this list is surely a deserving one.
3. Omah Lay
Stanley Omah Didia, professionally known as Omah Lay, is a Nigerian song writer and singer. Following what was a breakthrough 2020, Omah Lay followed it up with an even more amazing 2021.
Three of Omah Lay’s hits were one of the biggest songs of 2021 in Africa and they are, ‘Godly,’ ‘Highway’ and ‘KPK.’ The numbers this single did were very shocking.
He also had some amazing collaborations which helped in placing him as one of the biggest artistes in Nigeria now. Collaborations such as the one he did with Ajebo Hustlers which they called ‘Pronto,’ ‘Forever’ with Gyakie and infinity with Olamide were all commercial successes in 2021. He is number three on this list.
- Fireboy
Adedamola Adefolahan was born on 5th of February 1996. He is professionally known as Fireboy DML. He is a Nigerian singer, song writer and performer. He is currently signed to YBNL Nation, a record label owned by Olamide.
The truth is that Fireboy might not have made it this high if ‘Peru’ didn’t happen. Peru which was leaked by his label boss became a national anthem in the 4th quarter of the year. Getting popular award-winning British singer, Ed Sheran on the remix has shattered proceedings.
Fireboy who in February swept five awards at the prestigious headies award started the year rather late. But then the success of Peru was enough to restore parity and ensure he finished the year on a high note.
- Wizkid
It was a year to remember for Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, professionally known as Wizkid. In 2021 alone, the 31-year-old Nigerian musician collaborated with big stars such as Drake, Justin Bieber and South Africa’s Kabza De Small to mention but a few.
Wizkid’s hit single Essence featuring the enchanting songstress; Tems was globally acclaimed as a worldwide hit.
Many people would recall how Wizkid sold out his O2 Arena show in just about 12 minutes! He went on to add two more dates to the same 20,000-capacity venue, and both equally sold out in minutes.
In November, the Grammy Academy announced its nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards and Wizkid nipped two nominations. He was nominated for the Best Global Music Performance as well as Best Global Music Album. Talking about Grammys, in 2021, Wizkid won his first-ever Grammy at the 2021 Awards. Wizkid clinched the Grammy award for his work with popular Singer Beyonce and her daughter Blue Ivy on the record smashing track ‘Brown Skin Girl’ in the Best Music Video category. Wizkid was the biggest artiste in Nigeria in 2021 and this is a statement of fact. Numbers don’t lie.
END.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK