Nigerian Music is beloved on the internet, and the Nigerian music artists enjoy quite the following and are mainly the top winners of most of the continental music awards.
Nigerian music artists have enjoyed top billing around the continent more than any other artist. They are usually the most sought after collaborators, and the top artists like P-Square, Sade, Seal, and Nneka Lucia Egbuna Enjoy international fame.
Below are some of the top Nigerian artists of this generation. This is not a ranking, so do not take it as such; we are just highlighting the top musical talents of some Nigerian Artists.
P-square
P-Square is actually a top Nigerian R&B duo composed of identical twin brothers Peter and Paul Okoye. History, P Square’s story began in St. Murumba College, a small Catholic school in Jos, Nigeria.
Identical twins Peter and Paul joined their school music and drama club, where they began singing, dancing, and miming popular songs by American Artists like MC Hammer, Bobby Brown, and Sometimes Michael Jackson.
They later created a cappella quartet called MMPP (Michael, Melvin, Peter, and Paul). This group drew inspiration from their music idol Michael Jackson; they began to break dancing and actually formed the group which they called “Smooth Criminals” in 1997.
Their melodious artistic talent and pure, precise dance routines soon propelled them into pop star status with all the Nigerian households, especially in Jos, where they performed at school functions and other occasions.
Later in 1999, Peters and Paul returned to music school to develop their keyboard, drums, bass, and rhythm guitar skills. Their work includes the soundtracks for many Nigerian films.
D’banj
Born June 9, 1980, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, whose stage name is D’banj, is a popular Nigerian Popstar. He has actually won numerous awards both on the continent and globally. His stage name is a combination of his first name and his middle name. He is best known for his 2012 classic hit “Oliver Twist,” a fusion of electro dance music and afro beats and which featured Kanye West. He is popularly known as “Koko master” by the local Nigerian crowds.
Davido
Born November 21, 1992, David Adedeji Adeleke, better known as Davido, is a Nigerian-born American pop artiste. Davido’s rise to fame came from his inaugural album called Omo Baba Olowo from 2012 and one which featured a chart-topper in the song Dami Duro, the second single in that album.
Davido owns the record label Davido Music Worldwide or DMW, which he founded in 2016 after signing a record deal with Sony Music.
WizKid
Born on July 16, 1990, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, better known as WizKid, is a singer-songwriter who started his music career at age 11. Similarly, he started recording with a group of his church friends who formed the Glorious Five group.
His rise to fame came after his first album titled Superstar in 2011 and its lead single “Holla at Your Boy.”
His collabo with Drake in 2016 on the song “One Dance” led to international fame and a number one song status in 15 different countries, including the US and Canada.
Sasha P
Born on May 21, 1983, Antonia Yetunde Alabi is a rapper, musician, and even lawyer. She has been a staple on the scene as a pioneering female emcee in Nigeria. She started her career with eLDee’s Trybe records in 2001. She has really paved the way for many of Nigeria’s female rappers.
According to the Women in Entertainment Awards, in 2009, she was the Best Female Artist in the UK. This was for her first single called “Adara.”
Olamide
Born on March 15, 1989, Olamide Adedeji, better known for his moniker Olamide is a hip hop singer and artiste. He is also known as Olamide Baddo or BaddoSneh.
He actually raps in both English and Yoruba; his rise to fame came from his debut album known as Rapsodi, which he released in 2011, and it’s a single lead song called “Omo To Shan.”
He has his own record label called YBNL, which he started in 2012. On February 10, 2020, he released a surprise record titled 999Ep, his official 9th record album.
Burna Boy
Born July 2, 1991, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu is a reggae artist and musician. His rise to fame was with the album L.I.F.E and lead song “Like to Party” in 2012-2013. His 2017 signing with Bad Habit/Atlantic Records in the US and a distribution deal with Warner Music Group internationally increased his prominence. Similarly, his third studio album won Best International Act at the 2019 BET Awards. His next album African Giant won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards. And finally, he won the African Artiste of the year at the 2020 VGMA’s award.
Banky W
Born March 27, 1981, Olubankole Wellington, better known as Banky W, is a singer, rapper, actor, and politician. His rise to fame came from his record label E.M.E which he started while in college in 2002. In 2009 he migrated from the US to Nigeria and signed future superstars Niyola, Skales, WizKid, and Shaydee. His personal maiden album called Back in the Building came out in 2005. Bank, as a label owner and producer, was credited with developing some of the Nigerian superstars’ current stable.
Ty Bello
Toyin Sokefun-Bello is popularly known as TY Bello and is a singer-songwriter mostly of gospel music. She was really a member of the gospel group Kush. She is best known for her popular singles, which include “Freedom,” “Greenland,” “Ekundayo,” Funmise,” and “This Man.”
In 2009 she actually won the Best Female Video in Sound city Music Video Awards for her song Ekundayo. In 2008, she also won the Best new act at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
On October 10, 2014, her third album, called The Morning Songbook, was released for free on Sound Cloud without any promotions or fanfare.
Conclusion
We have highlighted just a few of the top musical acts that Nigeria’s country has to offer. Many more upcoming artists and genres could not fit into the list, but we salute all those.
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