The Nigerian music scene has featured a series of artists from different spheres of life and genre in the last decade. While some of these artists have experienced major growths contrary to people’s opinion about their career, some of them are still struggling to remain in the limelight.
There are a few Nigerian artists that are doing things differently and have taken afrobeat to the next level. Their uniqueness has paved the way for them and surprisingly they are growing in the music industry. Here are a few Nigerian artists that have shocked us with their growth.
1. Burnaboy
It’s no news that Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu or Burnaboy like he’s popularly called is a Grammy award-winning Nigerian artist that worked his way to the top and shocked everybody with his growth. Burnaboy became popular in 2012 after releasing “Like to Party”, a single from his debut album L.I.F.E
The songwriter, rapper, dancer and singer went on what we would call a sabbatical leave for a while and came back later to become the African Giant. This is the greatest shock of them all.
2. Tems
Temilade Openiyi better known as Tems is the next Nigerian artist on our list of ‘shockers’. Tems is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. She composed and recorded the song ‘Mr Rebel’ in 2018 and ‘Try Me’ (a song that has over 6.5 million views on YouTube) in August 2019. The 26 years old R&B singer has worked with the likes of the Grammy award-winner, Wizkid on the song Essence, Davido and the American singer Khalid on the song ‘Know your Worth’, to mention a few.
Tems has a unique voice that is hard to resist and has a fanbase that call themselves the Rebel Gang. Tems has shocked us with her growth in the Nigerian music industry ever since her breakout in 2018.
3. Omah Lay
Another Nigerian artist with a different style of music that shocked us with his growth is Stanley Omah Didia or Omah Lay like he’s popularly known as. Omah Lay rose to prominence when he released his self-produced debut single ‘Do not Disturb’ in 2019 and won the next rated award at The Headies 2020. He released two EPs ‘Get Layd’ and ‘What Have I Done’ during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when there were limited means for music proMOTION.
Omah Lay has gone on to work with diverse artists like Wizkid, Ajebo hustlers, Ghanian singer Gyakie and American Rapper 6lack, among others. He has shocked shocked us with his growth ever since and Nigerians can’t get enough of his unique voice.
4. Oxlade
Oxlade is another Nigerian talent with a signature afro-fusion sound that is rising at a pace that we couldn’t have imagined. The 24 years old Nigerian singer had his break in the industry when he got featured on Blaqbonez ‘Mamiwota’ and went on to do a song with Fireboy DML. Davido noticed Oxlade and was going to sign him to the DMW record label, but Oxlade declined this offer to work with The Plug, a boutique music company.
His album, ‘Oxygen’ according to Legit.ng is a testament to why many people have fallen in love with afrobeat music, with the hit single ‘Away’ topping the chart throughout the year. If you’ve not listened to the album then you won’t understand how shocked we are by his fast growth in the industry.
5. Ladipoe
Ladipo Eso popularly called Ladipoe or Poe is a Lagos born musician that wasn’t popular in the Nigerian music industry until 2017 when he signed a record deal with Mavin Records. He did a song ‘Feel Alright’ with Show Dem Camp (SDC) and this song opened the floor for him in the Nigerian music industry before he went on to drop the hit song ‘Know You’ featuring Simi in March 2019. Now, people (both home and abroad) can’t get his latest single ‘Feeling’ ft Buju out of their mouths.
These five artists among many other Nigerian artists out there are giving the Nigerian music industry the recognition it deserves.
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