This is the second half of the year and several music stars are increasing the tempo to ensure they end the year on a good ‘musical’ note. Some started fairly good at the beginning of the year; some started quite poorly while some have been going stronger by the day. In all, 2013 must end well for them as OLUSOLA OLUJIDE AYODELE unveils
Olamide
Badoo, as he is popularly referred to, has risen very fast to become one of the most sought after Hip-Hop artistes in Nigeria. He has been dropping hits from the beginning of the year till now. First was a monster hit which created a lot euphoria and esctascy with fans. The song generated so much on the airwave that telecomms giants, Etisalat, used it for one of their adverts. The song equally popularised some slangs such as ‘Are you a learner?’ He featured the energetic Koko master, D’banj, on the remix of the song.
However, he didn’t drop his guard with that song, feeling he has achieved. He went further and gave his teeming fans more reasons to swam all over him. He dropped more songs such as ‘Durosoke’ On Sunday July 14, 2013; Olamide was recognised as the best rap artiste of the year. It is an award given to him by City People Entertainment. Olamide is one of the most sought after artistes in Nigeria and he commands a fee of a million naira to feature in any music.
P-square
Peter and Paul Okoye have been in the game for years. They have been able to remain in the minds of their fans simply because they keep churning out excellent music with lovely beats. They really studied what fans want and can’t simply decide to fail to keep fans asking for more. They came onto the scene with songs like Bizzy Body and have never looked back. In fact, the very first song ever from them was Igbedu before releasing Bizzy Body. Despite the controversies surrounding them regarding their music which critics say are modelled on western music, they have never failed to reveal that the legandary Micheal Jackson is their inspiration and have won so many awards. Their latest single ‘Personally’ was dedicated to the memory of the icon. An album was released this year called ‘The Greatest Hits’. The album is composed of “No One Like You”, “Do Me”, “Chop My Money”, “Beautiful Onyinye”, “E No Easy”, “Danger”, “Ifunanya”, “Temptation”, and “Bizzy Body”. It also includes one new song entitled “Alingo”.
Wizkid
The 2013 City People Nigeria/Ghana Entertainment Awards Musician of the Year (Male), Wizkid is never far away from limelight. From the beginning of the year till now, Wizkid whose real name is Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun and also known with stage names Star Boy, The Pop Prince of Africa, Wizzy has worked with lots of acts, within the country as well as foreign acts. His first album, ‘Superstar’ was released in 2011 and is currently working on releasing a mix tape this year. However, he has been dropping hit singles like Jaiye Jaiye featuring Femi Kuti; ‘Beat of life (Samba) which won the Hottest Single of the Year from the Nigerian Entertainment Awards. He has been featured in several songs and more notably is the song with Nigerian American act, Wale Drop. According to Starboy himself, history is about to be made when he drops his sophomore album with the legendary King Sunny Ade on it. The fans are expectantly waiting for the album. Moreso with KSA featuring in the album and the successful collabo with Femi Kuti.
Iyanya
The ‘Sexy Mama’ crooner simply knows how to keep it going musically. His star began to shine and blossom when he won the 2008 MTN project fame. He hasn’t looked back since then. After winning MTN’s Project Fame, Iyanya recorded his debut album, ‘My Story’. The album showed Iyanya’s versatility as an R&B artiste. Sadly, the album was a commercial failure but that didn’t dampen his spirits. He looked inwards and saw that people loved Etighi dance (a kind of dance from his native Calabar) and decided to popularise it. This was how the monster hit Kukere came into being. It was a global success. ‘Ur waist’ was next. Iyanya vs. Desire is the second album released on February 6, 2013, by Made Man Music Group. The 19 track album also featured collaboration from M.I, Wizkid, D’banj, Emma Nyra, Tiwa Savage, Flavour, N’abania, May D, Tekno, and Yung L. One thing is certain, before the year runs out, more singles will be out and keep his fans dancing, whining all the way.
Davido
What else can be said about Davido whose real name is David Adeleke, other than that he is just ‘too good’ to be ignored. He has proven many times that he is not a fluke by continually dropping singles and producing very ‘clean’ videos. Despite being relatively young in the music industry, his impact is being felt and it’s so huge. As a versatile artiste, Davido is able to adapt to any beat produced by other producers. Just like his contemporaries, Davido has been featured by other artistes and this obviously keeps his brand going. Early this year, he released ‘Gobe’ which was and is still a club hit. He didn’t stop there, rather, went ahead to drop another single ‘One of a kind’ which is currently making waves.
Ice prince
Panshak Henry Zamani’s journey into music professionally started in 2004 when he released his debut album ‘Extraordinary’ and he hasn’t looked back since then. In 2010, ‘Oleku’ was released and at this point, his music career grew in bounds. This, in particular, actually opened up his way to ‘superstardom’. He has garnered so many awards in recent times with the 2013 BET International Act (Africa) and 2013 Eggman Best Musician being the latest awards in his cabinet. He has performed in shows across the world. He was the main act at the party of the just concluded Big Brother Africa 8. From 2012 till date, he has released several singles such as Aboki, VIP, More, Aboki remix. However, the four songs are expected to feature on his upcoming studio album, ‘Fire Of Zamani’, due for a September 7, 2013 release.
Wande Coal
Wande, like most great musicians, started singing in the teenage choir in his church. He got his break in the Nigerian entertainment industry as a dancer. While with the disbanded Mohits records, he played a major role in the released CV (Curriculum vitae) album. His first single of the CV album ‘Ololufe’ has been described as one of the greatest love songs ever written by a Nigerian. In 2012, following a fallout between record label Executives, Don Jazzy and D’banj, Wande Coal, Dr SID, D’Prince and Tiwa Savage, signed on to Don Jazzy’s new record label, ‘Mavin Records’ but that didn’t stop him from doing what he knows best – music. This year alone, he released ‘The Kick’ which of course doesn’t need introduction. It was a song that shook the music industry to its foundations. He went ahead and released other songs such as ‘Rotate’ and ‘Kilaju’ which is the latest.
D’banj
Dapo doesn’t need introduction. He has been in the music industry from 2004 and he is waxing stronger every day. He was signed to Mo’hits records before splitting up and ganging up with international act and rapper, Kanye West. He is currently signed under G.O.O.D music. He has garnered so many awards and he is popular internationally with his song ‘Oliver Twist’ which was produced by Don Jazzy. A year doesn’t and can’t go by without him releasing songs and he didn’t disappoint. His singles ‘Don’t tell me nonsense’; ‘for example’ featuring Kay Switch, his brother ; ‘Nous Les Meilleurs (We The Best)” (featuring Fally Ipupa) and “Money On My Mind” (featuring Kay Switch and J.Sol). D’banj is a founder of Koko Foundation for Youth and Peace Development. He is also Nigeria’s first United Nations Youth Ambassador for Peace and he is a brand ambassador to organisations like Bankof Industry. D’banj is a natural charismatic, energetic and infectious performer that can hold his audience captive for as long as he wants. Without a doubt, D’banj is the ‘Koko Master’.
Burna Boy
‘Like To Party’ is a testament that you can catch a hit record without following the typical music format that rules the airwaves in Nigeria. Burna Boy appeared to have come from nowhere after “Like To Party” became an overwhelming hit all over Lagos and most parts of Nigeria. He has been dropping good music since 2011 and finally caught his biggest hit in 2012. Burna then went on to deliver a quality video for not just his first single off the L.I.F.E album but for his other strong and widely accepted singles such as ‘Tonight’ and ‘Run My Race’ which were produced by Aristokrat in-house producer, LeriQ
Banky W
The EME Boss decided to go back into the studio after playing executive role in grooming Wizkid and Skales as solo artistes. Mr W blessed us with two strong singles Yes/No and Good Good Loving and displayed to us the true essence of R&B with his 3rd studio album, R&B which was launched a day after Valentine with a concert tagged the “The Grand Love Concert” which featured several other artistes including Iyanya, Waje and others. The first two singles from the album “Lowkey” and “Yes/No” (which has a spectacular video to it) are receiving rave reviews.
Tiwa Savage
The soul diva of the Nigerian music industry, Ms. Tiwa Savage, who recently got engaged and scored a well-deserved Pepsi endorsement deal in 2012, remains relevant in the music scene and finally released her highly anticipated debut album, ‘Once Upon A Time’ in 2013. “Eminado” (featuring Don Jazzy) is fast becoming a fan favourite.
KCEE
KCEE, who had dropped two singles ‘Okpekete’ and ‘Give it to Me’ featuring Flavour, which were attempts at scoring a hit single, pleasantly surprised all after Limpopo was released in 2013. He successfully gave fans what will probably end up being one of the top three songs of 2013, and followed it up with his new single ‘Okoso’ which was released recently.
- See more at: http://leadership.ng/news/010913/nigerian-music-stars-coasting-high#sthash.QQ4e6tmf.dpuf