2018 has undoubtedly been an exceptional year for Nigerian music and it has seen the rise and fall of various artistes but however a remarkable few have withered the storm and managed to spin the narrative around in their favour as they went on tours around the world, sold out shows in massive locations and even gained international recognition for their hard work and contribution to the growth of the Nigerian music industry.
Some of these artistes include;
Burna Boy
Without a doubt and by any measuring standard, Damini Ogulu better known by his stage name Burna Boy has had an amazing year and to this effect fans have gone ahead to dub 2018 “the year of Burna” because he achieved unparalleled success which started with the launch of his album Outside which launched on the 26th of January 2018 and tracks like Heaven’s Gate, Ye, Koni Baje and others quickly became fan favourites. As his wave of success continued international celebrities including Kourtney Kardashian and Rihanna began to identify with his music by posting videos of them enjoying the rhythm and melodies. Another boost came after Kanye West titled his album Ye which happened to be the same title for one of Burna Boy’s biggest tracks on the Outside album so inevitably Kanye fans ended up seeing Burna’s song in the search results, listened and fell in love with his sound.
He went on to sell out the 02 arena for a concert in London which proved that the artiste was truly going global because his fanbase was rapidly growing and just when we thought it was over in October he lit up Times Square as Youtube’s artist of the month, an honour reserved for musicians making great strides across the globe and this further exposed his music to a broader audience.
On the 26th of December, he had a sold-out show in Lagos, Nigeria that featured fellow industry giants like D’banj, 2face, Wizkid, Wande Coal to mention a few. Truly 2018 has been the year of Burna.
Davido
David Adedeji Adeleke known far and wide as Davido or O.B.O is a Nigerian Platinum recording artist, singer, song writer and owner of his record label DMW (Davido Music Worldwide)
He is one of the biggest artists out of Africa and a major player in the Nigerian music scene.
His reputation for dropping back to back hits regularly wasn’t tarnished a he stayed consistent and released numerous chart-toppers including; Ada featuring Dj Ecool, Assurance, Nwa Baby, Mind, Flora My Flawa among others and these songs all became fan favourites in no time.
His hard work and consistency earned him the award of Best International Act for the second time at the BET Awards held in Los Angeles, California.
He went on to set a world record by being the most featured music artiste in the world by appearing in 14 different albums including; Quavo; “Huncho”, Popcaan; “Forever”, Boogie wit da Hoodie; “International Artist” among others this year alone.
He ended the year with his sold out concert in Lagos, Nigeria which had a host of celebrities in attendance including “Power” series star Naturi Naughton who plays Tasha (Ghost’s wife) and she shared a video of herself enjoying the show and singing along to his hit track “Fall” as well as screaming his name to show some love.
Davido has definitely had a remarkable year and we’re anxiously anticipating what he pulls off next.
Wizkid
Ayodeji Balogun better known as Wizkid doesn’t need much introduction to the average Nigerian. He has been very active in the global music scene recently and has won multiple awards and gotten recognition for his dynamic performance and ability to do justice to any beat or collaboration.
2018 has been a double-sided year for Wiz because of his issues with the mother of his child which sprung the “deadbeat dad” allegations and sent fans on a frenzy against the artiste. Although he was silent through the period he was under fire he used the opportunity at his sold-out show in Lagos this December to address the issue and reaffirm his love for all his children.
Other than that he has had nothing short of an amazing year including but not limited to his Nike x Starboy merch which sold out in minutes worldwide and had to be re-released on Nigeria’s Independence Day as a goodwill gesture to fans who couldn’t purchase earlier, his endorsement deal with Ciroc worth millions, his iconic walk at the Milan Fashion show for Dolce and Gabbana, featuring in the Ciroc x Moschino campaign, his sold out Made in Lagos show which hosted people from around the world and had guest performances from artistes like Skepta, Maleek Berry, Duncan Mighty and K Cee to mention a few.
Perhaps one of the most notable feats was when Grammy award-winning artiste Coldplay described watching Wizkid perform at the Global Citizen Festival as “A Dream Come True” and this is a testament to Wizkid’s ability to deliver an electrifying performance and serenade any audience with his music.
For Starboy, there is only no way to go but upward and we’re here for it.
Tiwa Savage
Tiwatope Savage-Balogun better known by her stage name Tiwa Savage, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, performer and actress. She has been around for a while and is very much embedded in the Nigerian music scene as you cannot list the top female artists and leave out Tiwa Savage. Her talent and passion during performances are unmatched and the audience deeply connects with her on that level.
She has had a very active year and boasts a number of chart-toppers to her name including Lova Lova which featured Port Harcourt’s first son Duncan Mighty, My Heart featuring Mr. P & Rudeboy, Get it now remix with Omarion among others.
Earlier in the year British Vogue described her as “The woman at the forefront of the Afrobeats explosion, and whose hybrid musical sound is going global” this further solidified her position as a leading lady in not just Nigerian music but on a much grander stage.
She was also recently honoured by ONE and listed as one of its 2018 women of the year, She delivered an electric performance at the Global Citizen Festival which hosted A-list performers from around the world including Beyonce & Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams, Femi Kuti, Ed Sheeran, Wizkid among others. She went on to become the first female to win an MTV Best African act award defeating fellow Nigerian act David Adeleke, aka Davido, Fally Ipupa from the DRC, South Africa’s Distructio Boyz and Shekinah and Kenya’s Nyashinski.
Tiwa Savage has truly been a force to reckon with and we can’t wait to see what the new year has in store for her.
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