Abiola Ahmed Akinbiyi, 26 year old Okokomaiko, Lagos based Afrobeats singer popularly known as Bella Shmurda, had always believed he is a formidable force within the soundscape. And it has been what he manifests. Coming to limelight with the Olamide assisted “Vision 2020” prior to the COVID-19 pandemic breakout. Bella’s rise at the time was fresh. He unleashed powerful street oriented singles and several projects that mirrored street life. His debut track, became like a revelation crowned from the records tag. From all the next year unfolded, it is satisfying to call those moments mysterious relating it with his spectacular…
Author: Agwuma Kingsley
Ayodeji Balogun has ultimately unlocked OG status with his fifth album — “More Love, Less Ego.” The father of four popularly known as Wizkid, has come of age as a frontering Afrobeats pioneer. Since 2011 after he annouced himself locally with “Superstar,” he became Afrobeats most promising golden boy. With the successful debut offering in his hand at the time, to date he keeps launching to the upper echelons of the culture. A true fan would attest strongly that Wizkid’s rank in Afrobeats often ascends higher whenever he sets loose fresh projects. The moment Big Wiz, buckles up to announce…
First, a random listener with a pigeonholed knowledge about the Wicked Producer – Young John, might comment that his debut EP have been offered on an experimental pedestal. Meanwhile, John explored his creative range, doubled his diversity in the gross production and delivering differently through Amapiano, pop and synth cuts alongside quiet R&B productions. “Love Is Not Enough”, instrumentally involves cadencing pop, Amapiano and properly orchestrated themes that revolves around love and friendship from track one to five. While Vedo’s input on “Next To You” stylishly unveils a Chris Brown esque generated from his vocal range, Next To You is…
In Nigeria, the music and art is one of the major export we have left to connect with the world. Sports and other various sectors are not working effectively as before that we can bank on them enough. Meanwhile, few days ago the Super Eagles lost a chance to qualify in the upcoming FIFA World Cup event at Qatar, despite the loss and few snapshots based on the ordeal angry and frustrated Nigerians displayed at the country’s federal stadium in FCT Abuja, poor Nigerians still have something to hold on to as consolation to the excruciating loss. While the country…
The ordeal at the March 2022 Oscars involving the popular American comedian Chris Rock, and movie star Will Smith, is one of such to look back at and analyse cautiously. Consider the following first, draw your attention to the recent Oscars and tentatively how the popular Award Academy show, waved strongly into pop culture spaces by entrapping the minds and emotions of the general public. Trace backwards, one would easily note the larger fans and public engagement afloat social media spaces during the season of the award show compared to the previous set. Currently, the plight that took off between…
Rema’s debut album Rave & Roses is worth the wait, since the ending of 2021 that the anticipation began. The superstar has secured a firm threshold as one of the core creators amongst the new generations, releasing three EP’s in the formative years of his career, and undoubtedly could be regarded as one of the most influential forces in his generation. Amongst the likes of Fireboy DML, Joeboy, Zlatan Ibile, Victor AD, and Lyta, Rema is part of the leading men round about this circle of creators, his former contenders at the 13th Headies Next rated category. In 2019, when…
Fireboy DML’s career run is making a stellar mark on the Nigerian music landscape. After the release of his 2021 smash hit “Peru”, prior to the official chart topping remix featuring the English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, Fireboy DML, launches another canon titled – Playboy. Playboy is his 2022 debut single which he likens to as another anthem. His input upon Bizzouch’s produced Playboy unfolds so much simplicity assited with an easy to chorus lyrics that is backed by a lingua his demography could adopt naturally, eventually when the record is properly marketed. While Playboy’s lyrics, essence and theme compliments each…
Creatives ranging from super talented music creators, comic stars, actors/actresses, poets including writers, record producers, managers, as well as creative directors and photographers in the Port-Harcourt creative landscape can taste limelight from the city regardless. The internet and the rise of social media have made connecting with the world from anywhere much more possible. While Port-Harcourt creatives have to grow with this mentality and thrive with it first, and then look further to understand how they can fix productive talent incubation and development systems needed to engineer acts and make them revealed from the city. With consistency in building another…
Young John’s career run has peaked from being a record producing creator to a sultry recording artiste, with his enriched testament currently unfolding his dexterity as another peculiar Nigerian pop star recently unlocked into the Nigerian music soundscape. He has inputs laid on a plethora of records from the start in 2012 as a signee with Hit Factory Studio, an affiliate with Olamide Baddo’s YBNL Nation imprints. John’s production range has had a sheer influence on Nigerian music industry with acts Olamide, Phyno, Lil Kesh, Davido, Flavour, Kizz Daniel and more, who’ve tapped a glory of hits which have chronicled…
“Born Again” is the opener track of the album, it was native both sonically and considering the quite striking vocal input of the Malian Fatoumata Diawara, who infuses her local Mali dialect in between to make the record qualitative as it serves the cause of a satisfactory opener. AG Baby also delivered the track x-raying his personal experiences, one which is how he realized he has been living for people back then. Now he claims to have tasted freedom and declares himself a new man. Indeed. Two years ago, Adekunle Gold’s music career took a new shape. From blending local…
The Twitter ban in Nigeria restricted a lot of fans’ commitment to their favorite creators, the platform could only be accessed through the struggles of connecting VPN. Good a thing few days ago the Twitter ban was lifted, leaving wide open the pool for fans to access and commune with their favorite idols. Naira Marley Of course, Twitter rants and a good number of bants involving trends have been taking rounds whilst a fuller number of both the creators and fans of the social media platform might have found the platform less interesting until January 12th, 2022, when the ban…
Afrobeats In A Church Service Have you ever been amidst this set of people who usually criticize secular music and its creators most especially? Most of the time they tag them as unbelievers and label them hell-fire candidates. These bunch, disdain every form of lifestyle they portray from their music to the music video and their reality as they usually kick against everything they stand for, even as I know of someone named Feranmi, who doesn’t care one bit about their celebrity when conversations of them are raised, not to talk of singing along their music or give an ear…
Top Nigerian Music Album 2021 From the release of multiplexed singles, extended plays accompanied by a few studio albums in 2021, music creators in different ways have made the culture viable through projects and an array of records. A variety of music albums were curated and this list is a retrospective collection of these top 7 projects. Mostly the ones spanning through pop gems as well as the influence of the records that surrounded listeners. The list comprises of just original projects released in 2021. Olamide – UY Scuti: Olamide’s “UY Scuti which is an array of his musical transition…
Funmilayo Adebayo, the popular Nigerian internet sensation alleged as an evangelist, has partly taken social media spaces to influence the minds of some young growing Nigerian teens, mostly from average backgrounds and the non-elites. Well, a good number of Nigerians would take her as a joke and to some extent she is, but what about the younger generations, the ones who barely know their left from right? Mummy G.O as she’s fondly called by her growing fans, with her teachings which could be referred to as caricature or whims to most Nigerians, however, there is a bunch out there who…
2021 has been a good year in the Nigerian music landscape. It has been filled with ushering part of the most successful creators into larger music spaces, like Wizkid’s “Essence” alongside Tems made an impact on pop culture. The record also accompanied a remix with Justin Bieber on the album’s deluxe version, and it has successfully got nominated for the 2022 Grammy Academy Awards on the best global music performance with Essence, as well as the album got nominated for the best album along with other incredible nominee’s. Burna Boy also recounts victories in the moments with the fourth Grammy…
Tell me where taking full responsibility doesn’t play an important role to successfully attain or achieve one’s aim or as a company? It might start from a variety of situations, however, we can decide to look from the angle when one is a relationship starter. Since you have decided to ask that woman or young lady which you have some amount of love for out, certainly you also have some level of responsibility to play till you file her out into the relationship you long for her. And one of the most important key roles to sustaining that relationship which…
The Nigerian music landscape has produced a range of records that have rocked us into moments of ambiance, where we felt good and was loved. In a place where we gathered together and danced through the spectrum of these moments wishing they lasted forever and never collapsed, we enjoyed these set of records the creators offered us, with glee and without regrets either we still want more. This list comprises of those records that have set the pace for us in 2021. They’ve been carefully arranged in no particular order, but has been selected due to reasons of influence they’ve…
