Meet The New Nigerian Music Artists To Reign In 2017

The Nigerian Music Industry under the radar has revealed promising acts who are now taking over the scene, we often refer to them as The New Music artists in Nigeria 2017. I Episode 1 of my diary, I’m focusing on these young acts and how they stand out.

DREMO: No doubt, he’s bringing something new to the table. The Ojere crooner has proven himself as promising within a short space of time. He evolved from Davido Music Worldwide with a distinct style as a rapper. I can tell this for sure, he’s gon be around for a while in the industry as long as he maintains the standard he kicked off with.

Mr. Eazi: At the mere sound of ‘it’s your boi Eazi…‘, one just get entangled in the wave. The young afro pop talent is the new flame in the industry right now. Though, Nigerian-born, Ghanaian-bred but straight outta Africa to the world. Of them all, he seems to be the only one whose delivery comes almost effortlessly. Music to him must be like some reflex. From Hollup to Dance For Me with Eugy and Skin Tight; every joint he bounces on becomes a wave. Indeed, he’s got that spectacular vibe that’s driving the industry nuts. Now that he’s been signed to Wizkid’s Starboy Worldwide, he’s just another step ahead of the game.

Kiss Daniel: he’s a total package, you know why? ’cause he’s got that charm and huge talent that you can’t just bypass. The G-Worldwide signee hit the music industry with full force when he first came withthe Woju song. He’s a good illustration of the expression Olamide made at the last Headies; “…every single was a hit back to back”. Indeed every Daniel’s single was a hit, from Woju to Laye, Mama and then he finally nailed it with his New Era album. He’s been so far beyond impressive within his few active period.

Adekunle Gold: YBNL toaster as he’s fondly called by his label mates. The boy isn’t just a talented but a raw gold that got processed into an ornament. His story is no different from the rejected stone that has turned a cornerstone in the industry. Just recently, he shared his story of how he was turned down twice at Project Fame West Africa auditions only for him to grace the finale of the celebrated contest as a billed performer – inspiring right? Now, that’s golden! Adekunle’s “Gold” album is true reflection of the real afro soul music. Sade wasn’t just a mere luck jam afterall, Orente and Pick Up gave us the conviction. No doubt, Adekunle Gold has a shiny bright future in the industry.

L.A.X: this dude came to limelight under the Starboy Entertainment, disturbing the industry with Wizkid. Caro and Ginger were major tracks that sold out of the world. However, while Wizkid is busy branding himself as an international artiste, L.A.X has fallen back to a his newly formed R.A.S.A.K.I movement. He has broken out of his comfort to explore and from his recent sounds, we can say he’s finally evolved. Fine Boy, Morenike, Gimme Dat and his latest effort, Awon Da – Ijo Rasaki are jams of the moment. Obviously, L.A.X has a style to key to and he’ll only continue to be a top dog in the game as long as he sticks to it.

Tekno: from his stage name, you know this chap has something major to do with sound. If there’s something that keeps Tekno going as a contemporary act in the music industry right now, it should be his ability to blend with various sounds. His first major presence in the music scene was on “Holiday” with Davido. But from that moment till now, he’s shown a wide dexterity in his music style. Dance, Duro and Pana are successive hit tracks that are still rocking clubs and shows. Being a beatmaker has given Tekno an edge in the industry as he’s always coming forth with appealing songs.

Mayorkun: A fifteen seconds-instagram video performance landed Mayorkun a life-changing opportunity and Davido’s instinct has not being proven wrong either. Mayorkun is an item that has turned a major venture in DMW. He shook the whole industry with his trailblazing debut single, “Eleko”. He made a follow-up with “Yawa” though not generating enough buzz as the former but all rays still beam on the singer on what’s going to be his next move. Mayorkun is still in the hanging hopes of industry, so the only thing left for him is to make his next better.

Simi: probably going to be the only female on this list, not sure. Simi is a music diva whose sensation has got the whole industry standstill. There’s barely anyone that doesn’t like something about her music. She actually crossed over from what she referred to as not-really-profiting, the gospel genre to pop. Ara Ile was her biggest as a gospel act, however, it took her some couple of years to get it out there. With X3M Records, she’s been able to maximize her music talent. She gave the industry a shot with “Tiff” and that didn’t make enough penetration until she dropped the bomb on us with “Jamb Question“. Along the line, Simi also projected herself even more with someone she met in the industry. We see them as smoke and fire whenever they make a song together. Falz made it happen with Jamb Question Video and then in “Soldier“. Another fantastic thing about Simi is her music production skills. She actually mixed and mastered the recent Adekunle Gold‘s album and good number of songs out there.

Reekado Banks: Reeky is the happening guy in Supreme Mavin Dynasty at the moment, take it or leave it! Eversince he got signed to the label, he’s been given the opportunity to flex his music style. He majorly carried almost all the hooks of the songs Mavins had together. International rapper, Wale once commended him for his huge talent, hence moved for a collabo which led to “Hallelujah” that also featured Olamide and Don Jazzy. His songs; “Katapot”, “Standard” have massive buzz in the industry; they actually paved way to his debut album, “Spotlight“. However, it turned out the album was a bit below expectation but hey Reeky, the spotlight still hovers around you, maybe you should find a way of shining better next time.

Korede Bello: the Mavin act is the industry loverboy right now, turning a lot of heads on with his cute vocals. Korede Bello has got his voice and sexiness working for him and his Bellovers (as his fans are referred to) keep multiplying by the moment. Mr. Romantic made it huge with his Godwin track and his successive singles turned out not really bad. “Somebody Great” with Asa, “Mungo Park” and “One & Only“.

YCee: The Jagaban himself, he’s one of the leaders of the new school hip hop as he often delivers his rapstyle with so much dexterity that everyone can connect with. YCee has worked with quite a number of contemporaries in the past few period of his emergence and he’s being pretty much impressive. He’s also giving other great rappers a chase in the game.

Lil Kesh: this dude is straight outta another generation, the Skiborobo skibo era has come and Lil Kesh is the major campaigner. Music has gone beyond the sphere we dwell in and it’s virtually occupying the whole space. You don’t need to define your music style these days, as long as you get the vibe, you just let it out. That is the case with Lil Kesh. His Y.A.G.I movement is gradually evolving after a successive rise to stardom with the YBNL. He’s just running the street and that’s his vibe.

Falz: “the only musician that’s having AMVCA”, sure you got that too. Falz The Bahd Guy came on board with his unique-totally-outta-usual style and suddenly became the trend. Now, that’s the interesting part, the industry is really big enough to contain artistes of various styles; you just have to be a master of that style. Falz really had a great exceptional outing within his first season of evolving. At first, he appeared more like an Aje Butter protege but it took not too long before he finally evolved and we began to see a different person in him. Gaining the BET New African Act amongst other awards was a huge attainment for him and the entire industry. In summary; Falz is just that dude almost everybody loves.

Worthy of mention:

– Aramide: talented singer with highly infectious afro pop style. Her music is gaining air with her most recent amazing track with Sir Daudu, “Funmi Lowo”
– Wale Turner: fresh wave, unique style…this rapper is boiling and in no time he’s going to be filling the airwaves.
– Subzilla: Sisi Eko singer, his sounds come powerful and relevant somewhat
– Toby Grey
– Niniola
– Terry Apala

PS: This compilation is not in any order.

‘Wole Oduwole
@woldezzy