Nigeria: Musicians tipped to rule 2015
Contemporary Nigerian music has been ruling the airwaves all over Africa . It did so last year and the year before and it looks like it will be doing so again in 2015.
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In this article published in the Daily Independent (Lagos), the writer looks at which musicians are likely to dominate the scene.
Olamide
YBNL boss, Olamide, is one indigenous rap artistes who will shine this year.
The Street King had a good showing in 2014, as he was at almost all the major shows in the country.
With songs from albums such as Baddest Guy Ever Liveth and Street OT, Badoo, as he is fondly called, has been able to win over across the young, old and even corporate players.
The artiste, who also won many awards in 2014, will predictably bag more this year. Olamide's awards from 2014 included the Channel O African Music Video Award for Most Gifted West African Video, Hip-Hop World's award for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year. With this trend, 2015 would be better for Badoo.
Davido
HKN lead act, Davido, is one of the top artistes who rocked the year 2014. In fact, he was Nigeria's biggest act of the year with his consistent release of hits, and 2015 is not expected to be different for the pop act whose musical delivery has been awesome.
Since making his debut into the Nigerian music industry, dropping his first album, O.B.O (Omo Baba Olowo), Davido has not looked back.
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In his short but impressive career, he has dropped mega hits such as Aye, Skelewu, and Owo Ni Koko. In 2014 alone, Davido bagged the BET Awards, Nigerian Entertainment Award and capped the year with two awards at the Hip-Hop World Awards, for Song of the Year and Artiste of the Year.
He is expected to continue his good showing in 2015.
Patoranking
Describe Timaya's protégé, Patoranking, as one of the new kids on the block and you won't be wrong. This singer has been carving a niche for himself in the reggae genre of music since he made his debut in 2014.
In less than one year, Patoranking has gone from being a bricklayer and rat poison seller to a mega star.
With punch lines such as "What Ya Say," "They Don't Know" and others, Patoranking has created a super image for himself even without an album yet.
The artiste, who won the Hip-Hop World's Next Rated award in 2014 with just three singles, namely Alubarika, Girlie O and Happy Day, dominated a number of shows including the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) pageant, hosted in Bayelsa State.
This year, is expected to be the period where fans would see the full package Patoranking has to offer, as he is expected to drop his debut album.
Yemi Alade
Although Yemi Alade has been in the music scene for a while, her breakthrough came in 2014, with the single, Johnny.
With Johnny, the artiste stole the hearts of many, backing up the audio with a video that had some element of comedy and also portrayed her as a dance queen.
Johnny did not only set the pace for Yemi Alade to jump into music reckoning, it also gave her the push she needed, as just months after the single, her debut album, King of Queens, hit the market.
Asides Johnny, other songs like Looking At Me, Kissing, Why, Pose, Duro Timi and Catch You made Yemi Alade one of the biggest discoveries of 2014 and an act to watch out for.
2face Idibia
2face Idibia is one of Nigeria's biggest music exports. Having been in the doldrums for a while, his latest album, The Ascension, gave him a new lease of life in 2014.
However, The Ascension, which had songs such as Lesse Passey, International Loving, Diaspora Woman, Go, Hate What You Do To Me and Kiss of Life, among others, has been described as an average work of art by many.
Nevertheless, 2face is expected to enjoy some presence in 2015 as he has always done, with one or two singles or collaborations.
Timaya
Timaya has maintained a consistent run since his music debut, and 2014 saw him dropping singles such as Sanko and Ukwu.
His last album Epiphany, which was released towards the end of 2014 had some hit songs, but could hardly pick up any award due to its timing.
Epiphany is expected to rake in rewards for the artiste this year. Typically, Timaya is expected to drop more fresh hits too.
Sean Tizzle
For Sean Tizzle, 2014 wasn't a bad year, as he consolidated on his good run in 2013.
Having dropped several hit singles in 2013 and also won the Next Rated plaque of the Hip-Hop World Awards, Sean Tizzle dropped his debut album, The Journey, in 2014.
The Journey turned out to be a success. It had collaborations with several artistes including 9ice.
Although Sean Tizzle could not pick any major award with The Journey, he is likely to perform better in 2015.
Flavour Nabania
Flavour Nabania's debut album, Blessed, introduced him to the big league in the music industry.
With songs such as Baby Oku, Chinny Baby, Ada Ada, To Be a Man and Beverly, among others, Flavour was the biggest highlife brand in the country, playing at shows that mattered.
His second album, Thankful, which was released in late 2014, is gathering momentum and is expected to become more popular in 2015.
The album is also expected to put the artiste in pole position for awards this year.
Skales
While in Empire Mates Entertainment (EME), Skales existed under the shadow of Wizkid and Banky W. However, barely weeks after signing up with the Howie T and Dipo Abdul-managed Baseline Music, he started showing his true capabilities as an artiste.
One of his singles, which got a lot of positive reviews, was Shake Body. The song had its unique dance and soon became the darling of a lot of people, taking the act to another level. Other songs such as Obi and Give It To Me also received rave reviews.
This year, Skales is expected to find his footing under Baseline Music and release more hits.
Mavin All Stars
The song Dorobucci, released by Mavin All Stars, under Mavin Records, was one of the biggest hits of 2014. With the support of label boss, Don Jazzy, artistes such as Tiwa Savage and Dr. Sid were also able to flourish in their career, while Ricardo Banks and Korede Bello made their presence felt on the music scene.
This year, while the artistes under the label will show what stuff they are made of, it is another team song from Mavin All Stars that fans will watch out for.
With Don Jazzy still the captain of the Mavin ship, nothing less than a hilarious year ahead awaits his squad.
