In the pandemic-ridden 2020, a new crop of ambitious Nigerian artistes stood out. These singers gave us unique, upbeat and happy sounds and 2021 looks set to be another huge year for new music.
There are some acts on the list that you’ve maybe not heard of until now while others started to gain traction towards the end of 2020 and are getting ready to bring out debut albums and new songs in the new year.
In no particular order, below are the 9 new Nigerian artistes to look out for in 2021.
Omah Lay
Stanley Omah Didia, better known as Omah Lay, didn’t just become a breakout singer in 2020, he became a household name practically overnight. He already has two EP’s to his name titled Get Layd (March 2020) and What Have We Done (November 2020).
Omah Lay shot into lime light with You and later gained more prominence with Damn -songs from his debut EP which houses other tracks like Bad Influence, Lo Lo and Ye Ye Ye .
While his debut EP was enjoying massive airplay across the globe, Omah Lay got signed to Warner Music Group, an American record label where he released his second EP.
The project houses songs like My Bebe, Can’t Relate, Godly, Confession and Damn, a bonus track featuring 6lack, an American rapper.
And having amassed more than 100 million streams on Audiomack, he became the first African artiste to be selected for the #UpNow initiative. He also became the second musician to be featured since its launch.
Commenting on reaching 100 million streams, the singer said:
“It was incredible, I’m the type of person who celebrates 100 000. When we got to 1 million I didn’t know what to do. It was such an amazing feeling to know so many people listen to me. It’s a blessing. I want to give this credit to my listeners.”
Omah Lay‘s hit single Bad Influence also emerged the number one song searched by Nigerian listeners on the Shazam App in 2020.
He has since collaborated with several music heavyweights like Olamide, Wizkid and Adekunle Gold.
With his musical prowress, the singer has proved he can’t be boxed into one sound; and we’re expecting much more to come from him in 2021.
Bella Shmurda
Ahmed Abiola Akinbiyi (Bella Shmurda) popularly called Fine Boy Bella by his fans, is an exciting look at a new artiste poised for stardom with his voice and swags. His biggest song to date, Cash App is still steadily swelling and getting the attention it deserves.
In January, Bella Shmurda released his debut project, a 7-track EP titled High Tension.
He has continued to flex on collaborations with singers like Olamide, Zlatan and Master Kraft among others.
With a rapidly growing fanbase, alongside one of the hottest street anthems in Nigeria, Shmurda‘s success seems inevitable.
Oxlade
Ikuforiji Olaitan Abdulrahman, better known as Oxlade is one of the most exciting figures to storm the Nigerian music scene this year.
With a voice that’ll make you sit up and take notice, no matter where you are, Oxlade expertly blended Afrobeat, hip-hop, R&B and a bit of country music ingles on OXYGENE, his 6-track EP which he released in March 2020.
His hit single, Away has been in radio rotation ever since and it made the list of Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Songs of 2020.
Cheque
There is no shortage of rising Nigerian rappers, but Akanbi Bamidele Brett (Cheque) doesn’t sound like his peers.
Signed to Penthauze, a label founded by respected Nigerian rapper Phyno, Cheque is more than ready to become one of Nigeria’s biggest exports.
He was discovered by Phyno through one of his Instagram freestyling sessions. Shortly afterwards, the 25-year-old singer released a 5-track EP titled Razor in July. It includes songs like Zoom, Loco, Satisfied, Hollywood and Odun. The EP rose to Top 5 Nigerian albums on iTunes, within 24 hours of its release.
Cheque‘s breakout single Zoom, consists of heavy-bars and it is infectiously catchy. Racking up over 40 million streams across platforms, it rose to number two on Nigeria’s all-genre Apple Music chart, trailing Davido‘s FEM.
The visuals for the single which was released in September, has over 1.4 million views.
He recently dropped Zoom remix featuring Davido and Nigerian-American rapper, Wale.
Laycon
It’s an exciting time for Afro-rap (as Laycon describes his genre of music), now that the buzz around hardcore rap is fading out. While its not easy being a successful rapper in Nigeria, the 26-year-old singer, born Olamilekan Agbeleshe has been building momentum since 2016, but broke out in earnest after going for the fifth edition of the popular Big Brother Naija reality Tv show, one he eventually won.
Laycon released his second EP, Who is Laycon in 2019, a follow-up to his debut EP, Young Black and Gifted (2016).
He soon established himself as a fan favourite, when the 8 track EP, began to gain massive recognition, especially with songs like Fierce (ft Reminisce and Chinko Ekun) and HipHop.
He went on to feature on DJ Neptune’s Nobody (ICON remix) alongside Joe Boy and delivered fire bars on Mr Real‘s Baba Fela remix.
The visuals for HipHop which was released in December has amassed over 1.3 million views.
Laycon got signed to Fierce Nation record label in 2019 and has made impressive progress in 2020. His music is rapidly connecting with the masses. And despite what naysayers feel, Laycon‘s emergence feels like the start of something very special.
Bad Boy Timz
Born Olorunyomi Oloruntimilehin, Timz released his debut single in 2019. The song gathered a million streams within two months and this birthed a five-track self-titled EP. However, the debut EP did not register mainstream success and didn’t really click the way it should.
Fast forward to 2020 when he dropped Mj remix, an undeniably addictive Owambe hit, with pure and contagious energy featuring Mayorkun. He quickly cemented his place one of the most buzzed about new artistes in the music industry.
The singer has collaborated with talented artistes like Teni and Olamide. Love him or hate him, Timz remains one to watch in the coming year.
Liya
Figuring out who you are as a young artiste is no easy task; but Liya has made impressive progress in 2020.
In October, Liya, born Abdulsalam Suliyat Modasola became the first female artiste to be signed to Davido Music Worldwide (DMW). In December she released Melo, her first official single, since joining Davido‘s record label.
It’s still early days, but as 2020 wraps up; it feels like the 20-year-old singer is on the verge of a breakthrough and we are here for it.
Vee
Victoria Medese Adeyele has been on our radar for years; but only became recognised after she went for the 2020 BBNaija reality TV show.
In 2017 she released her first single titled Ecstasy ft Afro B which was featured on Spotify‘s “Afro-Bashment” playlist.
On December 18, the 23-year-old singer released Show; her first project since the end of the reality TV show in September.
With a rapidly growing fanbase, a rapidly expanding catalog of music, and a plan to keep evolving her sound; 2021 is going to be special for Vee popularly call “Queen of Flames” by her fans.
Olakira
Although Olakira released his first single in 2018; he shot into limelight with his hit single Maserati which was released this year.
Born, Adelusola Adefemi, the singer has continued to hone his musical skills; following his collaboration with Davido on Maserati remix which is definitely one of the biggest track of the year.
The producer, composer and songwriter is defintely going to pull more strings in 2021.
