In the last decade, women have proven that they are as good as men in various sectors, including music. Nigerian male artistes have been in the spotlight for so long that many women in Afro-beats have been underrated. In no particular order, eelive.ng brings to you five women who have showcased their talents and proven that they deserve to be at the top of the Nigerian music hierarchy.
1. Tiwa Savage
Tiwa Savage has worked her way up to the stairway to stardom, and deserves every recognition she gets. Born in Nigeria, she relocated to London to further her education and decided to pursue music later. She launched her music career doing backup vocals for singers such as Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, and George Michael.
Her strong and resonant voice carries different tones and blends perfectly with various genres. In an interview with NY Times, the singer said, “Those are three different, completely different cultures and different continents. So I’ve just grown up just being a sponge for different kinds of music.”
Unsurprisingly, her talent and passion has made her the superstar that she is today.
2. Yemi Alade
Yemi Alade is best known for her hit single Johnny which pulled a whopping 127 million views on Youtube.
Ever since she emerged as the winner of the Peak Talent Show in 2009, the 31-year-old has been moving to greater heights. Alade has won numerous awards for her strong voice and reverence to the African community.
She won the MTV African Music Awards for Best female in 2015 and 2016 consecutively and was nominated for Artiste of the Year in 2015, making her the first female to win the MAMAs for Best female. two times in a row and first female to earn a nomination for Artiste of the Year.
She was also been nominated for the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) for Best African Act in 2015 and the BET awards for Best International Act: Africa in 2016.
The self-acclaimed “Mama Africa” has earned her spot on this list, and we hope to see more of her.
3. Simi
Simi Kosoko (née Ogunleye) launched her music career in 2009 with a song titled Ogaju. She finally gained fame after releasing Tiff, which was nominated for Alternative Song at the 2014 Headies award.
Her music projects include Simisola (2017), Omo Charlie Champagne- Vol 1 (2019), I’m back home (2020) and an EP titled Restless.
When the 32-year-old released her hit song Duduke, which she sang for her baby, it quickly became a trend on social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok.
Now a wife and mother, Simi has refused to let that get in the way of making waves in the Nigerian music industry.
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4. Niniola
The past few years has been great for Niniola Apata. After emerging runner up at the 2013 edition of Projeçt Fame West Africa. After releasing her debut single Ibadi, Niniola stamped her name as a recording artiste.
She went on to release more singles like Soke, Shabba, featuring Sarz, an award-winning producer, and they both made magic with her unique voice and his flawless production.
Her hit song, Maradona, was remixed by DJ Snake, and and it got her a nomination at the 2018 BET Awards in the Viewer’s Choice Best International Act category.
In April 2020, the 34-year-old received her Grammy nomination certificate for her work as a composer on Beyonce‘s album, The Lion King: The Gift.
Niniola‘s latest album, Colour and Sounds was released in in 2020.
5. Teni
Yes! Teni Apata made this list. Although she joined the industry not too long ago, Teni has proven herself to be a versatile singer and songwriter.
In case you didn’t know, Teni who gained prominence in 2017 with her debut single, Fargin is Niniola‘s younger sister. She has been on the rise ever since and released hit singles like Askamaya, which ranked no. 15 on MTV Base’s ‘Top 20 Hottest Naija Tracks of 2018’.
Afterwards, the singer returned with a bang with Case and Uyo Meyo.
In 2020, Teni did more features with musicians such as DJ Cuppy, Omah Lay, and Darey, among others. We hope to see more of her this year.
BY ENIOLA OLANIYI