As the hub of all that goes on in Nigeria, Lagos is home to more than 20 million people. And as it concerns the entertainment industry, majority of the Lagos population consists of musicians jostling for a shot at success.
Despite the struggles of the mix of talented and not so bright stars trying to make headway in the music scene, there are some that are doing better than most to break bounds. These artistes have already been listed by the New York Times as top emerging talents, causing a new unique wave of tunes that is a blend of hip-hop and Afrobeats genre.
Check them out!
Blaqbonez
Akumefule Chukwu-Emeka, a.k.a. Blaqbonez, has been making music since 2011, when he improvised a rap verse as a challenge to one-up a friend. He’s since then grown into one of Nigeria’s finest rappers, often using his social media channels to declare himself the best rapper in Africa “BRIA” for short. He also previously marketed his single “Mamiwota”
Chukwu-Emeka, 24, has already released eight EPs and mixtapes that blend a variety of genres like West African highlife. His go-to themes include love, the joys of being young and what it means to struggle in the music industry without funding. “For me, once I hear the instrumental, that is my entire creative process,” he says. “I feel like there is a second me, writing and taking notes from life, and mental notes of what is happening”. He is currently at work on a new EP, “Mr. Boombastic,” scheduled to drop in October. It will introduce a hyper-hedonistic alter ego and draw from Caribbean-influenced sounds.
Wavy the Creator
Born as Jennifer Ejoke, she started to perform on the Lagos music scene in 2017. At the time, she was already known as the designer behind the fashion brand, Azif and as the personal photographer and videographer to the Nigerian rap star, Olamide. But Ejoke surprised many by branching into a recording career when she released her debut single, “H.I.G.H (Her in Greater Heights).” The auto-tuned Afro-house hit earned her an invitation to open for the British rapper Skepta and his Boy Better Know crew at the 2018 Homecoming Africa concert, where she performed alongside the Afrobeats stars Wizkid and Davido.
Ejoke, 26 claims she is the “Nigerian alien” stating that “Everywhere I have been to, everything that I have been a part of, I always felt like the odd one out,” she says, mentioning her time spent living in Houston, London and Kansas City, Mo., is an experience she believes provided her with varied influences that she taps into when creating. “Either I’m different or doing something different.” Her latest single, “Body Deep,” released in July, is worlds apart from the dominant local sounds and features a flirtatious duet with the Nigerian musician Tiwa Savage. Ejoke plans to drop her debut EP by year’s end.
Fireboy DML
Adedamola Adefolahan, or Fireboy DML, started to perform as part of his local church choir in Abeokuta, Ogun State. His breakthrough came in 2018, with “Jealous,” a song about love and the complicated feelings that go along with it, which infuses African harmonies with aspects of country and soul. “I like to write my songs from a more relatable approach,” says Adefolahan, 23, who describes his personal sound as “Afro-Life.” “They are everyday topics, but I approach them from emotional angles. That’s why it stands out.” He lists the American singer Jon Bellion, the English musician Passenger and the Nigerian pop star Wande Coal as key contemporary influences — the first two for the “honesty in their lyrics,” Adefolahan says, and the latter for his “pristine vocals and the soul in his melody.”
Odunsi (The Engine)
The Lagos-born Bowofoluwa Olufisayo Odunsi dropped out of a Ghanaian university in 2015 because of his struggle with A.D.H.D. and soon ended up in a recording studio in Accra, where he experimented with beats pulled from ’80s and ’90s funk music. His debut album, “Rare,” released in October 2018, defies categorization, hopping between dance-worthy pop and quieter ballads. “My process is really just vibes,” says Odunsi, 23. “I get inspired by real-life and online conversations. I create music to represent you, living in time, living young, free and with the ability to document your moments.”
Most recently, the Warner Music-signed performer collaborated with the British singer Raye on the swinging pop song “Tipsy,” elevating him to the international stage. “I’m a young Nigerian, and it’s already hard being from here and making it,” he says. “What encourages me is that the world is big enough for me to shine through, connect with people and see the bigger picture.”
Teni the Entertainer
Teniola Apata, 26, discovered her passion for music as a student in the United States, driving the many hours between Atlanta and New York to get to a recording studio. Her 2018 breakthrough song, “Askamaya,” came months before her graduation from college, and it swiftly joined the playlists at Nigerian clubs and bars. Born in Lagos to a Nigerian Civil War-hero father and a mother who is a high school principal, Apata is perhaps an unlikely pop star. Her art comes from a place of empathy and is anchored by the challenges faced by Nigerians. “Do you know why the world respects African music?” she asks. “It’s because our melodies are great and come from the soul. We are singing from pain. It’s in the blood.”
But Apata doesn’t take herself too seriously, as evidenced by the endless stream of comedic clips she posts online — which have earned her a devoted following. On the mic, she moves crowds with high-energy sets that meld a spectrum of sounds from highlife to house set against moving lyrics. For inspiration, Apata primarily looks to the vibrant melodies of ’70s and ’80s Juju and Fuji legends like King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey and King Wasiu Ayinde — which will surely influence her first-ever EP, scheduled for release before the end of the year.
By Kehinde Oderinde