While the infectious, syncopated rhythms of Afrobeats are often the first thing to catch a listener’s ear, the soul of the music lies in its vocal diversity. From Styl-Plus’ boyband flair to Wande Coal’s smooth melodies and Tay Iwar’s ethereal vocals, these unmistakable male voices remind us that the real magic is in how something is sung, not just how it sounds. In this article, we dive into the most remarkable male vocalists in the game.
To draw up this list, I used a scoring framework across ten metrics: vocal ability, cultural impact, commercial success, consistency and longevity, live performance ability, songwriting and artistry, awards and recognition, international reach, peer and critical acclaim, and fan base and engagement. Every artist was scored according to this metric, and the weighted total determined the final ranking.
10. Tay Iwar
Tay Iwar is one of the best gifts of the Alté scene. He released his first project, Passport, at 16, and it was critically acclaimed and loved. Not many artists can say that. Aside from his early brilliance in music, he is incredibly great at bringing emotion with every line he sings. By the time he released his official debut album Gemini in 2019, his voice had become one of a kind: airy and more controlled. Tay also writes everything and produces much of his own material.
“UTERO”, a track from the album, earned him a Headies nomination for Best Vocal Performance (Male). He has gone from that to writing and featuring on Wizkid’s “True Love” to releasing four other projects. He has always stayed true to his direction, and the right people always find him to elevate their music.
9. Banky W
Banky W built EME, launched careers, and composed the first Etisalat Nigeria theme song, but reducing him to what he built for others would be a mistake. The credibility he has today in both music and business stems from the hits he has belted out with his distinctive voice. Banky W won the John Lennon Songwriting Award for the R&B category in 2006 for “My Regret,” won Best Male Vocal Performance at the 2009 Hip Hop World Awards for “Don’t Break My Heart”, and claimed Best R&B Singer (Male) at the 2010 City People Entertainment Awards.
Songs like “Ebute Metta”, “Strong Thing” and “Yes/No” show a voice that understands R&B and Afropop music as a complete discipline. Nigeria’s King of R&B isn’t a nickname someone assigned him. Nothing about his music contradicts how he’s been described. His voice never reaches for what it can’t hold.
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8. Ric Hassani
Ric Hassani joined his sisters’ Anglican church choir at eight years old, he has admitted, mostly for the meat pies. But he also stayed for the music. That was his first platform and introduction to music. His debut album, The African Gentleman, came out in 2017. It has two standout songs titled “Gentleman” and “Only You”, which are some of the 2010s Afropop’s tightest love jams.
What makes Ric Hassani vocally distinct is his delivery, which doesn’t hurry. His arrangements can be acoustic-forward and deliberately minimalist. He is one of the purest Nigerian pop singers of his generation; clear in timbre, consistent across projects and completely impossible to confuse with anyone else.
7. Timi Dakolo
Timi Dakolo’s voice sits in a baritone-soul lane. He entered Idols West Africa in 2007, and in every week of the final three rounds, he had the most public votes. His eventual win earned him a deal with Sony BMG Africa, and he didn’t coast. He released “Great Nation”, a nationalist anthem. The popularity of “Iyawo Mi” makes it one of the top theme songs of Nigerian weddings. “Wish Me Well” won both Best Vocal Performance (Male) and Best Recording of the Year at The Headies 2015.
In 2019, he released Merry Christmas, Darling, which features a collaboration with British singer Emeli Sandé. His 2024 album, The Chorus Leader, which further showed his flex as a vocalist, received praise for its rich vocal arrangements. That specificity makes him unique and rewards listeners with a great listening experience.
6. Praiz
Praiz competed in the first season of Project Fame West Africa in 2008 and finished as second runner-up behind Iyanya. That placement was the launchpad. His 2012 single “Rich and Famous” was a hit. His double album of the same title, Rich & Famous, netted six Headies nominations in 2015, including Album of the Year, Best Vocal Performance (Male), and Best Collaboration for “Sisi” featuring Wizkid.
The John Legend comparison has followed him throughout his career, and it’s warranted. Both men sing with a rich, warm tone, and both can pivot between soulful restraint and dramatic high notes. What the comparison sometimes obscures is that Praiz is also a multi-instrumentalist and self-producing artist, with his music production is as deliberate as his vocals. He’s one of the most technically equipped vocalists in Nigerian music, even if the mainstream never fully gave him his flowers.
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5. WurlD
WurlD relocated to Atlanta as a teenager and spent years writing songs for other artists before he became one. His clients included artists working with Timbaland, as well as B.o.B, Trinidad James, Akon, and Mario. His 2016 single “Show You Off”, produced with Shizzi and Major Lazer’s Walshy Fire, is a huge Afrobeats song.
His 2019 collaborative album I Love Girls With Trobul with producer Sarz, and his 2020 solo project AfroSoul, confirmed what the singles already suggested: Wurld is a songwriter first, and that makes him a more interesting singer than most. He’s a captivating vocalist whose music catalogue deserves more credit.
4. Chike
Some people know Chike from the TV screen. Some from MTN Project Fame. Some from The Voice Nigeria Season 1. And others from his debut album Boo of the Booless, released in 2020, hit Number 1 on both Apple Music Nigeria and Deezer Nigeria, earned four Headies nominations, including Album of the Year, and accumulated over 200 million streams.
What makes Chike’s voice remarkable is its reliability. It’s the same quality in the studio as it is live. He doesn’t strain to reach what he can already hold with ease.
3. c
Darey is the son of Art Alade, a Nigerian jazz musician and TV pioneer. He also studied Music at the University of Lagos, then went on to study music theory, voice and classical piano at the Music Society of Nigeria (MUSON). He sang with the National Troupe of Nigeria Choir and was performing in clubs across Lagos and Ibadan by the age of 15. He came third in Project Fame West Africa in 2004, signed with Sony BMG Africa, and built one of the most disciplined catalogues in Nigerian R&B, spanning five studio albums.
His 2009 single “Not the Girl” was one of the biggest songs in Nigeria that year. He’s so good, he took the stage with his 15-piece Soul Band and delivered a 50-song medley to celebrate Nigerian Independence Day in 2010. He was the winning coach on The Voice Nigeria Season 3. Darey’s classical training is an added advantage to his craft and position as one of Afrobeats’ best vocalists.
2. Styl-Plus
Styl-Plus turned to secular music by 2001, and in late 2003 released two singles that landed on the radio with such force that the CDs and audiotapes sold out instantly. “Olufunmi” and “Runaway” were the most-requested love songs on Nigerian R&B radio for 2004 and 2005, respectively. Their group’s voice and style are distinctive.
Their songs “Imagine That” and “Four Years” are among their best works, too. They were called the African Boyz II Men, a flattering yet solid assessment. The way they layered harmonies, switched between English and Yoruba and made heartache sound like something worth sitting with was a one-of-one. One of Nigeria’s greatest boy bands.
1. Wande Coal
Wande Coal’s voice is so captivating; he was discovered the day Don Jazzy attended a campus show at the University of Lagos in 2006. He heard Wande Coal, contacted him the next day, and signed him to Mo’ Hits Records. Since then, Wande Coal has released hits such as “Ololufe,” his debut single from the Mo’ Hits Allstars compilation Curriculum Vitae, which is still widely regarded as the greatest love song written by a Nigerian. His debut album Mushin 2 Mo’ Hits won him five awards at the 2010 Hip Hop World Awards — the most of any artist at that edition — including Artiste of the Year and Revelation of the Year.
His voice is one of the most distinctive in Afrobeats history. From party bangers to aching ballads, he’s incredible. From “Bumper 2 Bumper” to “Iskaba” to Legend or No Legend and “DEARLY”, there has been no version of Wande Coal that isn’t excellent.
