There’s no way I’m the only one who’s rinsed Amaarae’s Fountain Baby countless times since it came out. Amaarae, girl, I’m sorry if your mouth hurts from me replaying your album; it’s just too good.
In just 40 minutes, Amaarae takes us on a journey of sex, partying, designer clothes, astrology, expensive cars and most importantly, what it feels like to be a bad bitch.
Source: Zikoko Memes
Princess Going Digital
Source: Zikoko Memes
“I been going out like a bad bitch”
“Tryna find love, but ninjas be doing the most”
Bad bitches catch feelings, too. Princess Going Digital is for the bad bitches that know they’re fly but wouldn’t mind finding a lover who’s ready to match their energy. Amaarae is asking for someone to take her off the streets, and all of you are dulling? Shame.
Angels in Tibet
Source: Giphy
“Y’all bitches boring”
“Don’t you want to taste it?”
Where are my main character girlies? You know those who swear they’re the Beyoncé of their friend group? Yes, Angels in Tibet is for all of us. It’s not easy being the most wanted and hottest in any room we step into. Like Wande Coal once said, “Wo ko wa je bi amala ati ewedu”.
Reckless and Sweet
Source: Zikoko Memes
“Looking at me, you get goosebumps”
“Call me when the money come come come”
Bad bitches don’t play with poverty, and that’s on Eucharia Anunobi’s eyebrows. Reckless and Sweet is an anthem for bad bitches who disagree with Tinubu on letting the poor breathe. They have their own funds, there’s no way you can step to them when your bank account is giving struggle energy. Run along now.
Co-Stars
Source: Meme Monkey
“I met a girl, she a saint and a demon”
“Down to earth but way too high”
Astrology babies, get in here because Amaarae just made a new anthem for you. From sex with a Gemini feeling like a threesome (multiple personalities, sho get?) to Leos being hot but unloyal, Amaarae drags each sign by their edges, giving us a rulebook on which ones to avoid. Thanks, girl.
Amaarae is on fire, name-dropping Mowalola, singing about pulling up to the motive in a fly Mercedes, partying hard and getting faded like it’s no man’s business. This isn’t your average bad bitch anthem. This is Gwen Stefani-level luxurious.
Sex, Violence, Suicide
Source: Zikoko Memes
“Ruin your day and then I take a bow”
“Want a feeling. Something real tonight”
What is it with bad bitches and true crime? Famous serial killers Ted Bundy and Wayne Gacy are referenced in this song that finds Amaarae down bad, asking her lover to tell her she’s the best. Once again, it’s okay to be a bad bitch and like someone. It’s the duality of bad bitchery.
Water from Wine
Source: Zikoko Memes
“Call me for tongue in tongue”
“Shawty I can’t be caught in no love”
Who says you can’t eat your cake and have it? Water from Wine is for the sexually liberated bad bitches (to be honest, you can’t be a bad bitch without being sexually liberated) who want to have a good time and dip. No long talk. Take off your pants; we’re here for a good time; not a long time.
Is it me, or is 2022 running? Just yesterday, we were all shouting, “Happy New Year”, and now we’re in June looking through some of the albums that have gotten us through the year so far. From big comebacks to long-awaited debuts, this year has definitely given us incredible music (and small fuel scarcity too sha).
V — Asa
If someone had told me in 2021 that I’d be dancing to an Asa song in the club this year, I’d have called them a detty liar. But here we are. After creating a blueprint for many alternative artists we listen to today with her self-titled debut album, Asa decided to surprise us this year with a new sound on V. With features from Wizkid, The Cavemen and Amaarae, Asa shows us that she refuses to be boxed. We’re witnessing the evolution of Asa in real time, and we’re here for the ride.
Raves and Roses — Rema
Three years after he had the world (including former President Barack Obama) dancing to his debut self-titled EP, Rema kicked off 2022 with his debut album, Rave & Roses. On songs like Soundgasm and Dirty, Rema shows that he’s fully mastered how to make music for people who like sex but just haven’t had it yet. However, he truly shines when he lets go of the premature sex icon image on songs like Addicted, Divine and Are You There?.
Outlaw — Victony
Mayourkun’s Holy Father was one of the defining tracks of 2021, thanks to Victony’s smooth vocals. Stepping into the new year and on everybody’s radar as the artist to watch, Victony delivered again with his kickass EP, Outlaw. With songs like Apollo, Outlaw, Kolomental, Soweto, Jolene, and my favourite, Ole, aka “all power belong to your bumbum”, Victony has successfully created an EP with zero skips.
Catch Me If You Can — Adekunle Gold
If you thought Adekunle Gold’s rebrand ahead of Afropop Vol. 1 was a phase, then his new album, Catch Me If You Can, is what you need to remind you that AG Baby is here to stay. Pulling out the big guns (Fatoumata Diawara, Davido, Lucky Daye and Ty Dolla $ign) for this album, Adekunle solidifies his spot as one of the most exciting voices of new school Afrobeats.
Listening to Obongjayar feels like you’re reading someone’s diary. His music is personal, yet the themes and the stories he tells feel universal because we’ve all lived them. On Some Nights I Dream of Doors, he urges us to keep hustling in Try and Sugar, while also reminding us that we deserve better with Tinko Tinko (Don’t Play Me for a Fool). This album feels real because the artist behind it is honest with his emotions.
Bahd — Falz
Falz is all about being a baby boy in 2022 and I can’t even be mad at it. The rapper/actor/activist/all-the-other-things-he-does makes a comeback with Bahd, an album that sounds totally different from 2019’s Moral Instruction. With Bahd, Falz is more concerned with having a good time than telling you the difference between right and wrong. Songs like All Night, Another Me, Knee Down, Parampe and Inside will follow you everywhere because they’re just that good.
Riddim 5 — Fave
It’s hard to remember musical moments from 2021 and not think of Fave’s Baby Riddim. It was that song everyone sang till it became annoying. While Fave might not have been able to recreate the magic of Baby Riddim, her EP, Riddim 5, shows us that she’s here for the long haul, with compelling love songs like Obsessed and Mr. Man..
SUBARU WORLD: FINAL HEAVEN — Cruel Santino
Saying you know what to expect from a Cruel Santino record sets you up for disappointment. SUBARU WORLD: FINAL HEAVEN shows a side of Cruel Santino we didn’t get on Mandy & The Jungle (to be fair, even his name was different back then). This album is more daring, more cohesive and louder than anything he’s put out. But there’s one big problem, though, 21-tracks? Cruel, who has time for alladat?
Can you correctly name the album/EP these songs are from? Give it a try:
This year alone, we were met with an overnight Twitter ban and also threatened with another ban that almost prevented our fave IJGBs from spoiling us with foreign currency this Christmas. Through all of these things, music has held us up together in one piece, helping us think, connect or just whine our waists. From the artists we discovered by ourselves to those we stole from other people’s playlists, this has been a good year for Nigerian music. Looking back, we decided to rank some of the albums that gave us good vibes (some made us cry sha) this year.
20. SGaWD – Savage Bitch Juice EP
The rap girls are making an entry into the scene and honestly, we’re here for it. Since she started popping up on our radar with features on songs with Dusten Truce and Sute Iwar, this fearless and unapologetic rapper has demanded our attention. Featuring Princess Mami and Somadina, on her debut EP, SGaWD reminds us that she’s the shit and the rest of us are just playing catch-up.
19. Buju – Sorry I’m Late
Buju is everywhere these days. Providing hooks for artists like Ladipoe, Blaqbonez, and Timaya, you can hardly go through a full day and not hear Buju’s voice somewhere. Buju released the EP Sorry I’m Late to a lot of anticipation. Does it match the energy we expected from the guy whose vocals carried the year? No. But we also can’t deny that this was quite an interesting record.
18. Kizz Daniel – Barnabas
Kizz Daniel is a certified hitmaker at this point. Since Woju attained wedding anthem status, he has switched record labels and changed his name. But despite all these changes, Kizz Daniel has remained reliable, pushing out earworm after earworm. On Barnabas, he maintains the same relatability that has made his songs slap over the years. While we’d like for some artistic evolution, the project carries enough weight to land itself on this list.
17. Ajebo Hustlers – Kpos Lifestyle, Vol. 1
If there was one song that soundtracked the #EndSARS protest of 2020, it’s Ajebo Hustler’s Barawo. Highlighting most of the issues young Nigerians were talking about in their demand for better, the song immediately catapulted this group to the top of the charts. But how do you follow up a song — no, a cultural movement — like that? The result is their debut album, Kpos Lifestyle, Vol.1, which sees the duo create standout moments while maintaining the same in-your-face Port Harcourt energy that made them popular in the first place.
16. Psycho YP – Euphoria EP
Psycho YP is in a league of his own when it comes to making trap and rap in Nigeria. Breaking out of the “Abuja-based” tagline to become a formidable force in his own right, Euphoria shows the artist at his best — hyper expressive, intense and confident AF.
15. Ladipoe – Providence EP
After years of mind-blowing guest appearances and some standout solo moments, Providence EP introduces one of our favorite rappers to a new, larger audience. Songs like Love Essential and Law of Attraction are sure to make it to your bedroom playlist, but it’s on the title track, Providence that Ladipoe reminds us who’s boss. Is this the same Ladipoe that gave us Can’t Forget and the iconic rap verse on Show Dem Camp’s Victoria Island of Broken Dreams? No, but that’s okay, the change here is a welcome one.
14. Prettyboy D-O – Love is War
Prettyboy D-O may just be to this generation what artists like Baba Fryo, Danfo Drivers and Daddy Showkey were to listeners during their time. Drawing from the late 1990s and early 2000s, Prettyboy’s influence goes beyond his multicolored hair and fashion choices; his music is brash and convoluted in a way that keeps you hungry for more. Love is War, his third album in four years, explores love (obviously) and what it means to be a young Nigerian navigating a country that keeps moving mad.
13. Show Dem Camp – Clone Wars Vol.5 – The Algorhythm
When discussing Nigeria’s rap or alternative scene, Show Dem Camp is sure to come up at some point. A decade after releasing their debut album, The Dreamer Project, Tec and Ghost have continued to remain relevant fixtures on both scenes. While their Palmwine series might bring them a lot of commercial attention, it’s the Clone Wars series that binds real SDC stans together. And in this installment, they don’t disappoint either.
12. Teni – Wondaland
After making a major break into the industry with the fuji-inspired Askamaya in 2019, Teni finally put out her debut album this year, and it was worth the wait. Covering afropop, trap, highlife, R&B and yes, house music, Teni gave us bop after bop with songs like For You and Injure Me. But it’s songs like Hustle—which sounds a lot like Uyo Meyo—that remind us that our sugar mummy is an intentional storyteller.
11. Blaqbonez – Sex Over Love
Blaqbonez is to Nigeria what Lil Nas X is to American pop culture. Self-marketing his way into our playlists and hearts, Blaqbonez not only understands the power of the internet, he has also mastered the art of sharing authentic and relatable content. This same authenticity is evident on his album Sex Over Love. While a lot of questions have been raised about the strength of Nigeria’s rap scene, this album proves that rap doesn’t always have to be a monolith; it could be many things all at once.
10. Cavemen – Love and Highlife
In a year where GOATS like Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy and Davido all dropped albums, one album that stood out from the pack was Roots by The Cavemen. Continuing their two-man mission of introducing highlife to a new generation, Love and Highlife is an expansion on the story they started last year. Featuring appearances by Made Kuti and legendary producer Cobhams Asuquo, this album has “modern classic” written all over it.
9. Joeboy – Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic
You have to have been living under a rock not to have heard at least four or five songs off this album. Focus was a regular on TikTok and Instagram stories, while Show Me was playing literally every time we turned on the radio. If there’s something we’ve learnt this year, it’s that this is Joeboy’s world, and the rest of us are just squatting in it.
8. Tiwa Savage – Water and Garri EP
When Tiwa Savage announced a new EP barely a year after dropping the best album of her decade-long career, we were shocked but excited. Water & Garri proves yet again that Tiwa is great at creating cohesive sounding EPs (Sugarcane, everybody?). While the album opens with Nas and features a collaboration with her vocal role model, Brandy, it’s the songs with alternative acts Amaarae and Tay Iwar that carry the heavy punches on this EP.
7. Tems – If Orange was a Place
From cracking the Billboard Hot 100 to securing a Grammy nomination and hanging out with Adele and Rihanna, there’s no denying that we all want to be Tems right now. If last year’s For Broken Ears found Tems asking existential questions while telling madmen not to call her phone, If Orange was a Place shows a more confident artist, one who finally understands, but still doesn’t buy into the hype around her.
6. Femi and Made Kuti – Legacy +
Does being a Kuti automatically translate to being super talented? We have a lot of questions about this because why did Femi and Made Kuti snap so hard on this cross-generational album? Already a Grammy contender, this album is a beautiful nod to the past and a clear sign that the Kuti clan can step into the future without losing the ethos of what made them iconic in the first place.
5. Lojay and Sarz – LV N ATTN EP
Sarz has told us time and time again that he’s not our mate, and while we already believe him, every year, he drops something to make sure we don’t forget. LV N ATTN finds Sarz working with Lojay to create a record that soundtracks a wild night out in the city. From the strip club on Tonongo to the dancefloor on Monalisa, this EP is filled with bangers. We can’t stop listening, and to be honest, it’s not like we want to.
4. Tay Iwar – Love and Isolation
Inspired by the lockdown, Tay Iwar’s sixth project is an elite body of work that will make you want to give someone your mumu button, eat hot breakfast and still fall in love again like it’s jazz. Minimalistic and burning with intensity, we didn’t even know how much we needed this EP until we started listening to it.
3. Ayra Starr – 19 & Dangerous
This time last year, less than a handful of people outside the Mavin headquarters could identify the name “Ayra Starr”. Fast-forward to today and Ayra Starr has cemented her spot as Nigeria’s first teenage female pop star and one of the most in-demand artists of the moment. With confidence way beyond her years, Ayra owns every track on this album. Not all of us are 19, but we can totally relate to wanting to be a bad bitch every day. A rare no-skips project, 19 & Dangerous was one of our musical highlights of the year.
2. Olamide – UY Scuti
This is Olamide’s 11th album. Yes, not one, not two, but 11 whole albums, and we’re not disappointed. While Carpe Diem was filled with hits like Loading and Infinity, this album replaces crowd-pleasers to show an evolution in his lyricism and approach to story-telling. He also reminds us of the importance of fighting for our lives by avoiding broke niggas. Talk about life nuggets.
1. Wizkid – Made in Lagos (Deluxe Version)
Yes, we know the album originally came out in 2020 but was Anoti, Mood, or Steady on the old one? No. If Wiz drops deluxe plus next year, best believe it would make our end-of-the-year list again. Periodt.
2021 was indeed a very eventful year. In the spirit of remembering how this year was, let’s tell you which 2021 Nigerian album you are.
Take the quiz:
2019 had a ton of great Nigerian albums, courtesy of big-name stars like Burna Boy and rising phenoms like Lady Donli. While all of these releases came with solid singles, all of them still have non-singles that are worthy of our attention as well.
Burna Boy’s “Wetin Man Go Do” (African Giant)
Burna Boy’s Grammy-nominated magnum opus, African Giant is overflowing with excellent deep cuts, but a clear standout is the hustler’s anthem, “Wetin Man Go Do”. Even Kel-P, the album’s primary producer, declared it his favourite track.
Lady Donli’s “Take Me Home” (Enjoy Your Life)
Lady Donli’s debut album, Enjoy Your Life was easily one of the best releases of 2019. While a lot of tracks on the LP could have made this list, the strongest has to be the BenjiFlow-assisted “Take Me Home”, an immensely sensual song about the allure of the chase.
Santi’s “RX-64” (Mandy & The Jungle)
On Santi’s transportive, genre-defying debut album, Mandy & Jungle, the singer invites us into his vivid universe, and the sun at its centre is the KrisIrie-aided “RX-64 (The Jungle)”. Excellently produced by Odunsi, the hypnotic deep cut shows Santi at his magnetic best.
Asa’s “Stay Tonight” (Lucid)
With Lucid, Asa’s masterful fourth album, the singer-songwriter brilliantly explored the messiness of love and heartbreak. On “Stay Tonight”, the LP’s dreamiest deep cut, she looks to heal from the hurt, bravely putting herself back out there in search of the one.
Simi’s “Immortal” (Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1)
On Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1, Simi tackles a host of different themes — from loss to fame — but it’s on “Immortal”, her sexiest song to date, that she truly shines. With a fantastic assist from Maleek Berry, “Immortal” is further proof of Simi’s dynamic range.
Falz’s “Follow Follow” (Moral Instruction)
Thanks to Sess’ faultless production work, Falz’s Moral Instruction emerged as one of the most technically impressive albums of 2019. The track that most perfectly encapsulates the album’s sonic mastery is “Follow Follow”, a Fela-inspired gem that calls out posers.
Davido’s “Get To You” (A Good Time)
The most cohesive project of Davido’s career, A Good Time finds the afropop juggernaut celebrating happiness and love. For the latter theme, the song that does the best job of capturing that is “Get To You” — a delightfully toned down and deeply romantic effort.
Tay Iwar’s “DON’T KNOW” (Gemini)
Tay Iwar is one of our most gifted musical minds, and he proved that on his astonishing debut, Gemini. Every song on the LP is a testament to his genius, but “DON’T KNOW”, which features his equally brilliant brother, Suté Iwar, shines just a little bit brighter.
Fireboy DML’s “Like I Do” (Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps)
With Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps, Fireboy DML delivered one of the strongest afropop debut albums we’ve had in years. While littered with beautifully written and performed songs, a clear standout on the project is “Like I Do” — a truly heartwarming love song.
YCee’s “Dada” (YCee Vs Zaheer)
YCee’s debut album, YCee Vs Zaheer, served as an infallible reminder of his range — both as a singer and a rapper — but it was on the Dapo Turbuna-assisted “Dada”, easily the project’s most infectious deep cut, that he reminded us just how much fun he could be as well.
1. C.V by the Mo’Hits All-Stars.
Before they split up and broke our hearts.
2. Mushin2Mohits by Wande Coal.
A classic by the ‘Jewel of Mushin’.
3. Face2Face by 2Face.
2baba! This was his original child, before the 20 children.
4. Superstar by Wizkid.
Before the Starboy, there was the Superstar.
5. The Entertainer by D’banj.
The kokomaster himself has to be in our top 10.
6. MI1 by M.I
Kickstarted the rap scene in Nigeria, we owe M.I a lot.
7. Gongo Aso by 9ice.
Street credibility lomo!
8. The W Experience by Banky W.
I used to sing ‘Strong Ting’ to any girl that would listen.
9. Expressions by Styl Plus.
Nigerias premiere boy-band.
10. C.E.O by Dagrin.
RIP to the godfather of rap, no one ever comes close.
