Have you ever listened to a song and thought to yourself, “Can never be me?” Yes, we’ve done it too. While we bop to all the songs on this list, their lyrics are a little bit extra, if we’re being honest — it’s just small love, let’s all be calming down.
1. “Your lips like poison, I’ll take my chance with you.” — Lojay & Sarz, Monalisa
Poison? Poison? Somebody’s mother is praying for them everyday and they’re out here saying they want to chop poison because of knacks? Nah, we can’t – we won’t — relate. Na only one life wey person get
2. “See the way I dey beg you, shey bambi allah mo je ni?” — Ayra Starr & CKay, Beggie Beggie
Begging a man in this millennium? Sis, is Nigeria not tough enough for you? You want to drag your bad bitch cred in the mud? We don’t beg in this household, we collect applications, periodt.
3. “She making me bark a like a bingo” — PSquare, Alingo
Something about a woman making me bark like a dog just doesn’t sit right with my inner spirit. Is she a witch? Peter and Paul, please come out and explain to the class what this means because, whattt?.
4. “Dance and sweat like say na fight. We must to settle this thing tonight” — Tiwa Savage, All Over
Tiwa, sis, it’s not that deep. Are you in a relationship or Maltina Dance All?
5. “I will cross all the seven seas, just to give you what you need.” — Ric Hassani, Police
God forbid! What kind of pick me behaviour is this? Let’s not forget that Ric did all these things and the babe still showed him pepper. No wonder he’s now singing “Thunder fire you”. It is well.
6. “I don fight uniform men” — Omah Lay, Understand
LOL. Fighting uniform men because of love? When we’re not on crack? The answer is no. The crazy part, after all of this, his love interest still slept with his best friend and stole his pendant. In this life, it pays to be wicked.
7. “And I’m all up in your face like pimples” — Omoakin, Talosobe
Ewwwww.
8. “All my ego na for you” — Teni & Davido, For You
Imagine giving all your funds to someone after being a slave to capitalism five days (six or seven days in some offices) a week. Why the hell would I do that? Love? I don’t recognise that emotion.
9. “See you broke my heart but I wish you well” — Dwin, The Stoic, Ifunanyam
If you break my heart, it’s only God that will punish you. It’s not only “well”, it’s Wellington. Please, shift.
10. “She say make I dey choke her” — Ajebo Hustlers, Solace
So she can die and the police will arrest me? If anyone wants to be choked during coitus, they should please choke themselves. After all, we both have hands.
11. “You don’t need no other body” — Wizkid & Tems, Essence
As a Yoruba demon, I’m inclined to decline this suggestion. So Tems wants us to put all our eggs in one basket? What if they cancel on us? In this life, it’s important to have multiple backups.
12. “You should know I got you, but you don’t need to get me too” — Chike, Running
It’s all recipocrity in 2022, chief. Can’t be out here dying for someone who doesn’t care about you. Please, jazz up and move on. Life is short.
Anyone who’s seen Ozark will tell you that it’s a very creepy show with characters who just choose violence all the time. When they’re not blowing someone’s head off, they’re out adopting the children of the people they’ve killed. Since we like weird shit, we decided to re-imagine what the show would look like if it had a Nigerian cast. This list is chaotic, but trust us, we know what we’re doing. (Do we, though?)
Martin “Marty” Byrde — Ramsey Noah
He’s the kind of guy that goes for midweek service, drops his children off at school every morning with a kiss and still has time to launder drug money for a cartel. If there’s anyone who can pull off that nice guy with an evil deadly secret charm, it’s Ramsey Noah. One minute it’s “let’s kneel and pray,” but before you know it, you’re in a dungeon begging for your life.
Wendy Byrde — Nse Ikpe Etim
For this role, we need someone with range and no one does range like Nse. Starting out as the unhappy and oblivious wife, Wendy transformed into a ruthless boss bitch that scares everyone till date, including her beloved husband. Balancing motherhood with money laundering is a lot of work, but we’re sure Nse can handle it. After all, she did leave a mark on us in King of Boys before she was banished to Ajah.
Ruth Langmore — Jemima Osunde
Don’t be deceived by her ‘I’m just a small girl’ look, this character can do and undo. We’ve seen her kill her uncle, run a strip club and also kick a man in his balls before throwing him off a ship. She is dangerous AF. Even though we’ve not seen Jemima take on a role like this, we feel this would be the perfect time to show us what she’s capable of. Abi, what do you think?
Wyatt Langmore — Olumide Oworu
He’s very smart, but down the line, our guy starts having coital relations with a grandma. While we respect his choices, she’s a serial killer as well so it’s a bit tricky. Why do we think Olumide is the best guy for this role? Well, they’re like the same height and as casting agents, height is very important to us. T for thanks.
Darlene Snell — Patience Ozokwor
This is the grandma Wyatt is piping. She blows someone’s head off, kills a pastor’s wife and poisons her husband’s coffee; need we say more? The only difference is that Mama G would’ve probably done all of this using juju from the babalawo down the street. We Stan a queen that chooses traditional violence over colonizer violence. Yassssss.
Helen Pierce — Iretiola Doyle
She’s a girl boss who’s ruthless, well-dressed and well-spoken. This is probably the easiest casting for us because if there’s one person who can bitch-slap you while teaching you how to conjugate a verb, it’s Iretiola Doyle. Remember when she shaded her own daughter on the internet? Cold, but it just made us Stan harder.
Maya Miller — Ann Njemanze
She’s been playing a detective on Tinsel since Nigeria’s independence, might as well just continue that role on our imaginary show.
Ben Davis — OC Ukeje
He came in last season as the cool uncle and we fell in love with his character. If there’s someone who can embody Ben perfectly and make us root for his character, it’s OC Ukeje. This decision was hard because we’re still in tears over — never mind.
Frank Cosgrove Jr. — Etim Effiong
Every character he’s played so far has been annoying as hell so it just makes sense.
Omar Navarro — Bimbo Manuel
We needed someone who can pass for a nice grandpa and still run a global drug ring syndicate, so we turned to Bimbo Manuel. Omar is scary, but in a non-violent way. Does he want to kill me or does he want to give me money? With Omar, it’s hard to tell.
If you’ve been on Bubu’s internet over the past few weeks, you’ve probably come across a meme with an ugly green frog making an equally ugly face. Originally referred to as the Pepe The Frog meme, this image has been adopted by Nigerians and rebranded as “Comrade” on the TL. With all the drama surrounding its use, we’ve decided to ask Nigerians what they think about this new meme for Love It/Hate It.
Ajoke — “The meme is for bullies. Periodt.”
Nigerians like to act brand new when you call them out on their bullshit. These memes have been used to downplay sexual assault and harassment, misogyny, queerphobia and every other unnecessary phobia under the sun. Now that we’ve clocked it for what it is, people are coming out to say we don’t want “poor” people to have fun? From where to where? If you want to be a bully on social media, do it with your chest, you’re not a victim here. Shift.
Jeremiah — “It’s really not that deep.”
First of all, I don’t find the memes funny. That being said, I think people are overreacting. Every meme has been used negatively and this won’t be the first time. If you don’t find them funny, unlook and move on. Everybody go dey alright last last. There’s no reason why anyone should be writing a thesis over a stupid meme. It’s really not that deep.
Uche — “Not you guys caping for a razz meme.”
Before people come for me and call me classist, let me start by saying I use a ton of memes you guys might consider razz, but you see this frog thing? Ewww. It’s a meme people use when they can’t defend or make an intellectual argument. You’re trying to say something serious and in comes a couple of random people with the bloody meme. We need to kill it with fire abeg.
Bello — “Women hate seeing men happy. It’s that simple.”
If you look closely at most of the people nagging about the meme, you’ll realise it’s the women on the timeline. How are you seeing misogyny and homophobia from a meme? The truth is, if you look for something, you’ll probably find it and I think that’s what’s happening here. There’s just a lot of bitterness, and for what? But like Buju said, “No come use your reggae to spoil my blues and rhythm now.”
Karen — “What the hell is a ‘comrade meme’?”
This is the first time I’m hearing of this and I’ve been online almost every day this year. Wait….the frog thing? Does it have an identity? Mad o! I don’t use it and I doubt the people close to me do, so honestly, I could care less. People are actually dying.
Chinedu — “It’s not funny at all. Those memes are dangerous AF!”
As a trans man, I don’t find these memes funny at all. It’s easy for the heterosexual community — especially straight men — to dismiss the meme because it doesn’t affect them, but that doesn’t mean it’s not harmful to other people. How does trivialising people’s experiences and sufferings sound like a good idea to anyone? We complain a lot about suffering at the hands of the government, meanwhile, given the slightest opportunity, we are always excited to shit on other people. It’s messed up.
Daniel — “A lot of things are funny to different people for different reasons.”
I’ve never posted a comrade meme before, but whenever I see one, I burst out laughing. I like how many times they mix it with a picture of something pop culture-related. For example, yesterday, I saw one where someone put the frog head on the “12 Years A Slave” movie poster and changed the title to “12 Years A Comrade”, and I just couldn’t stop laughing. I don’t see any reason to hate it, but I also understand that like many other memes on the internet, people may use it for bad purposes. It’s the internet though, you should expect it.
It’s crazy how time flies. One minute you’re enjoying free food from your parents and the next thing you know, you’ve signed your soul off to become a slave to capitalism *deep negro sigh* As we get settled into the new year, we thought it’d be fun to take a little nostalgic trip down memory lane. Here’s a list of 10 songs that made 2012 memorable.
1. Dami Duro — Davido
Can you believe it’s been over 10 years since we heard “On the beat is Davido” for the first time? Wow. We’re officially old? While Back When introduced us to the baby-faced superstar in 2011, it was Dami Duro that solidified his spot as a game-changer and future leader of the afrobeats movement.
2. First of All — Olamide
If there’s one thing Nigerians know how to do, it’s “borrowing” a genre and doing it so well you might forget its original owner. Before amapiano, Nigerians copied the Azonto style of dance and music from our brothers and sisters in Ghana. A dark time also marked by “My Money Grows Like Grass” shirts and carrot jeans, this Olamide song was a major moment in 2012. Over 10 albums later (and one or two amapiano songs to his name), Olamide remains one of the most consistent artists in the game.
3. Kukere — Iyanya
This song was a classic case of when it’s your time, it’s your time. Iyanya was the undisputed breakout star of 2012 and this song was so inescapable, there’s a high chance your grandma might know the words. While he hasn’t been able to top his massive breakout hit, we still spy shirtless Iyanya once in a while on social media and honestly, we can’t complain.
4. Like to Party — Burna Boy
Before the African Giant title, Outsiders fan base and Grammy Award, Burna Boy was just a cute guy in a colourful vintage shirt and round glasses looking to have a good time. If someone had told us the Like to Party guy would become one of the biggest stars out of Africa, we would have told them to jump into the lagoon. These days, when he’s not touring the world, our fave is constantly saying problematic shit on social media. God save us.
5. Ihe Neme — Tuface Idibia
Did we understand half of the lyrics in this song? No. Did we dance to it like our lives depended on it? Yes. Is Tuface Idibia an icon? Yes. Well, enough said.
6. Chop My Money (Remix) — PSquare
The fact that we were singing this song knowing fully well that we had zero money to be consumed still cracks me up. Money? Where is it, dear? PSquare was in their bag when this song dropped. Back then, getting a feature with artists like Akon was like scoring a Grammy nomination. How times have changed. Even though they had a messy breakup, our fave twins are back together again. Mary Slessor would be proud.
7. Kako Bi Chicken — Reminisce
When Reminisce popped up on the scene, no one was doing it like him. Yes, we had Olamide and before that, we had Dagrin and Jazzman Olofin, but no one delivered with ginger and cockiness like Reminisce. While Reminisce might have transitioned into a Netflix baddie, Kako Bi Chicken remains a classic in our books.
8. Beat of Life — Sarz & Wizkid
10 years later and we’re not sure we know what “Samba” means. However, if there’s one thing we’re sure of, it’s that this song was and still is a bonafide hit. What is Sarz up to these days? Well, our fave is still dropping hits, left, right and centre (Monalisa, duh).
9. Kedike — Chidinma
Remember when Chidinma still sang “worldly” music? Good times. This song was such a hit, Chidinma changed her name to Miss Kedike, because why not? From project fame to the top of the chart to Nollywood and now whatever she’s doing next, it’s safe to say Chidinma has lived many lives.
10. Omo Pastor — Ajebutter22 & BOJ
Before the alté movement became a salient part of the musical conversation in Nigeria, artists like Ajebutter22 and BOJ were already shifting the narrative surrounding Nigerian music. We didn’t know what alté meant at the time, but we noticed that this song came with a different vibe. A decade later and songs like this are quickly becoming the norm. We love to see it.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. We feel old too.
If you have been watching anime for a long time or you’re a beginner, eventually the cosplay bug will hit you, but your bank account might not get the memo. After reading this article, There’s no reason why you should wear jeans and a t-shirt to a comic con because the floor is the bar for these cosplay ideas.
1. Go as Luffy
Why? All you need is a redshirt, just remember to cut the hands and pair it with stonewashed blue jeans shorts and a straw hat. Everyone might judge you for being a fan of that long ass anime, but they go dey alright.
2. L from Death note
He wears a white long sleeve and jeans, that’s an easy cosplay since you’ll most likely have those in your wardrobe. To nail this look though, make sure you always sit with your knees against your body as he does and randomly keep your thumb close to your mouth. Bonus points if you carry a plate filled with cake.
3. Yato from Noragami
If you are not the kind of person that wears tracksuits -and honestly no one should be- you might have to buy this one. You’d need a white t-shirt and could use an old white shirt as a scarf. The problem now is that ugly ass boot he wears. Luckily, Nigerians sell the weirdest things. Finding affordable cowboy boots will be easy.
4. Killua from Hunter X Hunter
For this cosplay, you’ll need a blue turtleneck long sleeve, a white v-neck t-shirt and grey shorts. You could bleach your hair white, and for the final touch, you must make all your entire family skilled assassins.
5. Karasuno’s Team Uniforms
In Haikyuu, the high school volleyball players wear orange and black sports uniforms. To create this look you can thrift any black and orange jersey that you like, black kneepads, hold a ball and of course, wear sports shoes.
6. Kids from the promised neverland
These kids have a very simple outfit that consists of simple white collared shirts paired with white pants or a pleated skirt. To achieve the look of any specific character though, you’d have to use the character’s respective wig and number on the neck. You’d wear plain clothes too if you had to die.
7. Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen
Gojo’s outfit should be easy enough to find since it’s a plain black high-necked jacket with matching black pants, check your dad’s wardrobe maybe? You can always dye a white handkerchief black and tie it around your head. It would be a plus to bleach your hair white and behave like a millennial that thinks he’s GenZ.
After a pretty dim 2020 caused by the arrival of a global panini and a general lockdown, Nollywood seems to be getting back on its feet.
This year marked the return of massive cinema blockbusters, interesting streaming options that stole our weekends and subtle indie underdogs that might have gone unnoticed by the public. Carrying these films are actors whose performances either moved us deeply or left us unconvinced by their character’s actions, motivations and sometimes, accent.
To wrap up the year, we spoke to five Nollywood critics and enthusiasts on the acting performances that defined Nollywood in 2021.
Daniel Okechukwu, Inside Nollywood – Nonso Bassey in La Femme Anjola
Nonso Bassey’s turn in La Femme Anjola is proof that singers can be excellent actors too — after all, singing is performing. As the antihero in this Nollywood Noir, he’s both tender and lethal. He gives a thorough leading performance, made more remarkable by the fact that he was going toe to toe with an icon like Rita Dominic.
Bassey’s performance doesn’t succumb to Dominic’s, it compliments it. His performance shows an actor who can do it all if he’s pushed — he can be charming, ferocious, naughty and intense. Give him more leading roles.
Anita Eboigbe,NollywoodAnd – Ijeoma Grace Agu in Swallow
The one good thing that made Kunle Afolayan’s Swallow bearable enough to watch was Ifeoma Grace Agu’s obvious commitment to the role. Agu is not a flashy actress but she transforms into the characters she plays from Taxi Driver to Sylvia and now, Swallow. Her performance helps you get over your disappointment in the way the film turns out.
Dika Ofoma, Freelance Writer – Nengi Adoki in Juju Stories
As Joy, Nengi Adoki is as sultry as she is menacing (while looking like a deeper life babe). How did she achieve this? In the hands of a different actor, Joy could’ve been over the top, theatrical, but Adoki stays in control and keeps her restrained. Her performance helps with the mystery surrounding the character and there’s something about her eyes that just terrifies you.
Adoki’s turn as Joy is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from Nollywood.
Ikeade Oriade, What Kept Me Up – Adedimeji Lateef in Ayinla
We can visit any Nollywood set tomorrow to hand this actor his award because I’m sure we’ll find him on every film set. Not a cloned actor, not a double, it’s just Adedimeji Lateef. He is probably the hardest working actor in Nollywood, appearing in at least five major releases of 2021.
His performance as the titular character in the critically and commercially successful Ayinla is worthy of being highlighted.
Wilfred Okiche, Freelance Writer – Jude Akuwudike in Eyimofe
It’s easy to be skeptical about Jude Akuwudike’s casting as an average low-income Nigerian in Eyimofe (This is My Desire), after all, this is an actor who has an English accent after living and working in the UK for years. However, when you meet his character, your doubts settle over time because he does a wonderful job in the role.
The way Akuwudike works with his face and body, you get to see and feel every emotion his character is navigating on-screen. The best part, his performance is very subtle and non-showy. It’s all very introspective.
Every December, we beat our chests and say we’ve had enough of Nigerian artists taking us as mugs by showing up late to their concerts. We said this in 2018, 2019, skipped 2020 because of Miss Rona and now, we’re saying it again in 2021. Our frustrations forced us to do some digging as to why artists always show up late for shows. These are some of the reasons we found.
They’re fornicating
Ever wondered why artists come on stage with zero energy to perform? Well, it’s probably because they’ve been busy with another performance behind closed doors. While the rest of us were out there squeezed like sardines in a tight space, our faves were getting some tender loving care. After all, body no be firewood.
Smoking igbeaux
This is the best explanation for why most artists jump up and down on stage like a yoyo. Sometimes they even forget their lyrics, forcing us to sing their songs out loud. Please, dear, we paid to watch you perform, not the other way around. Why am I the one singing? Let’s be careful.
Attending prayer meeting
It’s important to commit everything to a higher power, but please why are you going for a prayer meeting while the rest of us are outside waiting to whine our waist to your music? My friend, you better drop that anointing oil and hop on stage. You can go back to praying for your enemies to die by fire tomorrow. For now, we need premium enjoyment.
Boiling beans
The concert is meant to start at 6 p.m and yet you decided to start boiling brown beans by 5:55 p.m? At this point, it’s safe to assume that most of our fave artists are just wicked, because why? It’s almost like they looked at their fans and thought, “fans are important, but hot beans is importanter.”
Fighting imaginary haters online
Before you can shout watimagbo, Nigerian artists will drop five songs about how their haters are waiting for them to fail. The funny thing is, half of the time, these haters are a pure figment of their imagination. To be honest, no one cares. So, instead of spending time cussing out imaginary haters, we could all just have a good time twerking and sweating.
Relaxing their beard
We all love vanity, but this is where we draw the line. Have some shame.
Stealing amapiano beats
Everyone is making amapiano music now. While we can’t say we’re mad at it, we doubt stealing your producer’s hard drive is an activity that should be done while the rest of us are queuing to watch you perform. This is a classic case of doing the right thing at the wrong time.
Sleeping
The heart of man is desperately wicked. This is the only logical explanation as to why an artist would be asleep while their fans are fighting through large crowds to be close to the stage. This happens all the time and one day, they will wake up, come to the venue and perform for ghosts because we would have had enough.
Waiting for the fans to die of frustration because suffering builds character
Dear Nigerian artists, the evil you have done is enough. We have had enough. Thank you.
Since amapiano became a thing last year, many Nigerian artists have tried their hands at it, either as originals or as guests on remixes. With 2021, showing an explosion of the genre on the Nigerian music scene, we decided to rank some of our favorite afrobeats-amapiano crossovers from the past year.
10. Too Sweet (O dun) – Niniola
Niniola has already shown us that deep down, she’s South African. Taking over the afro-house music scene, it made sense for her to take a stab at another South African genre. If we ever doubted her, Squander was staring us right in the face. Too Sweet has become the go-to “I came to slay” song on social media and honestly, we can’t stop listening.
9. 44 – Ayanfe
While Ayanfe’s name might not be popular, we have a strong feeling you’ve heard this song before. Off his recent All that Matters EP, this joint also features verses from other upcoming acts like Mystro and Jamopyper.
8. Stella Riddim – Wavy the Creator
Wavy the Creator is one of those artists you can’t put in a box. We doubt there’s a genre she hasn’t tried out (and done well, to be honest). Jumping on the amapiano train with some help from Ckay and Ghana’s Efya, Stella Riddim is a standout track from her new EP, PS: Thank you for waiting.
7. Mosafejo – Dunnie
With production credit on songs for Wande Coal, Yemi Alade, Niniola and Focalistic, singer Dunnie is not new to the music scene. While her work as a producer might grab your attention, it’s her amapiano inspired single, Mosafejo that will have you pulling out all the moves you’ve picked up from Instagram. If her single is this good, then we are ready for her upcoming album.
6. Come My Way – Wande Coal
You know it’s real when folks like Wande Coal decide to hop on a vibe. A match made in musical heaven for us, we got a chance to hear our Black Diamond flex his voice on one of the sickest amapiano beats of the year. Are we upset that Davido’s verse didn’t make the final song? Yes. But that doesn’t mean this version doesn’t slap, because omo, it does.
5. Ozumba Mbadiwe – Reekado Banks
If someone told us that after a string of major misses Reekado Banks would have one of the biggest songs of the year, we would have called the person a detty liar. This song came out in October and now just like the traffic on the road it’s named after, we can’t escape it. Major shout-out to Reekado for doing the needful by paying tribute to victims of the Lekki toll gate massacre of October 2020. We have a feeling that amapiano might be his true calling, who knows?
4. Yaba Buluku – DJ Tarico, Burna Boy and Nelson Tivane
Contrary to what you might think, this song isn’t even South African, it’s from Mozambique. This goes to show the rate at which amapiano has infiltrated not just the Nigerian music scene, but Africa as a whole. Leave it to Burna Boy to add his Jerusalema magic to the song for the rest of the world to catch up. Like most of the other crossover hits on this list, we don’t know what the lyrics mean. But who cares? We’ve already learnt the dance steps and that’s enough.
3. High – Adekunle Gold and Davido
Is it okay for us to admit that Adekunle Gold hasn’t missed all year? Because look at the receipts. Since dropping Afro Pop, Vol. 1 last year, he has been serving us hit after hit. When we heard about his collaboration with Davido, naturally, we knew it was going to bang but did we expect it to bang this hard? No. High is one of the best examples of taking amapiano and making it as Nigerian as possible without removing the sauce that made us fall in love with the genre. Maybe we’re pushing it at this point, but we wouldn’t mind a joint EP from these two.
2. Ke Star Remix – Focalistic, Davido and Virgo
Remixes work sometimes and other times they just end up being a hot pile of garbage. Already a massive hit when the original dropped in 2020, the Ke Star remix is a major example of a remix that works. With everyone constantly shouting OBO’s famous “E goes down when my gs connect”, we doubt anyone remembers the original. Do you?
1. Monalisa – Lojay and Sarz
When Lojay and Sarz dropped their joint EP LV N ATTN, our focus was immediately drawn to the title track featuring Wizkid and then, it eventually shifted to another hit on the album, Tonongo. While we were focusing on these two, Monalisa came out of nowhere and became one of the biggest songs of the year. This song proves yet again that there’s nothing Sarz can’t do. Is Lojay saying “Monalisa” or “Monalisan”? Well, hold on, let’s listen again, maybe we’ll figure it out this time.
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.
As afrobeats continues to expand, artists of our generation are reaching back to pull inspiration from older artists and genres that rocked the Nigerian music scene back in the day. From Abas Akande Obesere to King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM 1), the influence of these iconic artists can be found in the songs we’re streaming today.
Here are six artists whose songs pull from the never-ending groove of fuji music:
Olamide – Anifowose
With over 10 albums to his name, Olamide is one of the most consistent hitmakers of his generation. On his 2013 album, Baddest Guy Ever Liveth, Nigeria’s number one baddo takes us on a trip down memory lane thanks to his lyricism and badass sample of KWAM 1’s fuji hit, Orin Abode Mecca Medley, which was released in the 1980s.
Naira Marley – Pxta and Opotoyi
While Burna Boy has made a name for himself as the King of Fela samples, Naira Marley is another artist that deserves a crown of his own, this time, for sampling some of our favourite fuji bangers. Tapping another musical rebel, two of the Marlian leader’s hits from 2019 sample songs from fuji legend, Obesere. On Pxta, there’s a clear sample of Obesere’s 2002 song, Obutun. And on Opotoyi, Naira Marley dips his hand into the Obesere bag to pull out Papa Worldwide.
Teni – Askamaya
Teni cemented her position as one of the most exciting stars to watch out for when she dropped this song in 2018. We couldn’t escape Askamaya because it was everywhere. Becoming a popular street and club anthem, it samples Adewale Ayuba’s old school fuji hit, Omoge Cinderella.
Wurld – Contagious
The song might not contain a direct sample of a pre-existing fuji song, but there’s no denying that Wurld’s 2019 song, Contagious contains, wait for it, a contagious fuji sound. An interesting bridge between the fuji sound and Nigeria’s booming alte scene, this song is definitely one of our favourites on the list.
DJ Tunez and Adekunle Gold – My Love
Right after the massive success that was Iskaba, DJ Tunez brought our favourite Zaddy (he wasn’t a zaddy at the time) onboard the song, My Love. Proving yet again to be one of afrobeats most in-demand lover boys, Adekunle Gold sings about happiness and love on a song that samples KWAM 1’s Can’t Just Stop Thinking about You.
Odunsi the Engine – Fuji 5000
This Odunsi single is what happens when you take fuji music, mix it with an energy drink, and dye its hair bright blonde. On paper, it sounds crazy, but something about it works. I guess we just like chaotic music.
This Sunday, 19th of December, FUJI: A: OPERA presents FUJI Vibrations.
1 stage. 5 Fuji Stars.
Venue: Muri Okunola Park Victoria Island.
Time: 5pm
Click this link to register. Registration is free.
