Silver N
2018 has been a fantastic year for Nigerian artists. Hits were dropped back to back and if our feelers are correct, hits will be dropped before the year ends. While these songs were made by various acts, some artistes stood out in the cycle in review. These ones were consistent throughout the year and from dropping major hits to headlining major concerts, we have curated the top 10 acts this year. Enjoy, share.
- Davido
Davido has had an incredible year. Rather than rest on his laurels from 2017, he consolidated on all his wins and has made his crew – DMW – the number one music group in Nigeria. He dropped songs like Assurance – with a video featuring his girlfriend Chioma, Nwa Baby, Wonder Woman, and so on. He also made good his promise at the Headies where he said “we rise by lifting others” by featuring in a lot of songs by other people. He sold out shows all over the world and won coveted awards. Away from music, he ‘launched’ his own private jet, campaigned for his uncle who was running for governor and did all these while serving the nation as a Youth Corper. Incredible David.
- Wizkid
Wizkid has been king for so long, it’s hard to imagine a time when he wasn’t relevant. He collaborated with his Starboy team to drop one of the biggest songs this year – Soco – and has remained on our playlists with songs like Nowo ft Spinall and kept the media buzzing with the Fever video that showed him and his bestie – Tiwa Savage – being all … nevermind.
Wizkid also brought Duncan Mighty back to the limelight when he featured him on Fake Love and since then, everyone has been featuring the Port Harcourt first son. Wiz also supported a lot of other acts, as he blessed their songs with his vocals.
- Burna Boy
If this list was in a particular order, Burna Boy would likely have been number one. Those who know how brilliant he is have not been surprised, but for the rest of Nigeria, he seemingly came like a thief in the night and scattered everywhere. He dropped an album titled Outside and it had singles like Ye, Heaven’s Gate, etc. As if that wasn’t enough, he dropped the monster hit, Gbona and the Gbedu entered people’s body, indeed. He headlined shows locally and internationally and on the 26th of December, his own concert – Burna Live – will hold at the Eko Convention Center.
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- Tiwa Savage
Mama Jam Jam had a very sweet year. Her relationship with her bestie blossomed, but that is not why she’s on this list. She sold outs hows, headlined others and dropped the beautiful Lova Lova song with in-demand Duncan Mighty.
- 2Face Idibia
2Baba is a legend and his ability to stay on top of his game should be studied in music schools. While last year’s Gaga Shuffle was received with mixed feelings, he showed why he is still king after he got disappointed by Amaka. The monster hit featuring Peruzzi received heavy rotation and ‘amaka’ became a pop-culture slang for ‘disappointment’. He also featured in a couple other songs, and his deal with Coca Cola saw him do a commercial with his family.
- Olamide
It is incredible howOlamide has consistently churned out hits year in year out. The YBNL boss beganthe year with Science Student, then did Khana with Wizkid. He rounded the hitswith Motigbana and contributed immensely to the Zanku culture that has takenover the dance floors.
- Kizz Daniel
Formally known as KissDaniel, he became Kizz Daniel this year – due to his battles with his former label – G-Worldwide. The court cases did not stop him from collaborating withDJ Spinall to drop “Baba”, and the catchy “Nneka Wait, Open for Daddy” song. He collaborated with many other artistes, signed acts to his FlyBoy Inc label, made the hit – One Ticket with Davido, and dropped an album titled “No bad songz”. Mad year for the kid.
- Falz
Falz had an incredible 2017 no doubt, a year he rounded up with his brilliant concert – The Falz Experience. In 2018, he consolidated on that, and even released The Falz Experience Movie in the cinemas. But perhaps the biggest thing he did was a remake of Childish Gambino’s “This isAmerica”. The video featured some of the trending issues, and called out politicians, pastors and their ilk. The song and video were critically acclaimed and basically set the tone for his forays into politics. He started a show to interview aspiring presidential candidates and it was a hit as well.
- Duncan Mighty
Wene Mighty aka PortHarcourt First son was busy managing his construction business when an opportunity to return to reckoning musically came. Fake Love with Wizkid was done and released to much acclaim. This feature opened numerous doors for him and he ended up working with Tiwa Savage on Lova Lova and Davido + DMW on Aza. That song definitely raised the value of ofe nsala!!!!
- Teni
Teni is a walking breathing evidence of the fact that hardwork and consistency pays. She is an incredible talent and she was amazing this year. From Askamaya to Case, she has made us fall in love with her style again and graduated from college while at it. Looking forward to what she will create in 2019
There, our top 10 Nigerian artists for 2018. Other worthy mentions include Wande Coal, Simi, Mr. Eazi, Adekunle Gold, Peruzzi, Zlatan, etc. Do you agree with this list? Share your comments.
