Social media has continued to make a huge impact on the careers of many Nigerian artists; you can promote new music, get feedback on unreleased songs, and even get discovered by major record labels. Successfully breaking into the Nigerian music industry used to be heavily dependent on intermediaries such as radio stations, television stations, and record labels, but nowadays many artists are leveraging social media platforms to grow their influence and land recording deals straight from the comfort of their homes.
With the signing of potentials artists discovered on social media by record labels and management companies, many young people that want to break into the Nigerian music industry have realised that they can build leverage on the internet and establish themselves as forces to be reckoned with, and artists are no longer solely reliant on radio stations for song promotion, simultaneously making the jobs of A&Rs easier.
Here are 10 Nigerian artists who made their break into the music industry thanks to being discovered on a social media platform.
Boy Spyce
Boy Spyce posted a cover of Wizkid and Tem’s song, Essence, which went viral and led to him being discovered by record label executive Don Jazzy. The talented singer also dropped a series of freestyles on various social media platforms which got lots of engagement, finally giving him a chance to be recognized by the Mavin Records boss. Don Jazzy eventually reached out to him and gave him a seat at his artist grooming school: The Mavin Academy. Boy Spyce was later unveiled to the world in April 2022 and went on to release his self-titled debut EP.
Joeboy
Joeboy’s music career began when he was 16 years old and the following year he dropped his first track, Gbeseyin, an Afrobeat tune. In 2017, he recorded a cover of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You, which received a lot of attention both in Nigeria and internationally. Mr Eazi noticed his fantastic vocals, leading to him making Joeboy the first artist to receive sponsorship from his music philanthropic initiative, emPawa Africa. Through the help of emPawa Africa and Mr Eazi, Joeboy released a song titled Faaji which did very well, however, it was his 2019 love song, Baby that catapulted the singer into mainstream success.
Rema
Prior to his fame, Divine Ikubor also known as Rema was an underground artist who started doing music in his secondary school days. His big break came after he went viral in 2018 thanks to his cover of D’Prince’s song Gucci Gang which he posted on Instagram. The post caught the attention of D’Prince who flew him to Lagos to offer a record deal. Rema eventually bagged a joint management and recording agreement with D’Prince’s Jonzing World and Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records.
Ayra Starr
Beninese-born Nigerian singer Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, known professionally as Ayra Starr, is a Nigerian singer. She began a fashion career at the age of 16 with Quove Model Management before deciding to pursue a career in music. In 2019, she began posting covers of songs by artists like Andra Day and 2Face Idibia online. Following her covers of several songs by popular artists on Instagram, she posted her first original song called Damage on her page in December 2019. The video was viewed by thousands of people and was ultimately brought to the attention of record executive Don Jazzy, who signed her to his record label Mavin Records.
Ruger
Ruger started music at a young age, and was a member of his school music band as a teenager and also a member of his church choir. He began composing songs and performing at shows and school functions. On 21 January 2021, Jonzing World released One Shirt, featuring Ruger, D’Prince, and Rema. Ruger used to work as a phone repairer at Computer Village, a major technological marketplace in Nigeria, until D’Prince discovered him on Instagram and signed him. In an interview, he said, “I used to work in Computer Village, repairing phones and all, so in my spare time, I just do freestyles and post it on Instagram. Thank God for the internet, it has made it easy for talents to be discovered. All of a sudden I just saw a DM from D’Prince. He was in America at that time with Rema on tour, so he told me that he’s coming back very soon and that he wants to start working with me.”
Terri
Starboy Terri is one of the unique talents in the Nigerian music industry. The singer got Wizkid’s attention when he uploaded a refix of DJ Jimmy Jatt’s Oshe featuring Wizkid. Wizkid showed Mut4y (of Legendury Beatz) the video and asked for his help in finding the boy, thus beginning a change in Terri’s fortunes. He was later signed to Starboy Entertainment and had his first major appearance alongside other acts on Wizkid’s Soco in 2018.
Mayorkun
Before Mayorkun got signed to Davido’s DMW, he worked in a bank with hopes of chasing a career in music. The Mayor of Lagos, as he’s popularly referred to, caught the attention of Davido when he uploaded a freestyle of Davido’s single The Money featuring Olamide to Twitter. Davido eventually followed him on Twitter and Instagram, and made the decision to sign him under Davido Music Worldwide. In 2016, Mayorkun released his first single under the label titled Eleko. Davido has on various occasions admitted that signing Mayorkun has been one of his best decisions.
Zinoleesky
Zinoleesky alongside his friend, Lil frosh were buzzing freestyle rappers on Instagram. As his freestyles continued to reach more people, Zinoleesky started building a fanbase both online and offline. Apparently, Davido had indicated an interest in signing the singer to Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) but Zinoleesky turned down the offer. He later got signed by Naira Marley to his Marlian Record under which he released hit songs such as Caro, Kilofeshe, Mapariwo, and more.
Teni
While still in school in the United States, Teniola Apata used the internet and social media to build a fan following for herself. At the time, her Instagram account was growing thanks to her funny videos and amazing freestyles featuring her melodious voice, keeping her fans glued to their screens. Earlier in 2017, she released a video of herself freestyling over an Osita Osadebe soundtrack on Instagram. The clip soon went viral and amongst the many people who were fascinated by her skill was Osadolor Nate Asemota aka Dr Dolor, a former Telecommunications expert and Showbiz investor. She secured a recording deal with Dr Dolor Entertainment and established a solid industry presence with hit songs like Case, Fargin, Uyo Meyo, and Askamaya.
Johnny Drille
In 2017, Johnny Drille was officially announced as a member of Mavin Records. Johnny Drille started out as an independent artist from Benin City. In 2015, his upload of a cover of Di’Ja’s hit single Aww caught the attention of Don Jazzy. Recounting the experience that led to his signing with Daily Sun, Johnny Drille said, “My first contact with Mavin Records was with Don Jazzy in February 2015 when I dropped my cover of Di’ja’s song, Awww. He followed me on Twitter and told me he liked it and would love to hear more. We kept in contact over time and then he was silent for a very long period. Then, sometime in August of 2016, I got a message on Twitter from Don Jazzy asking me if I was in Lagos at the moment, and thankfully I was. He invited me over to his office and let me know he wanted me to join Mavin Records.”