2023 So Far: The Best Nigerian Songs

So far, 2023 has been a great year for Nigerian music, considering how high the bar our creatives set with their performances yearly. In only seven months, we’ve watched Davido get back to his feet with a fitting album, while Omah Lay and CKay slotted in great deluxe projects; we’ve seen Asake follow up his scintillating debut with a project that is arguably better than the last while Seyi Vibez crammed a trio of great projects into a half-year. With so much good music coming from these projects as well as other singles, these are our top picks of 2023 so far.

Lonely At The Top – Asake

Asake continues to dazzle, and everyone who wondered how he was going to match a spectacular breakout year is now watching it play out in real life. He has up to four releases that could easily fit into this list without complaints, but Lonely At The Top encapsulates the essence of who and where Asake is now. He uses excellent writing to convey the euphoric feeling that accompanied his transcendental rise, but if there’s one thing we know about Asake it is that there are always more heights to be attained.

Ojapiano – Kcee

While South Western Nigeria continues to innovate with harmonic fusions of Fuji and Amapiano, Kcee has found a way for the Oja flute of Igbo cultural music to have its day with the South African genre. Featuring soulful flute renditions by Ojazzy Igbonile, and production provided by the experienced Jaysynths, Kcee is given every tool he needs to bring this record to an excellent fruition, and he delivers in style. 

Feel – Davido

“Water dey my eye, but I’ll be alright” are words that accurately transcribe Davido’s headspace at the making of timeless: recovering, but not quite healed yet. Davido does not, however, let this dampen the mood of the song, he is able to deliver a feel good track, gliding on a mid-tempo production that draws from West African hand beaten drums. There’s been too much talk about his place at the highest level of Nigerian music, but his lasting ability to craft hits like these means he’ll be here for a long time.

Hallelujah – CKay w/ Blaqbonez

CKay can really do it all. After roving the globe on the back of Caribbean infused singles like Love Nwantiti which was primarily created for an international audience, the placement of songs like Watawi and You on his Sad Romance album shows he knows what to do when a Nigerian Pop beat meets Amapiano. Hallelujah is cut from a similar cloth. CKay, supported by a flawless Blaqbonez, is in gratitude mode, as he delivers a narration of the ugly beginning of his life that is rendered, ironically, in one of the most beautiful voices from this side of the world.

Stamina – Tiwa Savage, Ayra Starr and Young Jonn

Three-way collaborations can be timeless classics when all the artists bring their A-games, especially when you have a producer like Magicsticks behind the boards. He delivers an Amapiano-tinged beat as is his predilection, and our plucky trio glide over it with buttery smoothness, repeatedly outdoing one another in the melodies they create and the voices that carry them. You go need more stamina, because this is a song we will be dancing to for a very long time.

Reason – Omah Lay

While many artists these days make their deluxe album art distinct from the original, in hue or design, Omah Lay’s Boy Alone deluxe can be mistaken for its predecessor. That is because he desires a seamless continuation. His new release, Reason, bears a distinctly South-Southern beat similar to smash hit Soso, while it is drowned in the same muffled mixing that gave Safe Haven its ethereal feel. Through this brilliant production he poses an existential question—What’s the reason why we’re still out here?

Declan Rice – Odumodublvck

Odumodublvck’s ode to the footballer he admires turned into a massive commercial prospect when Declan made the record-breaking move to Arsenal and it was announced with Odumodu’s song. Some have called it smart planning, Odumodu himself will likely refer to it as fulfilment of divine prophecy, but what everyone can agree to is that it is really good music. Odumodu brings all of his Abuja-sharpened hardness to the trippy hip-hop beat that is more addictive than you realise—be careful to catch yourself before you yell Ekelebe stunner in public.

Dejavu – Seyi Vibez

Seyi Vibez’s mother’s passing in March did not interfere with his release of new music, but his grief is palpable in how his two most recent pieces—Vibe Till Thy Kingdom Come and Thy Kingdom Come—are sonically dulled to allow for more reflective music. Dejavu is one of those songs, and here Seyi Vibez’s self belief is not a pompous chest beating but a quiet resolution that failure is no option. He says no one fit block my way over and over until you cannot help but believe it, and if he maintains this blistering pace he will find that assertion to be true.

New Religion – Olamide feat. Asake

The second leg of the Asake-Olamide doubleheader is the less popular one, but between the improved writing and more intricate production, there is a strong case to be made for it as the better song. Here Asake is brilliant on the chorus, throwing up pop culture references at breakneck pace while his label boss takes no prisoners on verses, as he calls out everyone from Blackface to his own family. The duo wants to usher you to a new era of their dominance, and if it is filled with brilliant collaborations like this, they need not ask twice.

Ask About Me – Mohbad

Mohbad’s Ask About Me takes ‘Fuji-piano’ to another level. Yes, there are log drums here, an Asake-type Europop beat and a sing-song Yoruba delivery that takes its root from ancient Fuji music, but there is more. The song’s intro, where horns and angelic vocals meet, sets the track in an ethereal realm; to contrast it with Mohbad’s baritone delivery allows for a sonic encounter that brings together the best of two worlds: church meets street.