The perfect intersection between the established acts across African music and brilliant underground acts you should be paying attention to!
Despite his embattled situation, writing Wizkid off is a bit premature, he still has a huge fanbase and the talent to command rave reviews from critics.
7 days ago
To open 5ive, the poet Alhanislam recites a spoken-word commentary on the album and the man behind it. It feels a little pretentious, rooted in the same idea that drives artists to label every new project their deepest and most personal work yet. Yet some of it does have grounding in real-life events. Alhanislam hails […]
3 weeks ago
Last weekend, the youngest of the Uzama brothers, Osahan Uzama, more known by his moniker, Famous Pluto, joined the ranks of his brothers—Shallipopi, and Zerry DL, both fierce advocates of Benin Street Pop—with the release of his feverishly anticipated single Na Scra. Before its official release, the song had been making the rounds on TikTok, […]
2 months ago
Fela remains the loudest figure against government oppression and corruption in our music history, but a lot of others have lent a voice to the struggles of Nigerians through the years. Daddy Showkey, an indigene of the backward Lagos slum of Ajegunle, pioneered Galala music, which often took aim at the government in power and detailed the poverty in his hometown.
3 months ago
Burna Boy’s eighth studio album is finally on the horizon. In the past few weeks, the album’s rollout has ramped up significantly. He has made appearances on the covers of magazines and teased the album on social media through cheeky puns and aphorisms. He has appeared on shows, letting viewers in on certain nuances of […]
3 months ago
Sitting in a studio with a sixty-four-year-old Koffi Olomidé in 2021, a nineteen-year-old Sabrina was nervous to boot. In that studio booth, she was not only a professional musician, but also a fan girl meeting her hero for the first time. Growing up in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, she had idolized the Congolese soukous musician, whose […]
2 years ago
Yorubas own Afrobeats. That claim, or a variation of it, has often surfaced on social media, and while it is incorrect and possibly flecked with ethnic bias, it points to the dominance of artists from Nigeria’s south-western regions in the country’s contemporary popular music. This dominance is largely possible because the market square of Nigerian […]
2 years ago
In a clear testament to his artistry and global appeal, Rema has achieved a remarkable milestone with his hit single Calm Down, featuring Selena Gomez reaching one billion streams on Spotify. This is the first African artist-led track to join the Billions Club on Spotify. According to data shared as part of Spotify’s Afrobeats: Journey […]
2 years ago
Fast rising Nigerian artist, Oladapo has released his debut album titled In Case I Never Loved Again. In 2019, the artist made headway in the industry after his debut single Mango was shortlisted for Mr Eazi’s music initiative, Empawa Africa, where Oladapo went on to create another single Gbe Bodi. Since then, Oladapo has released […]
2 years ago
Grammy-nominated Nigerian singer-songwriter Kah-Lo has emerged with full force in her long-anticipated debut album Pain/Pleasure through Epic Records. The album comes after the release of hit singles Runaway, HD Woman, Karma and find$. In this new album, Kah-Lo relates her career experiences, documenting both bitter and exciting moments. For Kah-Lo, the latest album is all […]
2 years ago
Rising Nigerian artist, Badboymarz is back with an absolute banger, Instagram. Making a comeback after his eponymous debut EP, Mars, Instagram explores his love for a TikTok and Instagram influencer. “I’m back and better, during that period I was able to discover myself and some of my musical prowess, all I can say now is […]
2 years ago
Nigerian music sensation Patoranking, renowned for his fusion of Afrobeats, dancehall, and reggae, has just released his highly anticipated fourth studio album, World Best. With a massive fan base of over 8.8 million followers on Instagram alone and a track record of success, including over 500 million YouTube views and a quarter of a billion […]
2 years ago
It isn’t uncommon for two or three major artists to have music releases coincide on the same day, especially on Fridays, which has become the de facto choice for debuting music, but Friday the 13th of May, 2022 was special. Two of the putative ‘Big 3’, Davido and Burna Boy, were set to release new […]
2 years ago
