The Most Anticipated Albums of the Second Half of 2024
Looking from afar, this year in music can be described as a tumultuous year. But closing in reveals a clearer picture, a coming of age for the vibrant panoply of sounds that define the Nigerian soundscape. In 2024, Nigerian music is evolving in real-time. As with every other growth phase, this period of evolution has […]
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4 months ago
Looking from afar, this year in music can be described as a tumultuous year. But closing in reveals a clearer picture, a coming of age for the vibrant panoply of sounds that define the Nigerian soundscape. In 2024, Nigerian music is evolving in real-time. As with every other growth phase, this period of evolution has been accompanied by unique growing pains. The familiar furnish of Amapiano, a fixture in the Nigerian soundscape for the last four years, has been relegated to the margins, opening a path for something new.
Earlier in the year, there was a terse period of lull as artists within the scene struggled for a new way forward following the expiration of log drum basslines and deep house melodies. But the sun has started to pierce through. The next iteration of the soundscape has started to take form. With his debut effort Stubborn, released in June, Victony skillfully interrogates the softer expressions of Afropop. He wields melodies and piercing, biographical narratives to this effect. Rema on the other hand has tilted towards the opposite end of the spectrum. With songs that fire off like bullets from an automatic rifle, intransigent and unrelenting, his sophomore effort, Heis, posits a mercurial future for the soundscape. Several other acts have also explored fresh directions for the soundscape.
With a slew of feverishly anticipated albums on the way, 2024 feels poised for even greater heights. Asake’s third album is within touching distance. Burnaboy is poised for another drop. Show Dem Camp returns this Friday with their seventh studio album. The air is thick with palpable anticipation and excitement. Against this colorful backdrop, Culture Custodian has curated a list of albums billed for the remainder of this year.
Asake, Lungu Boy
Asake’s third studio album Lungu Boy is scheduled for release on Friday, the 9th of August. It features guest performances from Wizkid, Travis Scott, Stormzy, Central Cee & Ludmilla. Lungu Boy comes on the heels of an incredible jaunt that saw Asake ascend from obscurity to superstardom in the space of a gavel stroke. In 2022, his debut album cemented him as the most exciting act in the country. With an endless litany of unequivocal hits, he established a near-monopoly over the soundscape. The following year, he reprised this gambit with Work of Art, his sophomore album. With a spate of incredible features this year—he featured on songs from Tems, Victony & Zlatan—he’s shown no signs of fatigue. The lead single from Lungu Boy, Wave featuring Central Cee, has garnered over 20 million streams in a month of release, a further testament to his star power. The release of the album will also flag off his Lungu Boy world tour, which will see him perform across major cities of the world, from New York to Paris.
Show Dem Camp, The Cavemen & Nsikak David, No Love In Lagos
Over the course of six studio albums, Tec and Ghost, collectively known as Show Dem Camp, have established themselves as trailblazers in Nigeria’s alternative scene. Their seventh studio album, No Love in Lagos, ostensibly aims to further their legacy. It is scheduled for release on Friday, the 9th of August. The Cavemen & Nsikak David are co-collaborators on the album. For The Cavemen No Love in Lagos represents their third studio album, following Love & Highlife, their sophomore album, and their seminal debut album Roots. Nsikak David is the least-known member of the contingent. He’s one of Nigeria’s finest guitarists. His performances are so poignant and visceral, they routinely leave members of the audience moved to tears. He’s been a frequent collaborator with both Show Dem Camp and The Cavemen, albeit in the background. On No Love in Lagos, his debut oeuvre, he steps into the spotlight with longtime friends.
Minz, By Any Minz
Minzis gearing up for the release of his debut studio album By Any Minz, slated for release on the 4th of October. The confirmed featured acts on the project are 255, Davido, Tekno, Zinoleesky, Blaqbonez, and, BNXN. The project is poised to cap off what has been an incredible year for Minz. Early in the year, his verse on Odunsi’s Crown Bounce earned critical acclaim from critics and casual listeners alike. He also served several scintillating singles — Shadow, featuring 255; Wap with Davido; and most recently, Diallo with Tekno.
Fireboy, Adedamola
Fireboy delights in the art of curating songs that function as totems of the phases of his life. His debut album Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps feels like an auto-psychoanalytic session. It’s at once raw, vulnerable, and triumphant—a coming-of-age journal entry. By the time he releases Apollo, he’s already a superstar. And it’s telling from the confidence and maturity he emanates on the project. It’s not just the themes he explores that signal his maturity, his sound has also matured. He straddles a sweet blend of contemporary Afropop and Highlife, as he interrogates the contours of youthful romance. On Playboy, he’s no longer the wide-eyed romance troubadour, he’s a suave casanova. Poised for his fourth oeuvre, he is at another fork in the road of his life. On the 6th of June, in a tweet, he announced the title of his fourth studio album, Adedamola. So far, specific details on the project have yet to surface. However, it’s expected to drop later this year.
Wizkid, Morayo
Since the start of the year, Wizkid has repeatedly teased his impending sixth studio album, Morayo. It’s dedicated to his mother, who sadly passed last year. Morayo, a Yoruba word, translates to joy. It’s a theme he’s deployed several times in his music. Starting with the penultimate track of his sophomore album, Ayo, titled Joy. So far, hard details on the project remain scarce – which is right in tune with his usual album release routine. If his recent release dates are anything to go by, Morayo will probably arrive any time between October and December. His last three projects have arrived between October and December. Speaking to Esquire in June, Wizkid revealed that Morayo would pull apart personal themes “It’s very, very personal, I hope it lifts spirits and spreads positive energy.”
Burna Boy, No Sign of Weakness
A Burna Boy album release cycle is undoubtedly underway. And all the signs are in place. He’s been increasingly active on social media, with tirades that border on being bluster. On the 29th of June he announced a surprise album in a curt X post, “Album dropping 12 am.” He did not drop the album. But he’s teased what is believed to be the album’s title — No Sign of Weakness on X. He’s also released a snippet from a track, titled Empty Chairs presumably from his imminent album.
Omah Lay is poised for the release of his sophomore album. The title is Clarity of Mind. He has announced the title and changed his profile pictures, across social channels, to what appears to be an affable yellow. But upon closer inspection, it’s not just any yellow. It’s an image of a ray of light lancing the warm morning sky. This subtle detail would simply be trivial meta-data if it was from any other artist. But for Omah Lay, it holds reams of meaning. Since breaking through in the throes of the lockdown, the color purple has been symbolic of his work. The album covers of all his projects so far have featured the color. Up until recently, his display pictures, across social channels, have featured the color. His debut tour was called “The Purple Tour.” He even has a song called Purple Song. So, a shift from the color purple, which is in many ways emblematic of the brooding air of his projects, to an affable yellow, perhaps signals something profound. Clarity of Mind might just be a victory parade commemorating the fall of his slain demons.
