TOP 10 hottest Nigerian Artists of 2018
Here is a list of the 10 hottest Nigerian artists of 2018
10. Adekunle Gold
9. Falz
His path from rapper/singer/actor to mainstream domination was enhanced this year when he released ‘This is Nigeria’ video delivering one of the moments that shaped pop culture the most in 2018.
8. Duncan Mighty
If you described the second half of the year in the Nigerian music scene as the Duncan Mighty half, then you would not be wrong. From not being in the reckoning during the first half of the year to ending it as the most featured act is one of the memorable moments that the ‘Duncan Mighty’ wave delivered in 2018.
7. Kizz Daniel
His license to collaborate with other artists became the additional spring required to embark on a more commanding industry run.
Kizz Daniel laced his vocals on hit singles like 4 dayz, DJ Spinall’s ‘Baba’, DJ Neptune’s ‘Wait’, Major Lazer's 'Loyal', scored a major hit in ‘One Ticket’ and closed the year with the release of his much anticipated sophomore album, ‘’No Bad Songz’’.
6. Tiwa Savage
Mummy ‘Jam Jam’ as she was largely referred to this year enjoyed a fairly spectacular 2018.
While the rumours surrounding her relationship with Wizkid was one that kept the blogs busy, she was also stylistically restless with her music as her contributions through songs like ‘Tiwa’s Vibe’, ‘Lova Lova’, ‘Diet’ and ‘Get It Now’ remix with Omarion were unmatched.
To cap off an already great year, Tiwa headlined her debut UK show at the Indigo at the O2 Arena before a sold-out audience and won the award for the ‘Best African Act’ at the MTV EMAs in November ahead of a strong list of contenders including Davido, which is no small means.
She then shared the stage with the likes of Beyonce and Jay Z at the Global Citizen Festival in South Africa.
5. Olamide
Just like the first day of the year, Olamide is here again and if the first half of the year is split into two, then Olamide was a force in its opening quarter.
His single, ‘Science Student’ became the go-to record to start a party.
Other singles like ‘Kana’, ‘Criteria’, ‘Bugle’, ‘Poverty Die’ and the ‘’YBNL Family Mafia’’ album all add up to Olamide again becoming one of the most influential names this year.
4. Mr Eazi
Is there a more tactful, artistically disciplined, and technically accomplished Nigerian artist on the global stage this year than Mr Eazi?
Mr Eazi built a strong team around himself and followed the data in making his moves. Every step of his was calculated, he identified his audience and catered to them passionately.
This helped Eazi to forge a base in the UK and saw him performing on major stages globally. He rounded up the year with the impressive release of his sophomore project ‘’Lagos To London’’ which is gathering some explosive streaming numbers and also set up a platform ‘’Empawa’’ to help artists get their music out.
3. Davido
The question asked by many was, how will Davido top the sort of year he had in 2017? and he gave a loud and befitting response, if not in exactly delivering the type of hit songs that were nationwide anthems, his power moves globally and relentless effort through singles and collaborations were enough to make him the big deal yet again.
Davido turned his label into a force through their collaborative hits like ‘Mind’ and ‘Aje’ and also won the award for ‘Best African Act’ at the 2018 BET, becoming the first artist in the category to be presented with his plaque on stage.
2. Wizkid
What a year 2018 has been for Wizkid. The Starboy has been ripping up stages worldwide, dropping banging records, sealing lucrative deals, walking on runways and consistently becoming a trending topic all year long.
In May this year, Wizkid sold out the 20,000 O2 Arena in one of his most iconic feats, while also performing at the Reading Festival, UK.
His hits this year include, ‘Soco’, ‘Fake Love’, ‘Fever’, ‘Gucci Snake’ and ‘Bad Energy’ with Skepta.
1. Burna Boy
Burna Boy is our artist of the year. From a tumultuous 2017 where he was at the end of a long string of negative publicity, Burna fought his way back to positive reckoning and it all began with the release of his ‘’Outside’’ album in January.
The album had early stand out records like ‘Heaven’s Gate’ but it wasn’t until a few months later that ‘Ye’ turned out to become the one song that would define Burna’s year.
When videos started surfacing of Burna Boy performing ‘Ye’ during his ‘Life On The Outside’ tour of the United States, the online community went hype with the way the fans reacted to the song. And little by little, ‘Ye’ continued to grow into a hashtag and then a movement.
Afterwards, it has been killer features and more hits in ‘Gbona’ and ‘On The Low’ from an artist who has somehow become focused, re-energized and altogether fascinating.
2018 has without doubt been the best year in the career of the Don Gorgon.
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