Midway into the epileptic year of 2020, Nigeria is witnessing a growth spurt in the music industry. Fledging and talented artists are speedily making waves to get to the spotlight. Leveraging on the adverse effect of the pandemic which deterred popular musicians from releasing music, these artists quickly began to consolidate their gains by harnessing social media.
Here’s a list of artists you should keep an eye out for in the next half of 2020
A young hustler from Surulere, Lagos, Ikuforiji Abdulrahman Olaitan, aka Oxlade went from being unheard to performing at Wizkid’s Starboy Fest, a sold-out show at the O2 Arena in London.
Right after that event, Oxlade began to gather attention to his music. Some of his biggest features include ‘Mamiwota’ by Blaqbonez, ‘Causing Trouble’ by DJ Tunez, his biggest hit so far titled ‘Shugar’, amongst others
Lawal Raheem is 20-year-old Afropop singer and songwriter. Also known as Lyta, the singer is a former member of the popular record label, YBNL, owned by the famous indigenous rapper, Olamide. The Kwara State indigene made a name for himself after he featured former boss, Olamide, in a song, ‘Time’.
Orulegbaja Quadri also known as DamyQue is a young Nigerian artist making major moves in the Nigerian music industry. DammyQue who hails from Kwara state, began his career at the tender age of fifteen, being a very passionate and determined talent. He started with freestyles to famous instrumentals until he hit his first record deal with the CEO of Thugluvin Records. Dammyque’s call to fame began with his single ‘Yoo’ on which he featured Zlatan and Young John. Some of his songs include ‘Funwoje’, ‘Heavy Duty’ and ‘Muso’, all street bangers to this day.
Lagos-born and bred musician, Bowofoluwa Olufisayo Odunsi is a peculiar singer and Alté Movement personality with a short-lived tertiary education at a Ghanaian university in 2015.
Signed by Warner Music the performer bought the heart of Nigerians with his ‘Rare’ album in 2018 featuring artistes like Santi (formerly Ozzy B), Zamir and the rest of the Alté guys. On the syrupy track “Star Signs,” featuring the Afrobeats star Runtown, Odunsi fuses classic highlife melodies with auto-tuned verses about falling in love.
The indigenous rapper built himself a musical base by uploading freestyle videos on Instagram then successfully earned a lot of attention.
Lil Frosh raps in the Yoruba language with clear and smooth flows, coming up with well-cooked punchlines. His fame rose after he had a collaboration with Nigerian street sensation, Small Doctor on a track tagged “Firi Yahoo”.