One of the great things about music is the fact that every so often you get to hear new material from new artists emerging almost every other week. While some artists always stick to a generic formula, others find new ways to create music that somehow sounds different from what we hear normally… even if it’s in the same genre.
Every year we see new artists burst into the music scene and “blow” so to speak, but before this happens these creative minds spend years under the surface grinding and improving their craft until it gets to a point where we the listeners, almost over-night, fall in love with it.
WizKid, Davido, IcePrince, Brymo, Tiwa Savage and co were all in the upcoming category just over 2 years ago. Today? They are bonafide stars that can headline shows on their own.
Today I will attempt to give you 25 upcoming acts that we feel are the most promising to watch out for in coming months or years. Some of them are already popular but not quite “blown” and some of them you probably haven’t heard of. Whatever the case, they are definitely talented enough to be with the big stars, and soon enough with all the right things falling in place, they’ll be stars in their own right.
Let’s get right to it (in alphabetical order)
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Relatively new to the Nigerian music scene, Adaku has gained a nice following in the US online community with her covers of popular songs getting a lot of positive reviews on you-tube (her most popular, Bruno Mars – Grenade gathered over 77,000 views). So much so that she was handpicked by the folks at youtube and featured in the fresh faces column for the month of June. Pretty impressive.
She released her official debut single, “Or You Can” a few weeks ago, and it has already taken off to a very great start. In her genre of music, one can see her definitely going places not only within the Nigerian community but also internationally.
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Aduke is one artist that one can say is in a bit of a league of her own. A blend of Asa, Nneka, and a sprinkle of Fela and you have an act that brings alternative sound to traditional naija music. Probably the most popular song from the graduate of UniLag so far has been “Made In Lagos”. A song that touches on the mass migration to Lagos from other areas of Nigeria.
If there’s something I can definitely say about Aduke it’ll be that she knows her music. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, Aduke is one that will create her own niche in a market that is dominated with over-commercial music.
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Ajebutter22 (real name Akitoye Balogun) is part of the collective known as Soyinka’s Afro, and up until recently hadn’t really broken out with a major hit. That all changed when Ajebutter22 dropped the single, Serenre. The tune went viral and it seemed Ajebutter22 found his sweet spot.
One of the acts in Nigeria that will probably give us enough tunes to have us jumping up and down in clubs for the new future, I expect Ajebutter22 to continue to bring that House club feel to our speakers and as long as the craft improves, this dude will be a star in the near future. Too much Serenre!
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It’s not beans to have arguably the best verse on MI’s Illegal Music 2(IM2). More especially when you’re going not only against over 20 verses from MI Abaga, but verses from some of the nicest MCs from Africa. No disrespect to any other acts on IM2, but after we heard Boogey, we all knew that he stole the show on that tape.
And his own songs? He’s been doing pretty well having been featured on DJ Klem’s monthly series “DJ Klem Presents” with his song Beautiful. The song has become a fan favorite and his freestyles, Dami Duro (Lyrical version) and Zombie have made him a force to reckon with in the Nigerian rap game.
Boogey shows a lot of promise and being able to stand out in a genre that is as tough as nails in Nigeria is not an easy task. However, I do believe Boogey has the ammunition to make it through, and why not? He’s already stood with the best once without falling.
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A rock artist! A good one too! Clay doesn’t have a whole lot of songs under her belt, but the singles and covers she has put out show that she is doing what a lot of people don’t do, and doing it well.
She got most of her initial attention from her single Nenum, and her live performances have been captivating audiences ever since. Then came the cover for Asa’s Jailer which might be just as good as the original, and I was convinced this is one talented girl we’re dealing with.
If you’re a fan of rock music. There’s no reason you wont love her music.
To Be Continued…
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