2020 was a great year for many of the established Nigerian artistes as they were able to drop new bodies of work for their fans, while at the same time new artistes came up with good music.
Many of the Nigerian artistes received international recognition for their works in what was generally a good year for the industry despite the situation of the world with the Coronavirus pandemic.
Nigeria’s Grammy nominated artiste, Damini Ogulu who goes by the stage name of Burna Boy was one of the artistes of the year.
His album “Twice as Tall” was a hit as it featured some of the best artistes in the industry. Burna Boy was one of the artistes that successfully revamped the Afrobeats genre.
In 2020, he had songs with Stormzy, Chris Martin, Sauti Sol, Youssou N’Dour, and Naughty by Nature on his album, and Master KG and Wizkid on their own songs.
Burna Boy was nominated for the 2021 Grammy awards in the same category as in the 2020 awards.
Wizkid also released an album, “Made in Lagos”, while also receiving a Grammy nomination for his role in Beyonce’s “Brown Skin Girl”. Wizkid featured Burna Boy, Skepta, Damian Marley, H.E.R., Ella Mai, Tems and Terri on his album. He also featured in a number of songs with other artistes.
David “Davido” Adeleke released an album titled “A Better Time”. He featured prominent artistes from all over the world including Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Young Thug, Nas, Sho Madjozi, Sauti Sol, Mayorkun, Bella Shmurda, Hit Boy and Tiwa Savage, among others.
Tiwa Savage released an album “Celia”, Olamide released “Carpe Diem”, Fireboy released “Apollo”, Adekunle Gold released “Afro-Pop Volume 1”, Simi released her EP “Restless II”. Brymo released “Yellow”.
It was however the industry’s newbies that really caught the eye in the music industry in 2020. The likes of Omah Lay, Tems, Bella Shmurda, Laycon, Oxlade, Chike and Blaqbonez among the wave makers of 2020. Omah Lay released an two E.Ps, “Get Layd” and “What Have We Done”.
Tems released an EP, “For Broken Ears”, as did Bella Shmurda with “High Tension EP”. Oxlade also dropped an EP titled Oxygene.
Outside music, these artists also lent their voices and platforms to activism in the country, especially during the nationwide protest against police brutality.
Burna Boy released a track “20.10.20” to commemorate the deaths of people at the hands of the army during the protest. Chike and Falz also released songs talking about police brutality in the country. Musicians led people to protest within and outside the country, and this was something that endeared them to the Nigerian populace.
Many musicians also secured endorsement deals in various fields such as in the betting industry such as NetBet Casino online platform – Burna Boy got an endorsement deal with Star Lager, Wizkid with Puma and Tecno, as Davido also got a deal with Infinix. Because of the huge number of fans these artistes have, companies recognised the need to make use of their fame to get their products out to a wider audience.
