When Falz released ‘This is Nigeria’, not even he could have predicted the critique it would receive, such that at a time, there were talks of law suits and religious backlash. On the Youtube site featuring the song, there are more than 26,000 comments on the song, not counting other versions of social media, as well as traditional media and outside the virtual world. Falz takes the song of the year for the unique style it brings to addressing societal ills.
The Nigerian music scene is an active content creating industry. Every passing minute, new songs are released by young artistes seeking to make a break into the industry or by popular artistes whose fans hunger for new music.
From January to December, music lovers have been treated to the good, bad and downright ugly of music. Listed are the top 10 songs of the year.
10: Olamide — Motigbana
With the fire he brought to the music scene when he first emerged, Olamide doesn’t seem to have impressed much beyond the expected. Like the intro to ‘Motigbana’, the year began on a slow motion for Olamide. However, as the song rose in tempo, although he had released a few singles in the meantime, Olamide did not get the expected buzz until the release of ‘Motigbana’. If the YBNL don expects to get more credit, he’ll need to up his game.
9: Victor AD — Wetin We Gain?
Not long after it hit the airwaves in July, this track went on to take its place as the latest ‘hustlers’ anthem’. Victor Adere, a.k.a. Victor AD, a Delta State indigene, describes his style as Afropop. With more than five million views for a relatively new voice, there’s more in Victor AD’s music future.
8: Adekunle Gold — Ire
With Adekunle Gold’s ‘Ire’, the Nigerian music scene experienced a different kind of creativity. Although much of the video is done in reverse, with ‘Ire’, Adekunle Gold takes his fans one step further on the soulful train of his music ride.
7: Brymo — Heya
Not many artistes can do a naked feature. There are even fewer artistes daring enough to shoot a video in an uncommon location as on the coarse bank overlooked by an ocean. Brymo belongs to the select ‘fewer’ and he definitely got tongues wagging for this one. In his signature preacher style, Brymo uses ‘Heya’ to speak to tendencies of human nature.
6: DJ Spinall ft. Kizz Daniel — Baba
‘Baba’ leads with a calm intro that drizzles into nice beats accompanied by DJ Spinall’s tunes, combined with Kizz Daniel’s unique expertise on the voice. ‘Baba’ gave Nigerian music lovers a breath of the fresh side of music. This is a seemingly unusual combination that turns out to be worth the effort.
5: Wizkid — Fever
As the title of the song suggests, Wizkid definitely gave music lovers ‘fever’ with his feature of Tiwa Savage as a video vixen. The duo engaged in various explicit scenes, which got the social media talking for a little longer than a while, especially after various speculations on if they were romantically involved.
4: Davido — Assurance
Featuring his girlfriend, Chioma, it would be an overstatement to say the song was strictly dedicated to their relationship. The song went on to get its personal hash tag, #Assurance and trended for much longer than even the lovebirds would have anticipated.
3: Burna Boy — Ye
At brief listen, it would not be expected that Burna Boy’s ‘Ye’ would make any major impact. However, music lovers thought differently, and the song went on to become an anthem of sorts in various quarters.
2: 2Baba ft. Peruzzi — Amaka
No one likes disappointment and that was what legendary singer, 2Baba seemed to have been feeling when recorded this hit track, alongside Peruzzi. ‘Amaka’ tells the story of how a woman named ‘Amaka’ disappointed her man after promising to pay him a visit. Amaka not only earned its own special social media standing, it has more or less become the synonym for Nigerians on any disappointing person or situation.
1: Falz — This Is Nigeria
When Falz released ‘This is Nigeria’, not even he could have predicted the critique it would receive, such that at a time, there were talks of law suits and religious backlash. On the Youtube site featuring the song, there are more than 26,000 comments on the song, not counting other versions of social media, as well as traditional media and outside the virtual world. Falz takes the song of the year for the unique style it brings to addressing societal ills. Politics, religion, education, security, economy, entertainment, energy, among others all get a mention in the video, which lasts less than four minutes. And did we mention the shade on President Muhammadu Buhari for that ‘Lazy Nigerian Youth’ comment. Indeed, Falz brings expertise, talent, and sheer creativity to bear on this masterpiece.
Don’t agree with our list? Feel free to share your #SRTopTen songs for 2018.