Some Albums and Artistes you should listen to…

The pandemic saw a roll out of lots of albums by several Nigerian artistes. As live shows were put on hold we saw artistes going to the studio to put in the work and delivering masterpieces for their fans and one of the best albums to come out last year won a Grammy award this year. The first Nigerian to ever win a Grammy. Hopefully this will pave the way for more Nigerians to win the much acclaimed Grammy. However, while we were spending most of our days indoor, I discovered and listened to some of the most amazing albums and some great artistes too. 

1. The Cavemen; Roots Album

This is one of the best albums to come out in 2020. It is fresh, nostalgic, a beautiful blend of highlife, some jazzy progressions, and makes you feel like sipping palmwine with nwkobi on a cool breezy evening. Every single song on the album bangs. The Cavemen also won a HipTV award for Best Alternative Album.

2. Fireboy DML; Apollo Album

This album gave me so much joy. It was such a feel good album. The highlight track for me was Tattoo. That song will have your body feeling a type of way. If you’re looking for baby-making music, then you should have Tattoo on repeat. Other than tattoo, there were some really good songs on the album and it had such RnB vibes. With the current trend of danceable beats in Nigerian music space, Fireboy’s Apollo album was a breather. Also he won best RnB single at the HipTv award.

3. Olamide; Carpe Diem

I have always loved Olamide for his versatility and unique flow with varied genres of music. From story for the gods, to Melo Melo, Baddo, Poverty die, to delivering stellar musical collaborations on Don’t Stop, Fada Fada, Reggea Blues, and more. Olamide is a musical genius in his own right with lots of hit songs to last for decades and on his new album, Carpe Diem, he did not disappoint. Some refreshing collaborations and tunes that stood out were Infinity, Eru and Loading. Overall the album was such a good one.

Also I listened to some other artistes (Not Nigerian artistes) and I was completely blown by how amazing their music was. You should definitely check some of these artistes:

1. Worlasi: His album, Man and God started off with the track Chants and this song is fire. I had it on repeat for days because whattttt?! You should totally check it out
2. Kyekyeku: I met Kyekyeku in a concert in Accra and was mesmerized by his band’s performance. Kyekyeku’s music is a blend of Ghanaian’s Highlife and indigenous rap and it’s so refreshing to listen to. Check out SOR, it is one of the hottest songs by Kyekyeku.
3. Arka’n: If someone told me there was a musician capable of performing/singing Afro-Metal Rock music, I would never have believed it. Arka’n is a Band of guys from Togo and their music is crazy exciting to listening to. It takes you really high and just leaves you there. You should check out Tears of the Dead and Warrior’s Song. They are some of the hottest track off their album, Za Keli.
4. Blick Bassy: First time I heard his song, Ngwa I googled like crazy and had almost given up but thanks to shazam, I was able to find it. Blick Bassy is a Cameroonian artiste and his song was so beautiful to listen to. If you’re looking to explore musical styles of other African artistes, you should give Ngwa a listen as well as all the artistes mentioned above.