The Nigerian music industry has become a global brand, and this reflects in the type of songs, the production, the PR, and how the music business is handled generally.
Over the years, we have seen how much that has earned Nigerian artists respect on the global stage, with other known artists from different countries willingly asking for collaboration with Nigerian artists.
This is an achievement that took time, strategic thinking, proper publicity, and lots more work to get, and by the look of it, the momentum has been set and there is no going back.
From Nigerians topping the Billboard Chart to a massive number of streams on streaming platforms, to selling out concert arenas or getting invited to headline shows in a place no Nigerian has headlined before, Nigerian artists are crossing borders with their music, and we are proud to see it.
Our WN Picks on this article will focus on 5 top albums that made waves in 2021. It is important to note that the albums highlighted here are not necessarily created in 2021 but the emphasis is placed on those that either got a massive number of streams or made the top list on streaming platforms in 2021.
Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic
Joeboy is one of those that have enjoyed an incredible run in 2021. Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic is his debut album and songs on the album have enjoyed airplay across radio stations and TV stations in and out of the country.
So far, the album has recorded 124 million streams on Audiomack, over 54 million streams on Boomplay, and was among the 10 best albums on Apple Music.
Pandemic
This is Ruger’s first body of work since he went professional with his music. The EP has 6 solid tracks with no feature spanning two genres of music – Afropop and Dancehall.
The EP has a combination of songs that can be considered to be hit songs including Ruger and Abu Dhabi, and the Jonzing/Mavin Records new signing has enjoyed great airplay on radio stations in Nigeria.
So far, the EP has recorded over 12 million streams on Boomplay and it was on Apple Music’s top 20 most streamed songs in 2021.
Twice as Tall
This is Burna Boy’s fifth album with a lineup of incredible songs on it as well as Nigerian and international features. Also, he won the Grammy Awards in the category of Best Global Music Album for Twice as Tall in 2021.
Upon release of the album, it went ahead to be number 1 in US World Albums, UK top Hip Hop / R&B Albums number 2, as well as number 54 in the US Billboard 200.
Twice as Tall is on 6 most-streamed album in 2021 with over 500 million streams on all platforms.
A Better Time
This is the third studio album from Davido with songs like the popular FEM, Jowo among others. The album has a combination of big names featured like Lil Baby, Nicki Minaj and Young Thug.
The album was nominated for Best Album in the 2021 Afrima Award. It is also the 4th on Spotify’s most-streamed album in Nigeria and Second on Apple Music’s Best Nigerian Album with over 220 million streams on Audiomack and over 40 million streams on Boomplay.
Carpe Diem
The word on the street is that Olamide has never had a bad album. This is his eleventh studio album but the first under American label and distribution company, Empire Distribution.
Carpe Diem is an album with 12 tracks with hit songs like Triumphant ft Bella Shmurda, and the album is said to have crossed the 500 million stream mark across all platforms on June 1, 2021.
Conclusion
It is important to state that the albums listed on this WN Picks do not follow any particular order. Also, there are other albums that made waves in 2021 but the ones selected on this article are those the author feel made the most wave in 2021.