Over the last couple of years, it is amazing to see the incredible growth in the Nigerian music industry. Even much better is the consistent effort of artists and all stakeholders to keep the growth up.
Solid proof of this growth is all the international recognition – Nigerian artists putting Nigerian music on the global map – as well as how international artists now willingly collaborate with Nigerian artists, unlike how hard it was back in the day.
However, with all the milestones, the ‘stars’ continue to keep the light shining, dropping hits after hits in their attempts at global domination.
It will be an understatement to say 2021 was a great year for the music industry, considering the major wins for Nigeria on the global stage – Burna Boy and Wizkid’s Grammy wins – among many other milestones crossed.
It doesn’t stop at just attempts at global domination. The fire keeps burning at home and it is a joyful thing to behold.
On WN Picks, we highlight 5 popular songs making waves in the first half of 2022.
5. ‘Sometimes’ – TI Blaze featuring Olamide
“Sometimes food no dey give man joy but Canadian loud the feeling is different..”
This one line alone has become slang among music lovers all over the country. It is so popular that it is the caption of hundreds of social media posts, and many skit makers have used the concept of the song to make their skit, helping it reach even a wider audience.
‘Sometimes’ is the lead track from TI Blaze’s ‘The Fresh Prince of Lagos’ EP and the song captured even more audience immediately with a feature from Olamide, tapping into the reality of many youths who the lyrics of the song personally speaks to.
4. ‘Palazzo’ – DJ Spinall featuring Asake
“Palazzo jiggy gb’oja k’ole reason. No sleeping omo no dulling. Gba updating kia kia omo iya mi..”
Asake is another proof that a good song doesn’t mind language barriers. If it is good vibes, the audience will vibe to it.
Since the release of this song by DJ Spinall and Asake, it has become a club banger that the people literally listen to all the time just to be able to sing along to whenever the song comes up.
Being a regular on both radio and TV stations is not all. It has also effortlessly charted on multiple streaming platforms’ top charts, reaching a solid No. 2 peak position on TurnTable top 50.
3. ‘Finesse’ – Pheelz featuring BNXN (BUJU)
“Ahhh Finesse! If I broke na my business!”
Talk about an anthem for all party goers and ‘Finesse’ by Pheelz featuring BNXN (BUJU) will definitely be among those types of songs, simply because it’s the type of song that fits into all types of occasions.
It is safe to say Pheelz was intentional about the promotion for this song as the 30 seconds snippet that was released sent the internet into a frenzy, having the release date of the song pushed up because of the high demand for the main song itself.
![Pheelz - Finesse (ft. BNXN) [Official Music Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Vcwhe0pY4Bg/hqdefault.jpg)
‘Finesse’ did finesse its way into the heart of music lovers across the country and beyond.
2. ‘Omo Ope’ – Asake featuring Olamide
The chorus of this song is the type you catch yourself humming unconsciously at a job interview and your interviewer gives you a pass for being good vibes. Then the verses show how prepared Asake himself was for fame because he ate it up. Being on a song with Olamide and performing incredibly well is no small feat.
It is safe to say ‘Omo Ope’ is a career-defining hit for Asake seeing how it ushered in more hits for the fast-rising YBNL act.
1. ‘Buga’ Kizz Daniel & Tekno
You would have seen a trending challenge on all social media platforms called the #BugaChallenge and wonder what it is all about. It is for the promotion of this song by Kizz Daniel & Tekno.
Over and over again, Kizz Daniel’s fans have always said that the singer has no bad songs and this is yet another proof of that because ‘Buga’ dominated right from the time of release till now.
So far, the song has spent 5 weeks at NO.1 on TurnTable Top 50.
Honorable Mentions – ‘Last Last’ by Burna Boy
The word ‘Breakfast’ has slowly and gradually taken on another meaning in the Nigerian street lingo meaning ‘heartbreak.’ Unlike other heartbreak songs, Burna Boy in his latest single ‘Last Last’ has given heartbreak songs a new outlook, proudly spreading the message of moving on regardless of the pain.
One question is, “Do we all chorus ‘Last Last’ because we have been heartbroken at a point in our lives, or because it is Burna Boy and his sound is addictive?