Every year, a number of Nigerian artistes breakout, land their songs on the charts, release albums and become household names.
Some of the artistes fielded in this
list have been around for years while some sprung up last year. They
however are worth mentioning and hopefully will be blowing up in 2013.
Burna Boy (Real Name – Damini Ogulu, Age – 22, Record Label – Aristokrat Records)
The Patois speaking act debuted in 2011 with a mixtape ‘Burn Notice’ which brought him little publicity. But with the follow up project ‘Burn Identity’ which sounded more pop influenced and the massive single ‘Like to party’, the 22-year-old has been tearing up the charts, landing a rookie performance at The Headies 2012 and headlining top shows.
Like we said before, the Port Harcourt native is tough competition for the likes of older Pop-dancehall acts Shank and General Pype who all seem to have steamed off a bit. Burna’s debut will drop in 2013.
Dammy Krane (Real Name – Oyindamola Johnson Emmanuel, Age – 20, Record Label – Hypertek)
The Fuji-Pop singer who turns 20 in
August has been rocking university campuses since he was 17. In late
2011, he inked a deal with 2face Idibia’s Hypertek and that served as a
launchpad for his career in 2012 thanks to the Fuji-influenced ‘My
dear’. He also locked down a rookie performance at The Headies 2012 and
featured on 2face’s ‘Away and Beyond’ and Olamide’s ‘YBNL’ album.
The energetic and charming singer who is currently being managed by Osagie Osarenkhoe’s M.et.al will be hoping to drop a debut this year which will of course feature 2face himself.
K9 (Real name – Noble Ezeh, Age – , Record label – Trybe Records)
The multi-talented Imo State native who
has a B.A in French Language and also speaks Spanish Language was one of
the lucky two acts nicked by eLDee’s Trybe Records in 2011 after coming
second in an online music competition.
K9, a front man in the Da Trybe 2.0 squad dropped a freestyle, ‘Kokoma’ (which he produced himself) in mid-2011 and is currently burning the charts. After garnering experience featuring on eLDee’s fifth album ‘Undeniable’, he’ll be looking at dominating this year on a solo front.
KaySwitch (Real name – Kehinde Oyebanjo, Age – 27, Record label – DB Records)
Things are already looking bright for
KaySwitch after lurking in the shadows for a while at Mo’Hits Records
before the famous split. Now under his elder brother’s label, KaySwitch released his official singles in 2012 and got good reviews.
The dancehall-pop act has already signed a worldwide distribution deal with Universal Music South Africa and will hopefully drop his solo debut in 2013.
May D (Real name – Akinmayokun Awodunmila, Record label – Confam Entertainment)
He’s been around for a very long time. After featuring on Kel’s ‘The Investment‘ album in 2008, he went under but resurfaced working with Square Records’ Psquare on their ‘Invasion’ album.
Even though the UNILAG graduate has parted ways with the twins, May D has re-launched his music career, releasing new music and shooting videos under his Confam Entertainment label. The lanky singer says he’ll be putting in much work in 2013, we’ll be watching.
Morell (Real name – Musa Akilah, Age – 25, Record Label – Bento Records)
The R&B-Pop act has made a name for himself singing hooks for the likes of rappers Ruggedman, Naeto C and Overdose. In 2009, he almost inked a deal with Naeto C’s Cerious Music but after things didn’t work out, he got picked by UK based Bento Records.
Morell’s singles ‘Oxygen’ and ‘Kosi pressure’ put him out in 2012, his writing skills easily puts him on this list. Let’s see what he’s planned for 2013.
Ms. Jaie (Real name – Jaiye Dada, Age – 26, Record label – Storm Records)
Travelling from the UK where she was born to the Big Apple, Ms Jaie auditioned for a spot in Diddy’s BadBoy Records but returned to the UK to sign a deal. Fast forward to 2011, she relocated to Nigeria, hooked up with Storm 360 and debuted new singles.
The 26-year-old had a nice run in 2012, performing at the Hennessy Artistry gigs and releasing two hot singles ‘Kilon poppin’ and ‘Right here’ featuring Naeto C. Expect her to heat it up in 2013.
Seyi Shay (Real name – Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua, Age – 27, Record Label – Flytime Music)
Relocating to Nigeria and debuting in 2011 under Cecil Hammond’s Flytime Music after working in a girl band ‘From Above’ tutored by Beyonce’s father Matthew Knowles; Seyi Shay is one true talent to watch out for.
She’s spent the last two years recording and performing her numerous singles ‘Loving your way’, ‘No lele’, and ‘Irawo’ at top shows. She has been compared to Tiwa Savage one too many times, and she’ll be giving the Mavin R&B singer a run for her money in 2013.
Shaydee (Real name – Adeboye Folarin, Age – 25, Record label – EME)
After breaking ties with former label Kackland Records, EME boss Banky W scooped the talented R&B-Pop act, adding him to the list of youthful artistes Wizkid and Skales.
On the EME album,
Shaydee showed finesse with his vocals, he further impressed at the EME
concert. Not following the pattern of his label mate Wizkid, Shaydee is
already winning fans and even though a debut doesn’t look too sure this
year, expect him to kill his features and cameos.
Yemi Alade (Real name – Yemi Eberechi Alade, Age – 25, Record label – Effyzzie Entertainment)
The half-Ibo half-Yoruba singer worked with publicist and entertainment head Bayo Omisore from 2005 to 2011 winning the Peak Talent Show in 2009. One thing we can tell you about her is that she can sing pretty well.
Now 25, Yemi is now with Effyzzie Entertainment (DIPP’s former record label) and with her Beyonce-esque style; she’ll be putting pressure on her female counterparts thanks to her ‘Ghen ghen’ single produced by OJB Jezreel.
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