Nigerians love their banter, Rema and Fireboy DML, who is the better artist? Davido and Wizkid, who is the bigger artiste? Yemi Alade and Tiwa Savage, who shut down more events? The year 2020 was no exception; more so, given the body of works produced and released this year alone.
Music is beyond singing and dancing for Nigerians. It is more than art. The love many have for music is over the moon.
Although the pandemic halted and disrupted a lot of plans this year for the music industry, most especially live shows and industry events, a lot of body of work was still put out. Despite the pandemic, Nigerian artistes didn’t fail in delivering wonderful jams to the public.
Burna Boy came through with his twice as tall album; after over 2 years of keeping his fans waiting, Wizkid, popularly known as Starboy also came out with his album Made in Lagos which featured hit singles such as S.M.I.L.E featuring H.E.R. Davido wasn’t left out as well as he also released his 4th studio album, A better time with features such as U.S rappers Nicki Minaj, Da Baby, and the legendary NAS.
A lot of other artists also put out projects, dope projects such as Tems, Omah Lay, Moelogo, Simi, Adekunle Gold, Tiwa Savage, Olamide, amongst many others.
The success of the Afrobeats/Afro-fusion genre of music in 2020 deserves to be spoken about. The emergence of young and talented artists despite the pandemic is enough credit for the Nigerian music industry.
Indeed, Nigerian music is reaching unprecedented heights. Burna boy became the first Nigerian artiste to be nominated for the Grammy Awards 2 years in a roll. Wizkid’s song S.M.I.L.E made it to Barack Obama’s list of songs of the year.
Despite the pandemic, the Nigerian music industry was able to reach across borders and made a global impact. The impact of Afro-beats across genres has been influential much more in 2020.
Yet, in all of this, the success of a particular artiste stands out, Fireboy DML; “Africa’s most inspired lover” as described by Joey Akan in an interview with Fireboy.
Fireboy DML, born Adedamola Adefolahun is a 24 years old Nigerian Singer. He released his debut album, Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps (LTG) in November 2019. The album allowed for Fireboy DML to indeed make his mark in the Nigeria Music Industry. In his interview with Joey, Fireboy describes the album as a culture-defining album.
2020 was indeed a successful year for Fireboy. Riding on the wave of the success of his debut album, Fireboy DML released his sophomore album Apollos in August 2020. Inspired by Greek Mythology, the album houses 17 beautiful songs. The album was given an 8.3/10 rating by Pitchfork Magazine.
Fireboy’s success and impact in the music industry this year has earned him nine nominations at the Headies, Nigeria’s biggest Music awards. The most by any artist this year.
Fireboy’s nominations cut across categories such as Best R&B/Pop Album of the Year, Best Recording of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Music Video of the Year, Viewer’s Choice Award, Songwriter of the Year, and the Hip-Hop World Revelation of the Year.
The 2020 headies will reward works released between July 2019 and September 2020. This year’s edition is expected to be held in January 2021. This year’s awards night will also see Timaya and Eedris Abdulkareem receive special recognition awards for their impact on the music industry. Highlife legend, King Sunny Ade will also be inducted into the Headies Hall of Fame.
Due to the COVID-19 rave, this year’s edition will be held virtually. The Hosts for this year’s edition are Bovi and Nancy Isime.
