Top 10 Nigerian dances of all time and the artists that created them

Nigerians love to dance and it’s in our DNA, so many Nigerian artists are aware.

Therefore they’re constantly writing songs for the latest dance moves or for the more creative ones, artists inventing new dance moves for Nigerians to rock to and extend the life of their songs.

Various artists have introduced several dance techniques over the years, but only a few have gone viral and shook the dance floors.

Some of these dance moves were not originated by Nigerian artists, but as soon as they hit our radios, we adopted them and made mad jamz out of them.

Mp3bullet has checked, and these are the top 10 Nigerian dances of all time.

Enjoy, share, and do not forget to dance.

Galala – Daddy Showkey

This dance step is associated with “the ghetto” or Ajegunle, Lagos, it originated from the pseudo-reggae sound made popular by artists like Ras Kimono, Blacky, Fada U-Turn, etc.

However, Daddy Showkey will be most remembered as the instigator of the dance; it is as much a part of his identity as his long dreadlocks.

Alanta – Artquake

This was a very unique but crazy dance movement originated by a group called “Artquake“.

It involved a crazy movement of the arms and legs in an alternate manner and crazy facial expressions that were slightly debasing, beating an imaginary drum on the stomach.

Alanta could genuinely put you in a state of shock and dismay, Terry G also promoted this dance movement with his free madness series.

Yahooze – Olu Maintain

Olu Maintain is to be thanked for this. The Kennis Music star released “Yahooze” in 2008 and created madness across the country.

It involved popping two figures in the air in the like manner of spraying imaginary money.

As usual, it started all simple, until Nigerians got crazier with it and developed its steps to various styles.

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Yahooze was a force that launched an artiste’s solo career and dominated the country for a year and some.

Azonto – Fuse ODG

Azonto became popular in Nigeria thanks to Ghanaian singer Fuse ODG whose monster hit song ‘Azonto’ featuring Tiffany was released on the 27th of Oct 2011.

It gained more popularity when Wizkid did a freestyle on it and when the video above went viral, gaining more views than even the official video by Fuse.

It has gone on to become one of the greatest dance movements in the last decade, spreading from Ghana to other African countries and Europe.

Etighi/Kukere – Iyanya

Etighi originated from the Calabar/Akwa Ibom region of Nigeria, It became mainstream popular when Iyanya; who is from this region released the video for his hit single, Kukere in 2012.

Etighi had a brief but intense lifespan because it was the simplest of dances but if you take a closer look, it is there in many dance routines.

Skelewu – Davido

The Nigerian Afro-pop singer, Davido wowed everyone with his hit single released on Aug 18, 2013, Skelewu, and followed it up with a beautiful dance step to promote the song.

The song gave the Nigerian artist recognition home and abroad; the most memorable was when it was played during the halftime of a Spanish La Liga match.

Shoki –  Lil Kesh

Shoki will be remembered as one of Nigeria’s most controversial dance steps because about three acts claimed to be its originator.

They are Dre San, Lil Kesh, and Orezi, it had bubbled underground in Lagos for a year before Lil Kesh gave himself and the style a massive push with the release of his hit single “Shoki” in 2014.

Leaving the originator issue behind, Shoki was a hit, considering how easy it is.

Shakiti Bobo – Olamide

This dance begins and ends with the self-styled King of the Streets, Olamide. In 2015, Olamide released another one of his sneak attacks on radio and the clubs titled “Bobo”.

In what looked like a mere freestyle when it was first released, Olamide’s Bobo became a monster hit when its visuals were released with a trending dance step that many embraced with both arms.

Bobo became so famous that it sneaked into churches across the federation.

Shaku Shaku – Slimcase

This is another controversial dance step that blew up at the end of 2016 but those who are more familiar with its origins claim it has been a rave in Agege for two years and counting.

Songs like “Shepeteri” and “Legbegbe” became massive sleeper hits while riding the shaku wave, and their successes elevated the careers of two underground acts that you would do well to pay attention to, “Mr Real” and “Slimcase”.

Zanku – Zlatan Ibile

Zanku is currently the freshest dance step of them all, It was introduced by Zlatan Ibile in late 2018, and it involves plenty of ten-ten-like foot marches and karate-like jump kicks locally called gbeing body.

Some of the biggest Zanku songs include Chinko Ekun’s Able God featuring Zlatan and Lil Kesh, and Zlatan’s Killin Dem, etc.

Some other worthy mentions are

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Alingo – P square

“Alingo” became popular due to its controversial dance moves. The duo first announced the Alingo dance during the Love Afrobeats Festival Press Conference.

Furthermore, they said the pace of the dance makes it complicated for a lot of people.

After uploading the music video for “Alingo” onto YouTube, the duo received numerous criticism from people who felt the song’s dance moves bear a close resemblance to the Azonto dance.

Sekem – Mc Galaxy

Sekem dancers are lovely to watch, the jolly sideways, back and forth moves are the beauty of the dance step created by MC Galaxy on his hit track Sekem.

It had a brief life span as it was Simple but cost us our footwear.

Suo – Marvellous Benji