Micro-blogging App, Twitter is one of the places Nigerians love to interact and share banters. Recently a Generation war between Nigerian Millenials(Gen Y) and Gen Zs broke out on the app over who is cooler.
Just in case you are lost, Millennials are people born between 1981 and 1996, while Gen Z is those born between 1997 and 2015. We have decided to take a look at the top Nigerian Artists both Generations have representing them and their success stories so far.
We would only be looking at the Five Artists for each Generation.
MILLENNIALS
Born between the years of 1981 and 1996, these set of artists under the age range helped laid the foundation of the success that the Nigerian Music Industry is enjoying.
One important artist who doesn’t fall this category is Tiwa Svage who according to her birth year falls under the Gen X generation.
Wizkid
Wizkid was born in 1990, in 2020, he celebrated his 30th birthday.
His sojourn in the music industry started at the age of 11-years-old when he was part of a group, Glorious Five. By the time he was 15, Wizkid had already met OJB Jezreel who he followed closely and watched other big stars like 2Face, Sound Sultan and Neato C.
In 2009, he got signed to EME which was owned by Banky B and dropped his official first single, “Holla Ya Boy’ in 2010.
A decade later, the singer has four albums, Superstar (2011), Ayo (2014) and Sounds from the Other Side (2017), Made In Lagos(2020).
The father of three is an award-winning singer who has worked with various International acts which include Beyonce, Drake, Chris Brown, Skepta, e.t.c
Davido
Davido was born in 1992. He came to the spotlight with the release of his 2011 single, “Dami Duro” from his debut studio album Omo Baba Olowo (2012).
The singer became the first Nigerian artist to sign with Sony Music in 2016 and also launched his won Label, DMW a few months later.
The singer has three albums to his credit; Omo Baba Olowo(2012), A Good Time(2019), A Better Time(2020).
The father of three is also boss to successful artists like Mayorkun, Peruzzi, Dremo, e.t.c
In the ten years, he has been in the industry, the singer has released chart-topping hits like “fall”, “If”, “Skelewu”, “Blow My Mind”, “The Sound”, e.t.c
He has also worked with international acts like Meek Mill, Chris Brown, Popcaan, Nicki Minaj, Young Thug e.t.c
Burna Boy
Burna Boy was born in the year 1991. The Port-Harcourt singer is one of Nigeria’s biggest export to the music scene.
He rose to prominence in 2012 after releasing “Like to Party”, the lead single from his debut studio album L.I.F.E (2013).
The singer has five albums to his credit; L.I.F.E(2013), On a Spaceship(2015), Outside(2018), African Giant(2019), Twice as Tall(2020).
In 2020, Burna Boy became the first Nigerian Artist to be nominated for a Grammy in the World Music Album category two times in a row.
Yemi Alade
Yemi Alade was born in 1989. The Singer came to prominence with her 2014 hit single “Johnny”.
Popularly known as Mama Africa, Alade is a multi-bilingual singer who sings in English, Pidgin, French, Swahili, Yoruba, Igbo and Portuguese.
The award-winning singer has five albums to her credit; King of Queens(2014), Mama Africa(2016), Black Magic(2017), Woman of Steel(2019), Empress(2020).
With hits like “Johnny”, “Kissing”, “Oh My Gosh”, “Shekere” and the rest, the singer is one of the few female artists dominating the industry.
Olamde
Olamide was born in 1989. The singer came to prominence with the success of his first official single, “Eni Duro” in 2010.
The rapper who raps in both Yoruba and English is seen as the biggest indigenous rapper in the Nigerian Music Industry.
In over ten years, Olamide has held the music industry down with his hit singles which has earned him fans especially on the streets f Lagos.
The rapper’s influence doesn’t just stop at music but also in popularizing fashion, Dance routines and street slangs.
He is also the boss of the successful YBNL label which is responsible for the rise of artists like Lil Kesh, Adekunle Gold, Chinko Ekun, Pheelz, Fireboy DML, e.t.c
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GEN Z
This generation is seen as the future of Nigerian entertainment. Born between 1997 and 2015, artists under this category are currently holding the industry down with their new sound and style.
YBNL star, Fireboy DML would have been under the list if not for his year of birth which is 1996. So, technically he is under the Millinneals category.
Rema
Rema who was born in 2000 had started doing music from a very tender age though most of it were mostly gospel music, with a blend of trap. He attracted the attention of D’prince after his cover of D’prince‘s Gucci Gang went viral.
He got signed into Jonzing Records a subsidiary of Mavin Records but has managed to steal the spotlight from Mavin records’ main artistes like Dr Sid, Korede Bello.
The Youngster has managed to pull so much influence within two years of being signed to Mavin Records that he is now regarded as the next D’banj of Mo’hits.
He has a large fanbase called the “Ravers”, had one of his songs listed on Barack Obama’s playlist of 2019, also featured on American actress, Halle Berry’s playlist, got a shoutout from Drake and had Rihanna dance to his song, Dumebi.
Rema is yet to release any album bu has three EPs to his credit.
He could be regarded as the leader of the Gen Z generation when it comes to music.
Joeboy
Joeboy was born in 1997. Joeboy was the pioneer of Mr Eazi talent management factory, Empawa”.
His breakout hit single, “Baby” brought the much-needed spotlight he needed and from there, he went on to produce hits like “Begining”, “Call”, “All for you”, “Don’t call me back”.
Joeboy released his first EP in 2019 titled “Love & Light“, then his album in 2021, “Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic“.
Omah Lay
Born in 1997, Omah Lay rose to prominence in 2020 with “You”. Then he dropped his EP, “Get Layd” which produced hits “Damn, Bad Influence“, e.t.c
Omah Lay started his music career in his early teens, at that time as a rapper with the stage name, Lil King.
He later took to learning how to produce music in 2019. However, he felt he was not getting enough credit for his works and made a resolve to take the stage instead.
In the same year, Omah Lay was able to record and release his first tracks, “Hello Brother” and “Do Not Disturb” – which became a most played track in various radio stations in his hometown. This landed him a contract with a record label, KeyQaad in July 2019 situated in Lagos State.
The singer is a baby in the industry but has achieved major success in less than a year. And in 2020, he released two commercially successful EPs, “Get Layd“, “What Have We Done”
Bella Shmurda
Bella Shmurda was born in 1997 and rose to publicity with the remix of his debut single “Vision 2020” featuring Olamide in 2019.
In 2020, he released several hit songs, some of which featured top musicians, one of which is “Cash App” featuring Zlatan.
He was nominated for the Headies Award for the next rated in 2020. He is signed with Oneword Global Records, although he has close ties with the YBNL record label.
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Oxlade
Born in 1997, Oxlade started his musical career at the age of ten when a became a junior choir director.
Oxlade’s love for music was so strong that he dropped out of school to pursue his career which led to a strain in his relationship with his father.
His big break in the music industry came when fellow artist Blaqbonez heard his single ‘Sour‘ and collaborated with him on the hit track Mamiwota.
He later featured on Fireboy DML’s hit single Sing. This one was particularly important as it caught the attention of world-renowned singer Davido.
In 2020, he released his EP, “Oxygene” which was successful, producing instant hits like “Away”, “O2”, “Hold On”