Sampling Culture has always been a part of the Nigerian Music scene right from the late 90s. As the Nigerian Hip-Hop scene began to thrive, it was obvious that a lot of Nigerian Artists tailored their sounds and songs with that of their western counterparts.

For today’s throwback edition, we would be looking at the Nigerian Hit songs that sampled foreign sounds.

• RELATED: Top 10 most-streamed Nigerian afrobeat albums on Audiomack
• RELATED: Throwback: Iconic Music groups that rocked the Nigerian Music Industry

Ebute Metta- Banky W

Banky W came to the limelight in his music career with the song “Ebute Metta.” Released in 2008 as his first official single, the song was an instant hit. The song was sampled from Rihanna’s 2007 hit song “Umbrella”.

Black Reverendz- Ayangba Girls

The Group Black Reverendz was formed in the early 90s comprising of Shobb2 & Wesley. They came into the limelight with their hit track “Ayangba Girls are Dangerous”, which took the Nigerian music industry by storm in 2000.

The song samples Busta Rhymes‘ Dangerous.

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Maintain-Catch Cold

Tolu Maintain and Olu Maintain were a group known as The Maintain who dominated the industry with their catchy tunes. One of those is “catch Cold” released in 2002. The song was sampled from Ludacris‘s Area Codes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvrKzmkdBTI

P-square- Bizzy Body

P-square were one of the front liners of the sampling culture in the early 2000s. Their songs borrowed heavily from RnB and Hip-Hop groups. One of these songs is “Bizzy Body” which heavily sampled American Hip-Hop group, Fugees‘ “Ready or Not‘

Rasqie- Soji (Wake Up)

If you do not remember the song titled “Soji”, you are missing a lot. Rasqie was, at the peak of his career, a Kennis Music act who rocked the scene with the like Azadus, Remedies, Platashun Boiz, Kenny Saint Brown, Olu Maintain, Trybesmen among others.

Soji (Wake Up) was recorded and released around 1999 – 2000 and was the only song that got Rasqie all the fame he ever needed.

The song sampled DMX’s ‘Ruff Ryder Anthem’

Sauce Kid Yebariba Samboribobo

Remember Sauce Kid? He also goes by the alias ‘Sinzu’ now. His instant hit song “Yebariba Samboribobo“ was a national anthem and later on, parlance used amongst Nigerians back then.

The song was sampled from Remy Ma’s “Conceited” produced by Scott Storch

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The Music Groups/Boy Bands movement was so successful during that period that most Nigerian Artists wanted to be in a band.

Music groups were like the mecca of sorts where most artists sharpen their craft to become the most revered musicians. In the era where collective glory was a valued achievement, it was trendy to be a member of a music group.

Their achievements are groundbreaking. They individually at different times shaped pop culture narratives. Their songs made us fall in love. Through fashion and lifestyle, they made us felt witty like our foreign hip-hop and pop music heroes.

In this article, I will try to go down memory lane to talk about music groups that dominated the Nigerian music industry.

• RELATED: Top 5 songs from Naija music groups of the early 2000s
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Junior and Pretty

JUNIOR & PRETTY are credited as the pioneer godfathers of Nigerian hip hop music. When everybody was trying to mimic the American rappers, they came out with their unique rap style which is comic in nature and uses local pidgin English as the language of delivery. This unique blend took the country by storm, and the rest is history.

Waltzing into our hearts with a super-detailed account of their hot-pursuit of Bolanle, Junior and Pretty dominated the 90s music scene.

Remedies

ANOTHER boy band that rocked the late 90s and early 2000s were Remedies, made up of Eddy Remedy, Tony Tetuila and Eedris Abdulkareem.

The group was a force to reckon with, giving the RnB and Rap genre a new face. The group had songs that enjoyed airplay. They went separate ways to start as solo artistes which at a point were successful.

Trybesmen

Trybesmen (also known as Da Trybe) comprising of three original members, known as Eldee, Kaboom and Freestyle.

Their first album, L.A.G Style Volume 1., was released in 1999 to positive reviews. Their hits included “Plenty Nonsense” and “Shake Bodi”.

Maintain

Before Olu Maintain dished out his smash hit, ‘yahooze’ and danced with former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, he was one of a duo known as Maintain.

The group was made up of Tolu Oguniyi (Tolu Maintain), Olumide Adegbolu (Olu Maintain) and they had a frequent collaborator and label owner in Adeboye Bammeke aka Big Bamo.

Their music was mostly famous for its often humorous, politically underlined lyricism.  They became household names in Nigeria after the success of their debut album Ni bo la wa gbe lo in 1999.

The group’s rise to fame was mostly based off samples and covers of other  international pop songs. Particularly, one of their biggest hits till date I Catch Cold, was a parody of Ludacris’ and Nate  Dogg’s 2001 smash hit Area Codes.

Plantanshaun Boiz

ANOTHER powerful group that rocked the Nigerian music industry between the late 90s to early 2000s is Plantashun Boiz which was made up of the trio, Innocent Idibia, aka 2Baba, Chibuzor Orji, aka Faze and as well as Ahmedu Augustine Obiabo better known as Black Face.

During their days as a group, they had several hits but things came to a head when some members of the group decided to pursue individual careers in 2003.

After their separation, 2Baba got signed under Kennis Music where he dropped his hit song African Queen which catapulted him to stardom and made him a force to reckon with in Africa and beyond. Faze on the other hand also made his solo debut with Faze Alone as his first single as a solo artist. Black Face as well dropped a couple of singles.

Within a space of about two years, the three of them had songs and albums doing well out in the industry and radio stations. 2Baba had ‘Face to Face’, Faze had ‘Faze Alone’ while Black Face had ‘Ghetto Child’. The albums did quite well in the industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM35Au_IYRM

• RELATED: Nigerian artistes whose parents are also musicians
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Styl Plus

Described as the Nigerian version of the American RnB group, Boys 2 Men due to their genre of songs, Styl Plus were an R’n’B group that was consisted of Shifi, Tunde and Zeal.

Style Plus gained stardom with their hit single Olufunmi in 2007 and they all enjoyed their time giving hit songs back-to-back.

However, Tunde left style plus a few years after to pursue a solo career and since then, not much has been heard from him. The reason for his departure is still unknown.

Shifi and Zeal also haven’t dropped many songs since, leaving their fans to assume that they are done with music and facing other endeavours.

This post appeared first on Mp3bullet.ng... Read Original post on Throwback: Iconic Music groups that rocked the Nigerian Music Industry.

While Afrobeat and Afropop is currently the main genre dominating the Nigerian Music Industry, in the late 90s to early 2000s, Rap/Hip-Hop was the reigning genre.

Thanks to the influence from the American Hip-Hop genre, a lot of Nigerian Artists as of that time produced songs that fused Hip-Hop and R’n’B sung mostly in English or the artist’s local dialect.

Today, we look back at those songs that rocked the dancefloor and changed the music industry.

• RELATED: Top 10 Naija Songs currently topping charts
• RELATED: Throwback: Top 10 Afropop songs of the 2010s

Catch Cold- Maintain

At the time of its release, if you weren’t rocking to this song, you wouldn’t be seen as cool. Maintain was made of cousins, Tolu Maintain and Olu Maintain who were popular in the early 2000s for their catchy rap songs.

‘Catch Cold’ released in 2002 was one of their popular hit songs, the song sampled Ludacris’ “Area Codes”.

Mr Lecturer- Eedris Abdulkareem

Conversations on the success of the rap industry won’t be complete without the inclusion of Eedris Abdulkareem. The music Activist irked a Whole sitting President with his socio-political song, “JagaJaga”

In 2006, the rapper released a song titled “Mr Lecturer,” a song that tells the story of the act of lecturers having S*x with the student to make them pass. Years later the song became relevant after the popularity of BBC’s “Sex for Grades” documentary.

Pon Pon Pon- Dagrin

Late Dagrin is remembered for his impact on the rap industry in just the short time he spent, most especially making Indigenous rap songs commercial success. One of the songs that made him popular was ‘Pon Pon Pon’, off his sophomore album “C.E.O.”

Producer, Sossick provides back up vocals, while DaGrin runs into bar after bar about his innate confidence and well-versed rap skills. The result is what perhaps became Nigeria’s first viral hit with quips and references spawned off Da Grin’s cheeky lyrics on social media and everyday conversations.

Shakamo- Remedies

Comprising resident rapper Eedris Abdulkareem and singers Tony Tetuila and Eddie Remedy, the Remedies were a Hip-Hop group that dominated airwaves between the late 90s and early 2000s.

“Shakomo” released in 1997 was one of their big hits that rocked the dancefloor. The hook is mostly sung in Yoruba is handled by Eedris, and the melody leans into the smoothness of R&B.

Nobody Test me- Jess Jagz ft M.I Abaga, Ice Prince

Former Chocolate City artists, M.I Abaga, Jesse Jagz, & Ice Prince have had a huge impact on the evolution of Naija Hip-Hop.

This 2010 released single “Nobody Test Me” by Choc Nation featuring M.I Abaga, Jesse Jagz, and Ice Prince is a clear testament to that.

• RELATED: Throwback: Top 10 Classic Nigerian songs you didn’t know were produced by Cobhams Asuquo
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Kabakaba- Konga ft Remi Aluko, Dagrin

Released in 2011, ‘Kabakaba’ was the first single off Konga’s Album of the same name.  Featuring Fuji artist, Remi Aluko and Late Dagrin, this song showed how the Fuji genre and Hip-hop are of the parent and blend well.

Baraje -Ruggedman

Ruggedman was one of the men who shaped the Nigerian Hip Hop/Rap Music Industry. Though he was known for his controversial style of pushing hip hop music (which includes “beef” and firing shots at other rappers/artists), it’s kinda like his own way of giving it an identity, he also released some hits that rocked the dancefloor back then.

Released in 2005, “Baraje” was one of such songs that got people dancing at the time of its release. It was produced by the late music producer, OJB Jezreel.

Ten over Ten- Naeto C

“Ten Over Ten” is the third single from Nigerian rapper Naeto C‘s Super C Season album. It was released on August 16, 2010.

The song is produced by Nigerian producer Ty Mix. It is an up-tempo track and its rhythm and lyrics have a good laid back feel to it.

Yebariba Samboribobo- Sauce Kid

Sauce Kid who now goes by the alias ‘Sinzu’ now was one of the rappers who had the clubs banging with their groovy tracks.

His instant hit song “Yebariba Samboribobo“ (a spin-off Remy Ma’s Conceited and produced by Scott Storch) was a national anthem and later on, parlance now commonly used amongst Nigerians.

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DJ Stramborella – Efrebor

Stramborella undoubtedly is one of Nigeria’s foremost DJs who engineered the music artship alongside his wheel-spinning prowess.

Together with Slim and Jimmy Jatt, they pioneered the trend that has become a game-changer for Deejaying industry.

This throwback takes us to the time when his dance hall track Efrebor (built on Beenie Man’s Dude instrumentals) reigned supreme.

The track taken from his album of the same title and released in 2005 features industry mates Uzio & Mo Dogg whose rap lines and vocals show how much the music art showmanship has changed.

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Cobhams Asuquo has been into music for more than a decade; be it singing, writing songs, or producing, the man didn’t let his defect stop him.

He started as a music producer as far back as the early 2000s also doubling as a background singer for some of the artists he produced for.

It wasn’t until 2007 he became publicly known as a singer and performing artist when he featured on what became the wildly popular Nigerian campus favorite, Mo Like Jesu Gan by Dekunle Fuji.

Later on, he featured in the song’s music video, officially introducing himself to a very adoring Nigerian public and finally gaining some recognition. In 2008 he produced and dropped a verse on Lagimo which became another fan favorite, for the gospel duo Rooftop MCs.

In 2014, he released his debut hit single, Ordinary People which has gone to achieve status as a timeless classic.

The multi-talented singer clocked 39 years old on the 6th of January and to celebrate the music icon, mp3bullet.ng has compiled a list of songs you didn’t know were produced by him.

• RELATED: Jaga jaga and other Throwback Songs that Tackled the Government
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Darey- Not the Girl

‘Not The Girl’ would forever be remembered as one of Darey‘s best timeless pieces. The emotional R&B love ballad sees Darey sing about the painful knowledge that his love interest’s heart no longer belongs to him.

The song is taken from Dare’s sophomore album ‘unDAREYted’ and was written by him and Cobhams.

Rooftops MCs- Lagimo

Rooftop MCs consisting of the duo, Soulsnatcha, and Sokleva came into the spotlight with their hit song, ‘Lagimo’ which ruled in airwaves from radio to television between 2007 and 2009, totally redefining what gospel music has been known to be prior to RoofTop MCs.

When roughly translated as a whole from Yoruba to English the chorus means, “if my head will swell up in pride, beat it back into humility”.

Cobhams apart from producing the song also featured on the song in which he dropped a powerful verse.

Modenine- Cry

‘Cry’ which features the soulful vocals of songstress Nnenna, is the second track on Modenine‘s 2007 album E’ Pluribus Unum released under Questionmark Entertainment.

‘Cry‘ is his most successful award-winning single to date. The song brought him on the radar of even non-hip hop listeners.

The song tells of two tragic stories, one of a new mother who becomes a widow the same day she gives birth and two friends turn archenemies due to being in rival gangs.

• RELATED: Throwback Thursday: How Fela Kuti addressed Police Brutality in his songs
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Asa- Jailer

Cobhams and Asa both rose to international acclaim as a result of their collaboration on Asa’s platinum-selling debut album, “Asha“.

One notable song off that album is the Socio-political commentary song, “Jailer“. The song is a reflection of the political climate in Nigeria and the rest of the world.

It has also been interpreted to be a metaphorical commentary on how society has become prisons and some selected people have become ‘Jailers’. Cobhams is credited as a co-writer of the song.

Omawumi- If You ask Me

“If You Ask Me (Na Who I Go Ask)“ is a soulful yet socially conscious track that tells the story of an abused child.

The song’s chorus which takes the call and response format has become a popular slang used on the street whenever someone is asked to narrate a befuddling story.

Banky W- Strong Ting

‘Strong Thing’ is a romantic ballad off Banky W‘s 2009 “The W Experience” album. The song alongside the hit classic, ‘Lagos Party‘ was released before the full album.

Chidinma- Kedike

After winning the third season of Project Fame West Africa in 2010, Chidinma launched her career with the Cobhams-produced, ‘Kedike’.

The song was the third single off her self-titled debut album, “Chidinma“. The name translates to “Heartbeat”.

Djinee- Ego

Djinee released the impressive Afro-R’n’B song, ‘Ego‘ way back in 2006. The song which rocked airwaves at the time of its release is a timeless classic.

Maintain- Catch Cold

Way before Olu Maintain had people dancing to his classic, “Yahooze“, he and his cousin Tolu under the group name Maintain had released a number of hit songs, and ‘Catch Cold” is one of them.

“Catch Cold” which was produced by Cobhams samples American rapper, Ludacris‘s “Area Codes” song.

• RELATED: Throwback: Top 10 Afropop songs of the 2010s
• RELATED: Oldies Throwback: Top 10 songs from the 90s

Shola Allyson- Eji Owuro

Shola Allyson came into the limelight with the hit song Eji Owuro (2003), which was the soundtrack album for a film of the same title.

The song also led to the release of a full album of the same title that produced other hit songs. The song’s lyrics have been sampled in different hit songs which tells of how huge the song is.

Top 10 Classic Nigerian songs you didn’t know were produced by Cobhams

• Darey Art Alade- Not the Girl
• Rooftops MCs- Lagimo
• Modenine- Cry
• Asa- Jailer
• Omawumi- If You ask Me
• Banky W- Strong Ting
• Chidinma- Kedike
• DJINEE- Ego
• Maintain- Catch Cold
• Shola Allyson- Eji Owuro

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• SEE ALSO: 4 Songs to Groove to During the Sallah Holiday

The songs released in 2000 were considered fresh and innovative and remain instantly recognizable and classic to this date. These Naija songs are turning 20 years in 2020

Over the last 20 years, the Nigerian Music Industry has also experienced major revolution ushering in a new style, sound, and talent but the classics by Nigerian musicians remain evergreen.

Azadus – You is the one

“You is the One” is a love song by Olalekan Fadeyi who was known by his stage name Azadus. He was signed to Kennis Music and released his self titled album of which the song, “You is the One” was part of.

• SEE ALSO: Top 5 Influential Women in Music

Plantasun Boiz – Don’t you know

Plantashun Boiz was a Nigerian Hip Hop and R’n’B bot group consisting of 2face now known as 2Baba, Faze, and Blackface.

They were undoubtedly the most successful and iconic boy group in Nigeria. In the early period of there career through 1998-2002, they won just about all the awards imaginable in the Nigerian music and social scene before their split prematurely.

The group produced hits songs during their time together but their memorable one is ‘Don’t You Know” from their debut album “Body and Soul: The Begining”.

https://youtu.be/wM35Au_IYRM

Lagbaja – Gra Gra

Veteran Afrobeat Musician, Lagbaja was known for entertaining and socially conscious songs which were always a hit with music lovers.

The Masked Singer was famous for his Saxophone which was an important factor of his unique sound. One of his memorable song, “Gra Gra” was released about 20 years ago.

The song told the story of a fight from Lagbaja’s perceptive and how he responds to the situation. In the song, Lagbaja warns his opponent against looking for trouble and pride.

• SEE ALSO: 4 Music Video Directors That Changed The Face of Music in Nigeria

Maintain Featuring Big Bamo – Ni Bo Lawa

Maintain was a Music duo group consisting of Olu Maintain and his cousin, Tolu Maintain. Later Big Bamo joined them. The group released six albums between 1998 and 2004 with the hit songs “I Catch Cold”, “Domitila” and “Alo” before they separated in 2004.

Their song “Ni Bo Lawa” was released in 2000.

• SEE ALSO: 5 Naija hit songs that were banned by the NBC

TrybesMen – Plenty Nonsense

Trybesmen (also known as Da Trybe) is an African hip-hop group from Lagos, Nigeria. They were described as the pioneers of Hip Hop in Nigeria.

The group was made up of original members Eldee, Kaboom, and Freestyle and later Oladele and TKO joined the group after the departure of Kaboom and Freestyle.

The group dropped their first album, “L.A.G style Volume 1” twenty years ago and one of their memorable song is “Plenty Nonsense”.

The song tackled the Nigerian Government and corruption in a satirical manner and it remains one of the group’s biggest hits.

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Download Juls ft. Kwesi Arthur Maintain Mp3 Download

Ghanaian born UK Based disc jockey – Juls teams up with Tema based and alarming Ghanaian rapper – Kwesi Arthur for this new new. They christen this collaborate effort “Maintain”, produced by Juls.

Check-out this rap song below.

DOWNLOAD HERE

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