The year 2020 is a memorable period for the Nigerian music industry, a new normal came to being, and Artists were forced to find innovative ways to stay relevant.
2020, however, was a blessing to some artists as their songs dominated airwaves launching them to the spotlight. For others, it was a different story.
At the core of the music industry/business is the music itself. As always, enormous amounts of it were released daily in 2020. Some of those songs took flight immediately, some fell down flat, and lastly, others were abominably underrated.
This article would highlight some really good songs with huge potentials that were slept on. Sadly, everyone seems to agree that ‘this is one great song’ but they have continued to stay pathetically underrated. At least some can pass as sleeper hits but then had so much room for more growth.
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Here are some of the Underrated songs for 2020;
Tuale- Seyi Shay ft Ycee, Zlatan and Small Doctor
Seyi Shay is a powerhouse in terms of vocals prowess. She is mostly known for her Afropop/R’n’B songs and hearing her do a song like Tuale was a surprise.
‘Tuale’ is a happy and vibe filled song that pays homage to the streets and deserve top have dominated the airwaves. Unfortunately even the combination of Zlatan, Ycee and Small Doctor couldn’t boost its popularity.
Badman- Tolani
Not many are familiar with the name Tolani and that’s fine as she is the sister of popular Disc Jockey, DJ Cuppy. What Cuppy lacks in Vocals and artistry, Tolani makes up for it in abundance, her only problem would be her being so reclusive, unlike her sister.
Badman which was her debut single for 2020 is a song exploring the habit of getting caught up with the ‘bad boys’
Tesina Pot- Jaido P ft Olamide
Honestly, this writer was expecting Jaido P to be another of 2020’s breakout success story like Bella Shmurda, Omah Lay, Cheque, and the rest, unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be as there can only be many breakout songs at a time.
Though Olamide being featured on it helped boost its popularity a bit but it didn’t level up to the potentials “Tesina Pot” contained. Maybe if clubs were open, it would have helped.
“Tesina Pot” was another street anthem in the making.
Dotman- Feelings
While still enjoying the success of his 2020 debut single,”Enugbe”, Dotman dished out another hit song he titled “Feelings”. The Mid-tempo catchy tune is a motivational piece which Dotman is often fond of doing in his song.
However, unlike “Enugbe”, “Feelings” was slept on. This writer believes the latter to be more enjoyable than the former.
Where You Dey- T-classic ft Peruzzi, Mayorkun
T-Classic has been steady with releasing hit songs like “Fall in Love”, “Nobody Fine Pass You” and continued in that same lane with the release of “Where You Dey” in 2020. However, this song is heavily slept on for unpredictable reasons.
While it dominated airwaves when it was released, it didn’t reach its full potential like its predecessor. many people rarely remember that T-Classic released this song.
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Money I Dey Find- Ycee
Ycee has been underground and hasn’t released many hits for a while. “Money I Dey Find” was supposed to be his redemption in 2020 but alas failed to do the needful.
In the song, Ycee expresses the fact that making money is his newest and his only goal and intends to ignore any beef.
The song is off his two-track Quaratunes EP which also houses another great but underrated song, “Tell Nobody”.
Addicted- Niniola
‘Addicted’ was the lead single from Niniola‘s 2020 sophomore album, “Colors and Sounds”. The song which is produced by her usual collaborator, Sarz samples the trending South African sub-genre, Amapiano.
Niniola has made a name for herself as the Nigerian Queen of Afro-House with her sultry voice and erotic lyrics layered on an Afro-House beat. So for her Sophomore album, she decided to stretch out a bit and the result was a beauty.
However, Addicted was slept amassing only a few million streams on Youtube and Audiomack. The album didn’t fare any better. But as we know, numbers don’t technically translate to quality work.
Target You- 2Baba ft Syemca
2Baba is a legend on his own, being able to stay relevant in an ever-competitive industry for almost two-decade is no small feat.
2Baba proved he still more left in him by dropping an album in 2020 titled “Warriors”. The album which featured the likes of Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, and others produced hits. While some were commercially successful, others were slept upon like “Target You”.
“Target You” is a mid-tempo love song that has Upcoming singer, Syemca handling the chorus.
Make Up Your Mind- Ice Prince Ft Tekno
“Make Up Your Mind” is a dope jam with an addictive melody and banging beat that shows the musical chemistry between Ice Prince and Tekno. The two acts had teamed up on “Boss” which was produced by Tekno and was a commercial hit.
“Make Up Your Mind” failed to repeat the same success “Boss” did. and not because of the quality but because of the heavy saturation of songs in 2020.
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Naughty By Nature- Burna Boy ft Naughty by Nature
Even Superstars have underrated songs and Burna Boy is an example. In 2020, he released his Grammy Nominated album, Twice as Tall which made up of diverse sounds and birthed hits.
However, being nominated for the highest Award an Artist can dream of couldn’t save some of its songs from being slept upon.
“Naughty by Nature” sees Burna Boy reunite American rap icons also known collectively as Naughty by Nature. The song samples the group hit song, Jamboree.
Burna ever the lyrical maestro doesn’t disappoint in dishing out hot lyrics to the catchy and melodious beat.
Top 10 Underrated Nigerian songs in 2020
- Burna Boy ft Naughty By Nature- Naughty by Nature
- Ice prince ft Tekno- Make Up Your Mind
- 2Baba ft Syemca- Target You
- Niniola – Addicted
- Ycee- Money I Dey Find
- T-Classic ft Mayorkun, Peruzzi- Where You Dey
- Dotman- feelings
- Jaido P ft Olamide- Tesina Pot
- Tolani- Badman
- Seyi Shay – Tuale