These are the top 5 Nigerian albums that were very significant in the Nigerian music industry.
The Nigerian music industry has undergone considerable changes and a cultural reset throughout the years via albums, with artists releasing bodies of work that have changed the industry’s dynamism.
Because of the originality of Nigerian artists, the industry is renowned to be competitive.
Some initiatives have stood out amongst others, occupying diverse places in history, and they are as follows:
1. Wizkid “Superstar” – 2010
For decades, the Nigerian music industry has been dominated by mature men, making it seem difficult for a young individual to break into the profession.
Wizkid burst onto the scene at the age of 17 with a verse on M.I’s song “Fast Money, Fast Cars,” and went on to release a seminal debut album that ushered in a new era for Nigerian music.
“Superstar” album revolutionized the Nigerian music industry, it ushered in a generation of young artistes to an industry dominated by grown men.
This album made Nigerian youth believe they don’t have to be 25 and above before having a chance in the music industry.
However, it also became a reference points for youths when they confront their parents about their passion for music.
This is an album majority of youths can sing every track on the album word for word.
A decade after its release, the album still gets similar reactions from the audiences, it emerged as the album of the decade on different platforms at the end of the last decade (2020).
The album spawned smash hits like “Don’t Dull”, “No Lele”, “Gidi Girl”, “Pakurumo”, “I Love My Baby”, and “Wad Up” featuring D’Prince, “For Me” featuring Wande Coal etc. It is the biggest Nigerian debut album in history.
Olamide “Eyan Mayweather” – 2015
Olamide is widely known for his innovations and creativity, oftentimes he comes up with dance steps and slang that become generally accepted on the street nationwide.
“Eyan Mayweather” album opened Nigerian artists eyes to a no-feature album.
Dropping a no-feature album requires a whole lot of courage and confidence, Olamide broke that deadlock with “Eyan Mayweather” for Nigerian artistes.
What makes this feat more remarkable is the fact that Olamide did this with a Rap album, as we all know the reality of Rap music compared to Pop music in the country.
The album produced hits like “Eyan Mayweather”, “Goons Mi”, “Don’t Stop” etc.
Rema “Rema” EP – 2018
Rema broke into the music industry with an EP that was met with critical acclaim.
This EP encouraged the EP culture we have today in the industry, although EP used to be a thing prior to the release of Rema EP, it added fuel to a dying fire and breathed new life into an existing culture.
The EP produced smash hits like “Dumebi”.
Fireboy “Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps” – 2019
Fireboy gain popularity with his smash single “Jealous” in 2018, he went ahead to release a no-feature album which was met with positive reviews from music enthusiasts.
The album has become the standard for the new generation of artistes starting from 2019, the success of the album has become a height every new generation artiste wants to reach and surpass.
Burna Boy “African Giant” – 2019
Burna Boy’s career took another turn in 2018 as he started getting his deserved credits. He was announced as one of the artistes set to perform at Coachella 2019 with his name written in “small letters”.
Burna Boy was not pleased with this gesture and he made a statement about it, calling himself “African Giant”.
As he was working on his album at that moment, he decided to make a bold statement the album and named it “African Giant”.
This is an album that opened Nigerians’ eyes to the possibility of winning a Grammy award for a contemporary music album.
Following its nomination in 2020, it gave a new generation of Nigerian artistes the courage to submit their projects for consideration.
Prior to the release of the album, it was a popular belief that Grammy is an award reserved for veteran artistes like Angelique Kidjo, Femi Kuti, King Sunny Ade etc.
The album spawned smash hits like “Anybody”, “One The Low, “Gbona”, “Kill Dem” featuring Zlatan etc.