The music industry is fast growing to become one of the
biggest in the world… it actually is! Every soul on planet
Earth has associated with a talent whose penchant is
housed by the entertainment media. You guessed right! It’s
music, majorly. So in Nigeria where we have more artistes
than the industry has a capacity to effectively handle/cater
for, some have broken boundaries and crossed over to
tailoring an art that have gained them recognition. They’ve
done this by not resting on their oars, not settling for less…
with determination, sheer hardwork , relentlessness and
zeal.
TooXclusive presents it’s Next Rated (otherwise known as
the next-to-blow) artistes whose celebrity status and career
prominence were used as a measure to determine the
allotted positions.

1. PATORANKING
Nigerian reggae-dancehall sensation, Patoranking finally
made a really big vocal statement the year 2013 with his hit
single Alubarika. Since crossing over mainstream into the
music industry with Alubarika while as a protege under
Timaya’s Dem Mama Records, he got signed on officially to
Foston Musik and has released well received singles
including the popular Girlie O whose remix featured Mavin
firstlady, Tiwa Savage. His most sought-after status earned
him features with prominent acts like Seyi Shay on her
Murda track as well as a studio freestyle with street-hop
act, Olamide titled Bora. Patoranking has also appeared in
cameo roles for the videos of other music acts; there’s
Shoki by Lil Kesh and Runtown’s Gallardo – all too popular
songs with critical acclaim. Indeed, the sky is his starting
point!

2. SEYI SHAY
This London-born and raised singer has a record of
international gigs that are worth her bragging right. Seyi
Shay began her commercial career when she became part
of a best-selling UK girl group in 2006, then in 2010, she
toured with Beyonce in UK for her I Am… World Tour and
later got her own MTV reality show with impressive screen
ratings. After some location back and forths, she returned
to Nigeria in 2011 following a personal conviction from
Sound Sultan. Her debut Loving Your Way began her
steady projectile course to the top. Since then, she has
released singles that have been embraced with open arms
by the music media and it’s fans. Irawo won her the hearts
of more fans and while we were still reeling from her
Ragga Ragga frenzy, she hit us in quick succession with
Murda . Ms Shay will be here a very long long time.

3. RUNTOWN
Runtown’s career success is like a whoosh in time. With a
self-titled debut in 2007 and a brief moment of exile,
Runtown returned in 2010 with Party Like 1980 . Still, no
one really was giving him a fighter’s chance till we heard
Gallardo in 2014. Gallardo featured HKN lead, Davido and
those two hit the correct notes and pressed the right
buttons on melodies that have kept him endeared to music
lovers and fans. In a short time frame of what now seems
like a 5-month comeback, Runtown has paced to the top
with a velocity not common to newcomers. His other singles
All Eyes On Me, Successful and Domot were received with
critical acclaim. Runtown has collaborated with other
industry acts like Phyno, CDQ, Timaya, Patoranking, Skales
and more as well as a fine selection of producers including
T-Spize, Masterkraft and Wizzypro.

4. TEKNO MILES
Triple MG’s starlet Tekno is now living the star dream.
Since his official signing to Iyanya’s music management
company, he’s used the platform to show himself in ways
some of us thought impossible. He gathered plenty buzz
with his song Holiday which featured O.B.O crooner,
Davido and while we began paying him some attention, he
raised the stakes with Dance, a track that showed how well
he’s honed in the music and dance section. He further
showed even more prospect in his features on the label’s
compilation album, The Evolution . The budding act has
refused to be boxed in or tailored to one art as he’s
determined to keep pushing limits by striking a balance in
his singer/rapper talent. That aside, he’s a song writer, a
producer and a dancer.

5. CYNTHIA MORGAN
Adding to the shortlist of Nigeria’s new school acts in the
reggaeton/dancehall category is the pretty-faced Cynthia
Morgan. Cynthia succeeded in clinching a record/
management deal from Jude ‘Engees’ Okoye’s Northside
Entertainment in 2013 after the success of her Kuchi Kuchi
single which was released in 2012. Under this new platform
she has released Don’t Break My Heart , Lead Me On and
I’m Taken – songs that have not only created and secured
her place in the newcomer category but have also enjoyed
rotational play on radio and TV frequencies since they hit
the media space. Cynthia also shows her versatility in
freestyling when she jumps on beats. No doubt, she is
talented and must be watched out for

6. SHAYDEE
Shaydee boi is one very vocally talented artiste. His
nightingale-ish vocals can literally strike melodious chords
deep down in your heart. His stint with Empire Mates
Entertainment though brief, was very well enjoyed. He
blessed us with gyration songs from the label’s compilation
album such that when the gist about severing ties with the
label company filtered in, we soliloquized about what would
become of his career. But as expected, Shaydee bounced
back from the topsy-turvy affair. He resurfaced with Won
Gbo Mi featuring Starboy Wizkid and then gave an early
Valentine gift Ti E Nikan . The most talked about of his
vocal features will be Seyi Shay’s celebrated track Murda
where he lent his vocals alongside Patoranking. Shaydee is
also exceptionally skilled in the song-writing art, having
penned down the lyrics to chart-topping songs by many a-
list acts. Overall, this guy so good… he bad like that!

7. BOJ
BOJ first attained fame from the popular music group
DRBLasGidi. Having connected with his musical prospects,
he decided to flag off a solo music career. BOJ possesses a
[articular uniqueness to his vocal and music styling. His
husky tone gives him a different edge over colleagues in the
field who combat with tenors of varying ranges. BOJ’s
breaking point would be the release of his mixtape BOTM –
BOJ On The Microphone where he showed a variety of
creative sounds with features from Ajebutter22, Lola Rae,
Lynxxx, Efya and more. He’s also worked on collaborations
with Dammy Krane, Ozone, ODH and Naeto C as well as
some cameo features in music videos. He is currently
signed to Asa Asika’s music management company.

8. L.A.X
L.A.X kick started his professional career in 2011 when he
got signed to M2 Records far away in the UK while juggling
it with academics at the same time. He had done songs
like Pamurege and Ja Ye featuring Ice Prince whose glories
failed to live up to expectation but by 2013, he became
Wizkid’s first signee to Starboy Entertainment and Caro -
his debut feature under the label alongside Wizkid, shot
him into beaming limelight. The upbeat track gathered
generous buzz and stayed on music/video charts for a long
while. The frenzy lingered up till when he released Ginger -
another sure club banger tailored after Caro’s success and
featuring Wizkid. While it seems L.A.X is comfortable with
taking all the time in the world to push his career (and with
a platform like Starboy), he intends to keep releasing
singles with the sole aim of easing himself gradually into
the music world. Most definitely, he’ll be a force to reckon
with both locally and internationally especially with his
unique style of music. Afterall, it is said that slow and
steady wins the race.

9. AYO JAY
Boy wonder, Ayo Jay is one lucky chap to be blessed with a
face and a voice like his ‘cos he sure got our attention since
he surfaced in the music industry. Ayo Jay joins his other
(senior) colleagues who returned from an educational stint
abroad to frontline a music career after grueling conviction.
His most recent release Available didn’t take long before it
found it’s way to the hearts of many young music fanatics,
and because he’s had to juggle schooling alongside a
budding music career (to which he gave school credence),
he may not have an exhaustive roll call of singles and music
features but he’s been working tirelessly, doing take after
take in the studio just to give the fans what they deserve.
He’s also under Asa Asika’s music management company.

10. KOREDE BELLO
Baby-faced Korede Bello can be described as a long-time
newcomer to the industry. He gained some popularity for
his patriotic number, I Love My Country which took him on
various performing rounds in and around Nigeria. Korede
is especially skilled in the vocal and stringing art (he plays
the acoustic guitar). Motherluck smiled on him when he
met music maestro and production genius, Don Jazzy who
in turn recognized his starboy prospects and activated his
Mavin status. Since his new era fame, Korede first
released African Princess to the glee of his female fans and
then featured on the all too popular Dorobucci (not
forgetting his “mega superstar” verse becoming fans’
favourite) as well as Adaobi with mates Reekado Banks and
Di’Ja. We certainly got our eyes on this one and even his
Twitter profile can attest to that.

Dat patorankin of a guy is gonna blow the industry...