As far as music is concerned, 2020 is a very successful year in Nigeria, you can’t tell any music enthusiast otherwise. Ironically, we witnessed back to back release of international and local records-breaking albums and EPs in a year where most music stars were on the streets instead of in the studios protesting for better leadership in the country. Most music genres were well represented in a largely revealing year in the music industry, we got to know some artistes for the first time, while building on our musical relationship with others.
Igbo highlife music lovers were not left out in the groove with quite a number of tracks released which falls under the contemporary highlife genre.
We should have been able to catch on early what was in store for us this end of the year when Play Network released Rattle Snake: The Ahanna story’s theme song Doubting Thomas featuring reigning Kings of Contemporary Igbo highlife, Umu Obiligbo, international act Davido, and veteran producer Larry Gaga, that should have been our clue that this year’s Christmas wasn’t going to be boring!

Shortly after that single, Bright Okpocha aka Basketmouth announced he was going to release a star studded album titled Yabasi which is also the soundtrack album for his upcoming movie Papa Benji. Think of every Nigerian artiste collabo you have ever imagined before and it is very possible it happened in that album, the Igbo authenticity of that album that is now in circulation is more than seventy percent (70%), it was an excellent job from Bright considering this is his debut album.

Umu Obiligbo were not going to be left out in this year’s Kinging, not at all, they are also ending the year on a high note with an album of their own. The interesting thing about this duo is their consistency and dynamism with Igbo oriented sounds. Few years ago, when they emerged on the music scene, they were largely doing songs for the older generation and devout highlife lovers with a touch of modern sound.

However, it didn’t take long before they smoothly and phenomenally transited to the music demands of this age, their fuse of Highlife music with afro hip hop, afro dance hall, afro pop and afro beats played a big influence in this transition which has now got them witnessing an exponential growth in fan base.

The two brothers Ogbuozor and Akunnwafor Obiligbo released their fourth successive album as a group this past month titled Signature: Ife Chukwu kwulu, to further accentuate their progressive and dynamic nature, this album was released on global music platforms like spotify, audiomack, etc. The songs are of high music standards and you immediately realize while listening to some of them that these are for the Hall of Evergreen songs, tracks you will still be playing with friends several years from now seated with open beer bottles and plates of goat meat pepper soup.

The year twenchy -twenchy was not all that bad after all, at least not in the music industry and there are lot of songs available across genre, age grade and class to create memories this festive period all thanks to the army of great talents we have now in the music scene.

https://www.ojamedia.com/2020/12/umu-obiligbo-high-life-and-basketmouth.html