₦airaland Forum

demolinka:
In celebration of the life and times of one of the most influential Nigerian musicians to grace the booth and create legendary works, DAGRIN, we look at five other Artistes from the 2000's till present whose styles and musical influence affected and are still affecting the Nigerian music space.

1. Tuface Idibia: More commonly known nowadays by his other alias, Tubaba, he has been perhaps the most influential Nigeian music artiste over the past two decades. Right from his days as a member of the defunct R&B group, Plantashun Boiz, Tubaba's greatness as a vocalist and performer was never in doubt. His solo career began with the launch of the 2004 album Face to Face which turned unbelievers to disciples and earned mostly positive reviews. Though mired in a couple of controversies over the years, he is still highly respected in the game. The singer has been a reference point of influence, both in style and substance, for even his contemporaries. Artistes like P-Square, D'banj, Timaya, Wizkid, Timi Dakolo, etc, have testified to his influence on their careers, as well as their lives, many pointing out his humility at such great heights a source of reverence for them.

2. Asa: Asa has 3 studio albums to her credit, the first of which was the self-titled 2007 release, Asa, which remains one of the greatest studio albums in Nigerian music history. She emerged on the scene at a time pop music was the mainstay in the contemporary space - largely dominated by men. Not the archetypal diva, the guitar-strumming, dreadlock-wearing, bespectacled, and gruff-sounding soul singer, became a breakthrough for alternative sounds as well as many other female artistes in Nigeria.

3. Rooftop MCs: True, they weren't the face of alternative music, neither did they wield earth shaking influence as musicians, but no other artiste or group has managed such controversial efforts at paradigm shifting, especially in the Nigerian gospel music scene, as these dudes. Their first album efforts, Shock Therapy, a 2003 rebellious mix of rap, rock and Afrocentric vibes laced with gospel undertones, that commanded attention, worry and discourse from conservatives, earned them critical acclaim and a whole lot of fans - Christian and non-christian. Their unrelenting efforts finally culminated in the 2007 Cobhams Asuquo produced Lagimo, perhaps their greatest work till date. Their ability to cater to a wide range of audience, stir up critical discussions in Nigerian christian circles and gospel music sect, and even among lovers of rap and rock music genres definitely earns them a place on the influential list.

4. Mode Nine: The rap game in nigeria could easily be described 'before and after Mode 9'. The 7-time Lyricist on the Roll award winner at the Headies burst onto a rap scene which was relatively unpopular and needing a next level push, as most of the rap songs aired on radio where foreign, save a little dose of Trybesmen, Ruggedman, Six foot plus and a few others, He came bearing metaphors and slinging sharp punchlines with reckless abandon, soon becoming the focal point for the rap genre in Nigeria which subsequently began to witness a surging number of skilled entrants. His formidable style of hip hop which stays rooted in the origins of flow is blessed with 7 studio albums and 5 mixtapes. Modo!

5. Wizkid: Since the release of the 2010 hit single Holla at your boy, the kid has been dropping mega-hit after mega-hit. He has collaborated with almost every big name in the game and has raked in tons of endorsements in the last couple of years. He oozes swag that young, aspiring and even established Artistes wish they owned. With 3 highly successful and critically acclaimed studio albums, his entry into the game saw a major influx of young cats who changed the dynamics of the industry and brought a new vibe which heavily influenced Nigerian pop culture. A testament to the strength of his brand is his Starboy jerseys, a collaboration with Nike, which went live on September 10, 2018 and sold out in 10 mins.

OP, you nailed Modenine's part, love those lines you dropped about him.

I can't believe all of you didn't mention MI Abaga.

naturalwaves:
Your argument is very senseless. Is Asa the only Nigerian foreigners request her songs? How does the fact her song is being requested justify the fact that she has had a great influence? Asa is good no doubt but insulting Whizkid is a no no.I do not know why you guys always hate on the young man(whiz kid) doing wonders and doing good for himself. What do you mean by lyrically sound? How will those who do not understand Yoruba request for her songs since they do not understand the language? Is that not enough reasons to tell you that Music goes beyond lyrics. Did you not see that you contradict yourself? Having said that, you lots need to be educated and schooled on what is meant by music genre and the dominant characteristic of each genre of music. You know nothing about music and just saying trash.

I don't understand why you guys always taking medications for someone else's ailments. Must your arguments be insultive? If you like, burn down your family house because you love Whizzkid. I don't hate him neither will I hurt a fly for Asa. They remain icons in their own respect but insulting people because of their opinion, please grow up already young man/woman. Don't be too toxic for some common sense.

brainhgeek:
I don't understand why you guys always taking medications for someone else's ailments. Must your arguments be insultive? If you like, burn down your family house because you love Whizzkid. I don't hate him neither will I hurt a fly for Asa. They remain icons in their own respect but insulting people because of their opinion, please grow up already young man/woman. Don't be too toxic for some common sense.

Then you should learn to be objective. You insulted the young man. Whether you like it or not, Whizkid is more talented than Asa, has more dexterity than Asa and has more versatility than Asa. Asa's soul music may appeal better to you but insulting a great talent like Whizkid is such a shame. Whizkid can sing R and B, Afropop, Afrobeats, Raggae, Dancehall and still smash all the genres while same cannot be said about ASA. Do not get me wrong, I am a fan of Bukola and I have all her tracks so this is not a case of hating on her but just saying the truth.

Having said that, let me quickly give you a simple musical lesson. You see , when it comes to music, the type of genre determines the lyrical content. Soul, R and B and the likes usually have deeper lyrical contents than the feel good "Dancehall" music and Afropop. .....and each genre of music has its own target audience.

Moreover, when it comes to music, lyrics is not the most important thing. The musical rhythm, progression , sound and beat makes more more impact than lyrics.Otherwise, poets will divert to music and be the highest selling musicians. Unfortunately, music does not work this way.Once an artiste gets rhythm, progression , sound and beat right, the songs becomes a hit, the lyrics becomes a benefit if it is good and even if you do not like the song personally, you find yourself singing such song once in a while . This is because the human brain cannot work with distorted information and once the music is well arranged irrespective of the lyrics, it sounds good. I can give you a thorough musical analysis of some of the songs you call trash and you will see that musically, they beat the so called ones you refer to as being deep.

Angelique Kidjo usually gets so many requests from people who do not even understand Yoruba. Enya could barely be heard when she sings, sometimes, she sings in different languages yet she has millions of fans who do not even understand her. Sunny Ade had a lot of white fans.During the Makossa craze, you all listed to "JOMAPE" and wined to it without understanding french. If you do not understand the language, how do you now assess the lyrical dexterity or lyrical content? I listen to Albanian music, indian music and so many other types of awesome music from different parts of the world and enjoy them so much without understanding the language. My favourite music genre is contemporary jazz and Newage. An artiste like Yanni will not even utter a word and will have sold out shows. So, what happened to lyrics So, you see, your argument about Lyrics does not hold water at all.

Talking about international appeal, Whizkid and Asa no be mate in that regards. Whizkid has propagated Nigeria's name way more than Asa. One song of Whizkid alone on Youtube has more views than all of Asa's songs combined. So, such fellow, deserves respect.

Whizkid's position on the list is well deserved because he is the most influential musical artistes to the new generation of artistes in Nigeria who have all diverted towards the Afropop genre of music.

BENEAMATA:
you have your reasons but , before ASA , there was BEAUTIFUL NUBIA !

Yeah, my opinion

willyo:
Yeah, my opinion

Just as I feel this dude here is better than Asa in voice, musical delivery, art and the expression of all his songs. He may not have a good PR team nor an international band but he is one of the best in Nigeria and I really appreciate him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5BbnO9bviY

naturalwaves:
Just as I feel this dude here is better than Asa in voice, musical delivery, art and the expression of all his songs. He may not have a good PR team nor an international band but he is one of the best in Nigeria and I really appreciate him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5BbnO9bviY

Bro, u can't discuss Brymo with I, I have great taste for music and he's one of my fave but not close to ASA

willyo:
Bro, u can't discuss Brymo with I, I have great taste for music and he's one of my fave but not close to ASA

Did you read the start of my write-up? The same way it is your opinion, this is mine too and the same way the other young man pointed you to Beautiful Nubia.

festacman:
Remedies under Kennies music took a bold but professionally guided leap. They took the over from Chris Okotie, Jide Obi, Sweet Breeze, Onyeka Onwenu, etc and started a new revolution

Plantashun Boys made a statement that young people with creativity and originality can go places. This encouraged other young people to take their fate in their own hands.

Tuface with his voice and creativity raised the bar higher to target global audience.

Ruggedman showed that it is possible to rap in pidgin English as opposed to sounding American.

Mode nine was hard core rapper who refused to change his style and originality to please the market.

Psquare showed that excellently packaged videos is key in driving even average songs to the top.

Dagrin and Nigger Raw showed that rapping in Yoruba and Igbo,respectively, can be commercially successful.

Mo hit crew led by Don Jazzy and Dbanj who arrived from UK raised the bar once again through showmanship.

Never mind these indomie generation bloggers and writers. I think Daddy Shokey and sunny Nneji should be in thwir somewhere.

naturalwaves:
Did you read the start of my write-up? The same way it is your opinion, this is mine too and the same way the other young man pointed you to Beautiful Nubia.

Yeah, but towards chosing something from objects that are identical in nature, certain qualities are first employed.

It's my opinion that ASA is greater... Brymo is good singer also.

It's just who we prefer over the other tho. Our opinions.

ledamaster:
Never mind these indomie generation bloggers and writers. I think Daddy Shokey and sunny Nneji should be in thwir somewhere.

Yeah I agree totally. What a miss?

Daddy Showkey cleared the way for ghetto-based musicians to boldly link up with the mainstream.
Sunny Nneji blazed the trail by mixing pop and high life.

Thanks for this.

willyo:
Yeah, but towards chosing something from objects that are identical in nature, certain qualities are first employed.

It's my opinion that ASA is greater... Brymo is good singer also.

It's just who we prefer over the other tho. Our opinions.

Yeah right.