THE MATRIX highlights the people who, based on their pasts this year, are anticipated to enthrall audiences and push boundaries as we enter 2024, in no particular order.
Burna Boy
The Grammy Award-winning musician Damini Ogulu, better known by his stage name Burna Boy, became the first African artist to headline an event in a stadium in the United Kingdom in 2023 when he sold out an 80,000-capacity venue in London. The West Ham United Stadium served as the venue for the concert.
In addition, he received four nominations for the Grammys this year. The singer took home the 2023 Billboard Music Awards’ Top Afrobeats Artiste title.
Davido
One performer to keep an eye out for in 2024 is David Adeleke, better known as Davido. The artist received three Grammy Award nominations in 2023 for the upcoming 2024 awards. Best African Music Performance (Unavailable), Best Global Music Performance (Feel), and Best Global Music Album (Timeless) were the nominees.
Over the course of the year, Boomplay, a music streaming service, revealed that “Timeless” had been the most streamed album in Nigeria in 2023.
Davido also won two prizes at the 2023 Trace Awards: “Best Male” and “Best Collaboration.”
In other news, the singer of “Unavailable” and his spouse Chioma brought a set of twins, a girl and a boy, into the country.
There is no doubt that Davido will build on his wins and become even more prominent in the music industry.
Wizkid
Wizkid, whose real name is Ayodeji Balogun, has gained notoriety and praise from all over the world for his innovative take on afrobeats. He hasn’t shown any symptoms of slowing down throughout the years.
He performed his “More Love Less Ego” event at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium this year, selling out. By achieving that, he was the first African musician to ever open the main stage at the location.
The singer broke the record for the most first-day streams on the Spotify daily chart for Nigeria after the release of his EP, “Soundman 2 (S2).” On the Spotify Daily Chart for Nigeria, “IDK,” the EP’s fourth song featuring Zlatan, also held the record for the most first-day filtered streams.
Tiwa Savage
Tiwa Savage captured the hearts of music lovers with her melodious voice and infectious lyrics in 2023. Her hit song, ‘Stamina’, on which he featured Ayra Starr and Young John currently has 10 million views on YouTube as of the time of filing this report. Another of her songs released this year, ‘Pick Up’ has 7.5million views on the video sharing platform.
The songstress also did Nigeria proud when she performed at the coronation concert of King Charles III at the Westminster Abbey, England.
Her fans won’t also forget how her sonorous voice graced the remix of Spyro’s hit song, ‘Who is Your Guy’.
Rema
To say that 2023 was Rema’s year of unprecedented success is not an exaggeration. As of the time of filing this report, the video for his hit song, ‘Charm’, has 60 million views. The continued growth of his career was further proven when he sold out the popular 02 Arena in the UK on November 14, 2023.
The ‘Calm down’ crooner also became the first African to perform at the Ballon d’Or Awards, an annual ceremony organised by a French news magazine— France Football— and UEFA to honour the best football players in the world.
Meanwhile, the remix of the singer’s monster hit song, ‘Calm Down’, on which he featured Selena Gomez made history by winning the prestigious first-ever Best Afrobeats award at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.
Asake
Call him the ‘King of melody in 2023’ and you will not be wrong. Asake, indeed, had a successful 2023, being one of the most streamed artistes on multiple music streaming platforms.
The self-proclaimed Mr Money bagged multiple nominations in the Headies Awards and secured a win in the ‘Next Rated’, and ‘Album of the Year’ categories.
Similarly, he made history last year by selling out the popular 20,000-capacity O2 Arena. His 2023 album, ‘Work of Art’, was also a fan favourite , topping charts with songs such as ‘Loney at the Top’, ‘Sunshine’, ‘Basquiat’ and ‘Amapaino’.
The singer and his record label boss, Olamide, were also nominated for the 2024 Grammy Awards in the ‘Best African Music Performance’ category.
Funke Akindele
Despite her party, Peoples Democratic Party, being defeated in the 2023 governorship election, where she had contested as the Deputy Governorship candidate, Funke Akindele has remained undeterred. Rather, she has returned to her first love of acting and filmmaking, and has been making some strides.
She released the first season of her Prime Video movie series, ‘She Must be Obeyed’.
Earlier in December, she released a movie titled, ‘A Tribe Called Judah’. As of the time of writing this report, the movie had amassed N400m in box office earnings within the first 12 days of its release.
According to The Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria, the movie has now become the highest grossing movie of 2023.
In the same vein, her 2022 movie, ‘Battle on Buka Street’, became the highest-grossing Nollywood film ever, earning N640m after only nine weeks in the cinemas
Upcoming Nigerian Artists to Check Out in 2024
One of the biggest and liveliest music scenes in the world, Nigerian music is always churning forth fresh, fascinating talent. Here are ten up-and-coming Nigerian musicians you should see in 2024:
The 24-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer is called Morravey. His distinctive fusion of pop, R&B, and Afrobeat is well-known. In 2022, Morravey released his debut EP, “Daydream,” which was well-received both critically and commercially. In 2023, he plans to release his debut album.
Khaid is a singer-songwriter who is 22 years old. His silky vocals and melodic tunes are well-known. In 2021, Khaid launched his debut EP, “Diversion,” which was well-received both critically and commercially. His debut album is scheduled for release in 2024
Young Jonn is a 25-year-old singer and songwriter. He is known for his catchy melodies and his unique songwriting style. Young Jonn has released several hit songs, including “Dada,” “In the Morning,” and “Normally.” He is set to release his debut album in 2023.
Spoiltkid is a 23-year-old singer, Dj and songwriter. He is known for his unique blend of Afrobeats and R&B music. Spoiltkid released his debut EP, “Unscripted,” in 2021, and it was a critical and commercial success. He is set to release his debut album in 2024. Follow Spoiltkid on social media for the release date.
