Nigeria might not be the land of dreams, fulfillment, and whatever positivity you are looking for. But one thing it has in abundance is talent. Nigerians are very talented and this is a factor that has helped garner global recognition so while counting the negatives about Nigeria, add talents as one of its blessings.
whilst talent is generously spread across several industries in Nigeria, the Entertainment industry holds the larger share. This industry was a vital reason why many Nigerians survived the hectic year that was 2020. During the pandemic, we had our entertainers especially content creators and comedians, storm Tik Tok, Instagram, and all other social media platforms to entertain us and the rest of the world while we were at home during the lockdown. The music industry didn’t also slack as they gave us beautiful music alongside masterpieces of albums to bop to all year long and help forget our sufferings.
This year looks more promising for the Nigerian music industry as the craft is going beyond the border and attaining a global front. The budding artistes are also not relenting. We have artistes like Bad Boy Timz, Omah Lay, Zinoleski, Mohbahd, Buju, C-Kay, and Bella Shmurda, who are ready to pick up the baton from the fore-runners. These artistes had some of the number one songs in the country at some point in the past year. This was a record only the likes of Davido held in the times past.
Remarkably, the music industry experienced a rarity last year. Four of the musical giants in the industry, (Olamide, Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy) all dropped albums that performed exceptionally in all featured categories. On the other hand, last year, we had artistes such as Mayorkun, Zlatan, Naira Marley, Oxlade, Fireboy DML, and Chike threaten the existing statutes and standards and held the year with solid records.
This could be the beginning of a new dawn as the weight of the music industry is going beyond the shoulders of Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido, and Olamide. Personally, I see it slightly resting on Mayorkun, Oxlade, and Fireboy DML as they have shown in the past year that they are up to the task. This also implies that in 2021, these artistes are ready to step up the pace and drop more fire as we have seen in the past year. For instance, in the yearly Headies awards, Mayorkun was nominated as artiste of the year alongside Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy. Though it was not a surprise, it still was a shock to so many people. Additionally, bands are now looking beyond the likes of Wizkid for partnership. Last year, Mayorkun and LAX partnered with CloseUP toothpaste, Oxlade partnered with Nike, and two of Fireboy DML's songs were featured in the new FIFA 21 ("Champion" and "Scatter") amongst others. This goes to show that the world is gearing for a new shift beyond the norm.
Personally, I would say that 2021 is the year music takes another route beyond the already accomplished artistes like Wizkid and Davido. It’s the year the new school artistes take over and challenge the existing norms in the Nigerian music industry. There is so much to look forward to this year in the industry and I hope my predictions come to light.