The Nigerian music industry is very saturated and it seems every day, there is a new artiste on the block. As such, many artistes fade away from the limelight as quickly as they came. In this piece, TOLULOPE FASUAN takes a look at some artistes who generated a buzz in recent years, but are no longer prominent
1DA BANTON
Brought into the spotlight with his single hit, ‘No Wahala’, 1da Banton, whose real name is Godson Epelle, is a singer, songwriter and producer.
He started his music career in 2014, writing songs for other artistes. However, he had a breakthrough with ‘No Wahala’, which had millions of streams. He also featured Tiwa Savage and Kizz Daniel on the remix. Known for blending highlife and contemporary RnB to create a distinct sound, he has also performed at notable events such as Afrochella and the Headies awards.
He released a single titled, ‘Digest’, in July 2024, and on YouTube, it currently has 826,000 views on YouTube. This is low, compared to ‘No Wahala’, which has 89 million views, while the remix accumulated about 125 million views.
Goya Menor
Godiya Menor, aka Goya Menor, rose to fame with his hit single, ‘Ameno Amapiano (Remix)’, which became a viral sensation and topped various music charts. It was also mixed by top US DJ David Guetta. The song accumulated about 63 million streams on music streaming platform, Spotify.
Since then, Goya Menor has collaborated with several artistes, including Portable, Bad Boy Timz and Lade, among others.
His collaborations showcase his versatility and ability to work with different artistes to create different sounds.
Unfortunately, people see him as a one-hit wonder due to the massive success of Ameno Amapiano, and the lack of follow up hits.
Bad Boy Timz
Olorunyomi Olorumtimihehun, popularly known as Bad Boy Timz, is an afro-pop artiste, songwriter and performer.
According to him, he is inspired by ‘moments from his reality, present and things within his reach’. He rose to fame with his 2020 single titled, ‘MJ’. He blends afrobeats with contemporary RnB. He has collaborated with artistes such as Teni, Goya Menor and Olamide.
His song, ‘Move’, was also successful, having about 14,515, 006 streams; and ‘Loading’, a song he was featured on by Olamide called Loading has over 41,127,772 streams.
However, he has not been hogging the limelight like he used to. Speaking in an interview on HipTV, he disclosed that he took a break from music for two years due to the challenges he had with his former record label, which culminated in his being arrested.
Berri Tiga
Berri Tiga, whose real name is Blessed Agada, is a singer and songwriter, who hails from Benue State. He is known for his afro-pop style, and has released several songs, including ‘God’, ‘Fire’, ‘Jo’, ‘Machala’, ‘Nobody Badder’, and ‘Angelina’.
He gained popularity after being featured on Carter Efe’s hit track titled, ‘Machala’, which topped several music charts, including Apple Music. The song was an ode to pop star, Ayodeji Balogun, aka Wizkid, who is also known as Machala.
However, the song was also enmeshed in controversies over royalties and other issues. Most of the song was rendered by Tiga, but the ownership was claimed by Efe. This led to the song being taken down from some streaming platforms.
In different interviews, he stated that he started recording music at the age of 16 by making ‘cover’ version of popular songs and posting them on social media.
Lade
Molade Onyetundun, better known as Ladé, is a songwriter and singer whose unique voice has captivated many music lovers.
Despite being in the music industry since 2015, she did not attract mainstream recognition until some years later.
In 2021, she collaborated with Airtel Nigeria for the popular ‘444’ commercial.
However, it wasn’t until 2022 when she released the single, ‘Adulthood Na Scam’, that the spotlight shone on her. The song, which became a viral hit caught on with many young people, who could relate to the lyrics.
However, she has not been able to replicate the magic she had with ‘Adulthood na Scam’, leaving many to describe her as a one-hit artiste.
