GENRE – POP/R&B
LABEL - MAVINS RECORDS
Any lingering doubts of Don jazzy’s brilliance were completely eroded when “dorobucci” hit the airwaves; the highly infectious single rocketed up the charts and made the no 1 spot its home. “adaobi” and “looku looku” followed while individual efforts from Korede bello “cold outside”, Di’ja “awww” & “yaro”, Reekado banks “chop am” & “turn it up” ft Tiwa Savage further heightened anticipation. Compilation albums don’t always generate a lot of interest, but with the entire mavin crew made up of established acts in Dr. Sid, Tiwa Savage, D’prince and promising rookies in Korede bello, Di’ja & Reekado banks pooling their talents under the grand orchestration of Don jazzy, their collaborative album is bound to be the talk of the town in 2015.
2. PATORANKING
GENRE – DANCEHALL
LABEL – FOSTON MUSIC
A lot can happen within a year, one minute you could be hustling on the streets and the next you are the next rated artist at the headies. Patoranking’s journey to chart success started with “alubarika” featuring Timaya before the release of the sensational “girlie o” and its accompanying remix featuring Mavin first lady Tiwa savage. DJ hazan’s raunchy number “early momo” gained massive airplay before follow up singles such as “daniella whine”, “happy day” & “friends” silenced the doubters. With Patoranking’s unequivocal success in 2014, it is safe to say that Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie‘s debut album will be right at the top of the charts when it drops.
3. SEYI SHAY
GENRE – POP/R&B
LABEL – FLYTIME MUSIC
To the casual observer, Oluwaseyi Joshua might come across as a rookie but don’t be fooled, the sexy songstress cut her teeth under Matthew Knowles, has toured with beyonce and was once the lead singer for UK girl band Boadicea. Since arriving on the Nigerian hip hop scene Seyi has worked with established artists such as Wizkid “crazy”, Timaya “killing me softly”, Patoranking “murda” and Kcee “chairman”. Not only has her talent been undeniable alongside her guests, but on songs like “airbrush”, “loving your way” & the Del B produced “ragga ragga” her song writing skills has also been enviable. It is quite rare to come across a well rounded R&B act but rarer still to come across one with limitless potential. Seyi’s debut is already shaping up to be an outstanding and groundbreaking effort.
4. CYNTHIA MORGAN
GENRE – DANCEHALL
LABEL – NORTHSIDE MUSIC INC
After years of grinding behind the scenes, the inimitably talented songstress inked a deal with Jude Okoye’s northside music and thus started her rise to stardom. Fuelled by the success of her breakthrough single “kuchi kuchi”, the self proclaimed dancehall godmother stormed the airwaves with a slew of hits which include “I’m taken”, “lead me on”, “don’t break my heart” and “popori”. The early signs are good judging by the reception her singles have been receiving and her debut album is already a strong contender for album of the year. Cynthia might just end up redefining Nigerian dancehall as we know it.
5. MC GALAXY
GENRE – ALTERNATIVE
LABEL – TOP TALENT RECORDS
Who would have thought that a comedian would have so much to offer? MC galaxy first appeared on the scene dancing etighi in Iyanya’s hit song “kukere” before storming the Nigerian hip hop charts with the Davido assisted “nek unek”, but it was his scorching Tspize produced hit single “sekem” accompanied by scintillating dance steps that took him to the top of the charts. The Akwa Ibom artiste continued his relentless onslaught with the gospel on the beatz produced “osho free”, the Olamide assisted “my heart o”, “sukus” and “ketekete”. Judging from all these, a promising debut is the least we can expect from MC galaxy.
6. LIL KESH
GENRE – POP
LABEL – YBNL
Olamide is alive and Lil kesh is blowing up! That should mean something, right? It certainly does. When your label boss is hard working and constantly churning out quality materials and you still succeed in putting out what was arguably the number 1 anthem of the year, then you are special. Lil kesh’s epic street banger “shoki” announced his arrival on the Naija music scene while the remix featuring Olamide & Davido further cemented his status as one of the best new artists on the scene. A female version of his smash single “shoki” featuring Eva, Chidinma and Cynthia morgan kept the clubs on lockdown prior to his guest appearance on Olamide’s “Oga nla” which further showcased his remarkable talent. From all indications, Lil kesh’s debut will be solid if not spectacular.
7. SKALES
GENRE – POP/R&B
LABEL – BASELINE ENTERTAINMENT
Even though he might not be headed for a Grammy anytime soon, Skales has kept his head up since being dropped from EME and has constantly been releasing materials to stay relevant. Just when the critics were set to close the chapter on him, Raoul John Njeng-Njeng bounced back with the smash single “shake body” which gained massive airplay nationwide. Follow up singles in the form of the Kenny Wonder produced “give it to me”, “bo she she mi”, “I am for real” & the Jay pizzle produced “je kan mo” have positioned Skales’s pursuit of happiness debut as an hotly anticipated one.
8. RAYCE
GENRE – POP
LABEL – SOUNDCORE MEDIA
They call him Rayce and he has been around for as long as most of your favorite stars have been. He scored a regional hit in 2011 with “roll” while follow up singles like “tested ok” were criminally slept on, the talented producer cum singer returned in 2014 with the sexually charged “jack sparrow”, the exhilarating “just like that” and also unleashed a slew of singles such as “gbunmadun”, “higher” ft Pype, “omoge marina”, “oh baby” ft Hybrid & “igbedu”. With the aforementioned singles and a few guest appearances here & there, Rayce is steadily crafting what might be an exceptional and remarkable debut.
9. SPLASH
GENRE – RAP
LABEL – BRODOCK MUSIC GROUP
With the dearth of female rappers on the Naija music scene, Genevieve Nwadinma Ogbuewu popularly known as Splash is not only the last of a dying breed but a rare and unseen one: one who raps in her native Igbo language. With indigenous rap taking a front seat in the industry courtesy of Olamide, Phyno and Reminisce, Splash’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect. After debuting to rave reviews with her “church agbasa” single, she followed up with the YQ assisted “like it or not”, the Phyno assisted “onye ije”, the Stormrex featured “ola edo”, “I pray o” and the gentle assisted “ego uwa” just to mention a few, potentially setting the stage for an historical debut.
10. RUNTOWN
GENRE – POP
LABEL – ERIC MANNY ENTERTAINMENT
Prior to penning Davido’s smash hit song “aye”, multi talented singer Runtown had already released his first single “party like its 1980” back in 2010 but had his first major break through with “Gallardo” featuring Davido which earned him the best collaboration award at NEA 2014. Follow up singles such as “baby answer” and “successful” kept his momentum going while guest appearances on MI’s “bullion van” & Wizzy pro’s “emergency” has seen his stock rise in the industry. The Enugu state born artiste is set to follow in the steps of his colleague Phyno and establish himself in the Nigerian music industry. A solid debut album is a step in that direction.
