Prior to 2019, the knighting of a legendary album took place every second to every third year. This only made sense since there weren’t many albums released, which meant there weren’t many excellent albums, and because the rate at which artists released albums was inadequate in and of itself. Davido, who only put out two albums during the review period but accomplished countless feats to become an all-time great, is a clear example of this. Having a strong discography was only a bonus in this sector, which was mostly a singles market.
Although there were iconic albums that gave rise to the period between 2012 and 2014, such as Olamide’s trifecta of YBNL, Baddest Guy Ever Liveth, and Street OT (all albums won in the Album Of The Year category at the Headies.) In 2016, Simi released Simisola, and in 2017, Kizz Daniel released New Era. However, it wasn’t until 2018 that multiple albums achieved notable success in a single year. Both Outside by Burna Boy and About 30 by Adekunle Gold were commercially and critically successful songs. Particularly Burna’s Outside, which eventually led to his ascent to the pinnacle of the mainstream.
The enormous popularity of African Giant and Fireboy DML’s Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps will intensify the tide the next year. The latter was more of an unparalleled mainstream hit in the business, but the former was a significant record trigger point in the ‘Afrobeats To The World’ movement. We hadn’t experienced this level of popularity on a first album since Wizkid’s Superstar in 2011.
The biggest winner at the 14th annual Headies was Fireboy, who took 5 prizes, including Album Of The Year, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Single, and Best Pop Album.
Before starting to prepare themselves for their own individual projects, it was almost as if every artist paid close attention to the rebellious-esque popularity of Fireboy’s debut album and its influence on the soundscape. It’s not unrealistic to believe that even artists who hadn’t planned to release an album that year chose to do so as time went on given the enormous increase in album releases that occurred in 2020. The year 2020 gave us a ton of timeless and soon-to-be timeless songs, including Made In Lagos by Wizkid, Carpe Diem by Olamide, Twice As Tall by Burna Boy, Apollo by Fireboy DML, Boo Of The Booless by Chike, etc.
Additionally, EPs had a tremendous year. Omah Lay had a record-setting breakthrough year thanks to two successful EPs that yielded numerous hit songs. Even though practically every song on Get Layd was a successful single, What Have We Done gave rise to the artist’s biggest solo hit to date, Godly, which came from that album. Bella Schmurda debuted with the very energizing High Tension, following a breakthrough Olamide co-sign in Vision 2020, while Tems also released a strong breakout EP in For Broken Ears.
It was safe to state that the market was back to being an album market at the end of 2020. Moving forward to the third quarter of 2022, we are experiencing a year that is equally crowded and inundated as 2020 in terms of releases. It certainly seem possible that we could witness a flooding album year every two years as a trend.
In a span of six weeks in 2020, the three most popular and influential artists of the previous ten years released their albums.
Nigerian A-list and B-list musicians appear to have an odd preoccupation with the third and fourth quarters of the year. In 2020, the second half of the year saw the publication of 70% of the year’s new albums, while the last quarter saw virtually weekly album releases. For instance, in the week that followed the release of Burna Boy’s Twice As Tall, Cuppy’s debut album Original Copy and Adekunle Gold’s Afro-Pop Vol. 1 were both released on the same day, immediately following the release of Fireboy DML’s Apollo the day before.
Olamide’s Carpe Diem arrived just three weeks before Made In Lagos by Wizkid, Davido’s A Better Time, and Wizkid in the span of two weeks. In actuality, had it not been for the #EndSars protest and internet campaigns that paralyzed the business, the time between CD and MIL would have been shorter. Although their records were released in a short period of time, these three performers were unquestionably the most successful trio of the previous ten years.
In any sector, having a crowded album culture is not ideal. Projects require time and breathing room to reach their full potential, allowing both analysts and non-specialists to assess the project’s true potential for success. The market is currently being oversaturated with projects, which is preventing the one released the week prior from having a chance to establish itself. We have had the same barrage of back-to-back album releases in 2022—since July, to be exact.
Boy Alone, Playboy, The Guy, Bad, Love Damini, The Brother’s Keeper are all albums that were released since 1997 at a period with inadequate breathing room. The longest amount of time between albums was two weeks, and the fact that the current generation struggles with short attention spans and that record rotation is often brisk doesn’t help.
Even performers with respectable fan bases, such as Adekunle Gold, Falz, and Simi, have received lukewarm reviews for albums they released earlier in the year. Talk about breakout performers that put out great initial EPs but never had the chance to fully transform into popular stardom. Only musicians with contemporary momentum have survived in this competitive field.
Two new musicians signed by Mavins in 2022 were Bayanni (on the left) and Boy Spyce (on the right). Despite making outstanding EP debuts, neither project was able to establish a solid staple in the crowded mainstream.
Wizkid’s More Love, Less Ego is rumored to be set for release in October. Next month also sees the release of Blaqbonez’s Young Preacher and Ayra Starr’s 19 & Dangerous Deluxe Edition. This week will see the arrival of Ckay’s Sad Romance, and there won’t be many weeks between that release and the anticipated influx that will follow. Since a number of musicians, including Davido, Runtown, Bella Schmurda, Show Dem Camp, Zinoleesky, Bad Boy Timz, Lojay, and a host of others, will release albums before the year is up, we can be sure that November and December will be busy as well.
We must learn from other, more advanced businesses and refrain from releasing all of our important albums at once in the second half of the year. In order to maximize each album’s potential and ensure that it achieves its full potential, mainstream musicians should be more willing to release albums in Q1 and Q2. Great albums will continue to slip under the radar until that time, while a select few unlucky ones steal the show. Both audiences and artists profit from an album release schedule that is more balanced and healthy.
Burna Boy, a self-described “African Giant” and Odogwu in the Nigerian music business, has scored yet another triumph with the UK’s Gold certification of his song “Last Last.”
On September 23, the official Brits Awards Twitter account confirmed this certification along with a picture of the “Last Last” album cover showing a gold stamp.
As “Last Last” joins Burna Boy’s African Giant album and his Ye single in having officially sold 400,000 units in the UK, it earns the singer his third Gold certification.
Burna Boy is now, by default, the Nigerian and African musician in the area with the most Gold certifications.
Ahmed Ololade Asake, better known by his stage name Asake, a rising celebrity in Nigeria, has discussed how Wizkid was an inspiration to him when he was a young musician there.
The Internet has been flooded with an old video of Asake talking about the renowned musician Wizkid.
The rapidly rising performer, “Mr. Money With The Vibes,” discussed the musicians he admired after the publication of his highly anticipated debut album.
Asake said in the interview that Wizkid is the only performer he admires, and no one else.
According to him “In Nigeria I Look Up To Wizkid, Just Wizkid”
Singers from Nigeria, such as Burna Boy, Kizz Daniel, Fireboy, Tiwa Savage, and others, have been nominated for the 2022 All Africa Music Awards.
Burna Boy is up against Fireboy and Kizz Daniel for Best Male Artiste in Western Africa, Song of the Year, and Artiste of the Year. Both artists were nominated in the Best African Collaboration category.
Additionally nominated in the Song of the Year category was Burna Boy. Tiwa Savage was nominated in the categories of Artiste of the Year and Best African Collaboration in addition to Best Artiste, Duo, or Group in African RnB/Soul and Best Female Artiste in Western Africa.
Additionally, Ckay and Ruger, who were honored at the AFRIMA last year, received nominations. With six nominations for his 2021 big hit, Big Flexa, South African musician Costa Titch took the top spot.
He received nominations for Best African Collaboration, Song of the Year, Breakout Artist of the Year, Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Electro, and Best Artiste, Duo or Group in Use of African Dance/Choreography.
The Congolese master musician Dadju has received six nominations in all, including those for Best Male in Central Africa, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Artiste of the Year, Best African Act in the Diaspora, and Best Soundtrack in a Movie, Series, or Documentary.
With his “African Giant” album, Burna Boy sets a new record.
Burna Boy
Burna Boy comes to mind while discussing record-breakers.
A new record was just set by the acclaimed album “African Giant” by the “Last Last” Crooner.
African Giant is now the first African album to receive a Gold certification from Canada.
Burna Boy, a singer from Nigeria, released his fourth studio album, African Giant. On July 26, 2019, Spaceship Entertainment, Bad Habit, Atlantic Records, and Warner Music published the album. Afrobeats, Afrobeat, dancehall, pop, and hip hop are all represented on the album.
Stefflon Don, a British rapper and Burna Boy’s ex-girlfriend, opened out about their breakup in an interview with media personality TT Torrez on New York radio station, Hot 97.
After being directly questioned by Torrez, Stefflon Don revealed about their broken relationship, saying “So we all know, your last boyfriend Burna Boy, y’all no longer together, what happened?” To this Don replied saying that while they were together for two and a half years but had to part ways.
Then Torrez questioned if she believed that his number-one single, Last Last, was about her. Then, after asking what she believed, Don informed the media personality that her assumption had been accurate. Stefflon Don claims that Burna Boy made a misleading statement on the record, but she generally felt neutral toward the song.
In interviews, Burna Boy and Stefflon Don frequently referred to each other as their husband during their two and a half years of public dating, which began somewhere in 2019 and ended in late 2021 or later.
Since this is Stefflon Don’s first time going out about their breakup, the world is still unaware of the reasons for it.
However, there were rumors about Burna Boy’s adultery and a post-breakup tweet from Stefflon Don in which he said that people weren’t always what they looked to be and occasionally switched up with money and fame.
Rapper DiamondTheBody, who is located in the US, has admitted to having more than 2000 sex partners.
In a recent interview, the rap diva, real name Brittany Nicole Carpentero, discussed her sex life.
She mentioned how she had lost her virginity at the age of 12 and had since had sexual relations with 2,000 people, many of whom were women. The artist claimed that no one should judge her for her extramarital exploits.
“I’m telling you the truth. I was 12 years old when I lost my virginity. I remember everything like it was yesterday. But for my body count, I’d say I’ve sl3pted around 2,000 times between the ages of 12 and now. I’ve also done a lot of females. I’ve done both men and women. Definitely 2000 s3xual partners. It is what it is. Only God can judge me. “I don’t care.”
Diamond made headlines in August 2022 when she shared a photo of herself in b€d with a man claiming to be Burna Boy.
In contrast to painting superheroes like Spiderman, Burna Boy claimed that he eventually made the decision that he wanted to be one himself. Burna Boy was the only name that sprang to mind.
Burna Boy has explained how he came up with the name that is now well-known worldwide.
Damini Ogulu may not be as well-known as Burna Boy in all countries, but that is only because the Grammy-winning musician is more often recognized by his stage name, Burna Boy.
For those who were curious about how the Last Last singer Burna Boy came up with his stage name, he has disclosed that it was inspired by his love of comic books and superheroes like Spiderman, Superman, etc.
The African Giant recently admitted that he loved comic books and that he also created them during an interview for the well-known American program The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Burna Boy claimed that rather than drawing superheroes like Spiderman, he eventually made the decision that he wanted to be one himself. Burna Boy was the only name that sprang to mind.
Burna Boy taught the well-known “afro moonwalk” dance to popular American TV host Jimmy Fallon during the show despite having a leg injury. Fallon requested it.
In essence, the afro moonwalk resembles the late pop king Michael Jackson’s signature dance move. However, Burna Boy claims that there is a key distinction between the two: “It almost feels like you are walking forward but you are not really moving.”
The singer remarked when describing the dance move: “The fans call it the afro-moonwalk. It is almost that you are walking forward but you are not really moving.”
