Nigerian pop singers are undoubtedly the most well-known in sub-Saharan Africa and have benefited from a tremendous amount of fame, streaming popularity, and worldwide collaborations.
The Nigerian pop sound is continually incorporating street vibes, amapiano, and even hip hop, all of which are growing more and more popular around the world under the afrobeats cover. The fact that both established innovators and up-and-coming artists are sharing the main stage in the country’s music industry is good proof.
Everyone would agree, without a second thought, that Nigerian pop musicians, with their ground-breaking streaming figures and significant international collaborations, dominate the music talks in sub-Saharan Africa.
More Nigerian records will stand a stronger chance of tilting toward global relevance, particularly with the introduction of an Afrobeats-dedicated section on America’s Billboard Charts. With its distinctive beats, street vibes, amapiano, as well as hip hop, Afrobeat leads the charge on the journey to global music acclaim and regional recognition.
Even though 2022 is only halfway over, the quantity of new releases in the Nigerian music industry this year has already quickened up the pace of the year’s music, and the already popular Nigerian songs on the market promise to spice up each year’s music with even more hot hits.
With artists like Davido, Asake, Burnaboy, BNXN, Rema, and Kizz Daniel on board, 2022 is firmly positioned to be one of the greatest music years in Nigeria yet. Naijatastic.com will keep you up to date with some of the most well-liked, popular, and trending Nigeria music of the year so far.
Here are our top 15 exclusive songs that should be on your playlist:
1. Buga – Kizz Daniel feat Tekno
Kizz Daniel’s song “Buga,” which was produced by Reward Beatz and co-produced by Blaise Beatz, Young Willis, and Micky Geetarist, has gone viral on social media and is currently trending on Tiktok with over 2.4 million views.
Since he first entered the music industry, Kizz Daniel has established a solid reputation for serving up sizzling viral songs. The “cavemen” make an appearance on 7 tracks of the Afropop record, which is a follow-up to “Barnabas.” Buga was recently ranked among the top five Afrobeat songs currently trending globally. This data is based on Shazam, a music identification program, which has designated the song as the Most Shazamed Song in the World.
Buga, a masterpiece by Kizz Daniel, is now ranked first among the top 100 songs on Apple Music in Kenya and Nigeria. The woju singer said that “Buga” is an indigenous phrase that means “Show off” and “stunt on them” when discussing his accomplishment. “In this sense, it implies to allow your results speak for themselves once you’ve put in the effort.”
“Whatever you’re witnessing out there, whatever impact the music is having, is the result of hard work. And I continuously give each of my songs my all. Nothing great happens quickly,” he added.
2. Sugarcane (remix) – Camidoh feat King Promise, Mayorkun, Darkoo
This song by Camidoh should be on your playlist for the week if you enjoy great music. Great Ghanaian vocalists like King Promise, Darkoo, and the gifted Nigerian singer Mayorkun are all included on the Sugarcane remix. This amazing song, which has a catchy chorus and now has a 712k trend hashtag on TikTok, is ranked no. 7 on the Apple Music playlist.
3. Palazzo – DJ Spinall, Asake
Another hit single from DJ Spinall’s collection, Palazzo features vocals from Asake, a recently signed YBNL musician from Nigeria. The song’s mid-tempo features variations of the beat from “Omo Ope.” TG Omori was the director of the outstanding music video for Palazzo. Co-producing the album are Magix Sticks and Spinall. Eskeez handled mixing and mastering.
4. Dada – Young Jonn feat Davido
Dada, a dazzling collaboration between 30BG president Davido and Young Jonn, will have listeners bobbing their heads to the music. Talk about a party starter and Dada is blasting through the room. It should come as no surprise that it is trending on Spotify’s hot hits Naija and Apple Music’s top 100 Nigeria.
5. Last Last – Burna Boy
With the release of his much-anticipated album “Love Damini,” Grammy Award-winning musician Burna Boy charmed his fans with the new track “Last Last.” It was first presented live during his (One Night In Space) performance at Madison Square Garden. Burna’s failed relationship with Stefflon Don is alluded to in the song Last Last.
E don cast (e don cast) Last last (last last) Na everybody go chop breakfast (na everybody go chop breakfast) Have to say bye bye oh Bye bye oh To the love of my life. Anyway, this song has his followers mesmerized, according to the self-proclaimed African giant.
6. Stand Strong – Davido feat Sunday service choir
The Sunday service choir and Davido’s collaboration give the song “Stand strong” some extra punch. The Fall vocalist aimed for perfection because this song differs greatly from anything Davido has ever released. Because of this, anyone can now confidently assert that Davido’s Stand Strong, a Pheelz production, has earned a spot among Spotify’s top Naija hit songs.
7. Woman – Omahlay
Omah Lay, a well-known and award-winning Nigerian singer, tells the tale of his love for his sweetheart in a slow, sensual performance of “Woman.” Omah Lay released his chart-topping Afrobeat song, Understand, last year 2021. This is his first single this year. P.Priime produced the song Woman.
8. Finesse – Pheelz (feat. BNXN)
With the release of this hot tune from Pheelz, one of Nigeria’s top producers, the year certainly got off to a fantastic start. It didn’t take long for the new song to become the most popular one in Nigeria so far thanks to Buju’s creative contribution.
Shortly after the producer teased Finesse on TikTok, it quickly became viral. Along with a legion of males singing about living life on the fast track, Pheelz created a new standard. It’s interesting to note that within a week of its release, “Finesse” broke the record for most Shazamed songs ever. With fantastic pop culture lines like “if I broke, na my business,” it even started a social media trend.
9. Sungba – Asake (Remix) (feat. Burna Boy)
Sungba is a single off Asake’s next project and has been dubbed the song of the quarter since he joined Olamide’s YBNL. Asake’s music is blowing our minds and sending out unique vibes that are more like a fusion of street and Fuji. These street nuances can also be heard in the musical styles of Bella Shmurda and Zinoleesky.
The word “Sungba,” which is Yoruba for “Lie Flat,” appeals to the vast majority due to its sexually suggestive undertones. The song quickly gained popularity on social media before becoming a big hit in the country.
10. Omo Ope – Asake ft. Olamide
Anyone who has listened to this jam would concur that Asake trounces himself with this lead song off his EP. Olamide, the head of YBNL, the record label to which Asake is signed, is featured in it. The song Omo Olope, which features energetic lyrics in both Yoruba and English, is about living each day to the fullest. It quickly became a hit in Nigeria.
11. Calm Down – Rema
As he dabbled with his soothing vocal performance on bouncy, string-filled instrumentation, Rema charmed everyone with “Calm down.” At the start of the year, the song from his 2022 album Rave and Roses quickly gained popularity as a dance trend on social media. Rema followed up the masterpiece song with notable videos to further establish his influence in the world of viral music.
12. Pour Me Water – Kizz Daniel
Kizz Daniel takes pride in his reputation as an innovative writer of catchy love songs. Kizz Daniel’s calming vocals and smooth beat give the highlife melody “Pour Me Water” real depth.
13. Gentility – Melvitto & Wande Coal
After listening to this intense collaboration between Wande and Melvitto, if you aren’t jumping, then you need some vitality. The ironic part is that on Friday, April 29, 2022, “Gentility o se stupidity,” a duet with talented rapper and music producer Melvitto, occupied the top spot on the Top 100 Nigeria Apple Music Chart.
The song was initially released in 2019, but it gained popularity once it was made into a TikTok challenge. Talk about music that makes a comeback. The song was one of the most popular tracks on Apple Music in several African nations as of April, ranking 33rd on the Top 100 Ghana Apple Music Chart and 10th on the Top 100 Gambia Apple Music Chart.
14. Kwaku the Traveller – Black Sherif
In our heads, this song lives rent-free. Joker Nharnah, is the producer of Kwaku The Traveler. It has been at the top of key music playlists on all major digital streaming services since its release. First-place entry on the Apple Music Top 100 Over 75 million audio streams of the song have been received from Nigeria and Ghana, respectively. The most-shazamed song in the world, Kwaku the Traveler, peaked at No. 1 on Triller, No. 1 on Deezer, and No. 1 on Boomplay Hot.
15. Baddest Boy Remix- Skiibii ft. Davido
Since his remix of “Baddest Boy,” featuring Davido, to start the year, Nigerian musician Skiibii has received a ton of support. TikTok was a major factor in the popularity of Skibii’s music, which has been referred to as the party’s song.
The song “Baddest Boy,” which was released, received 5 million streams and spent 4 weeks at the top of the Top 50 in February. This song joins Kizz Daniel’s “Lie” (6 weeks) and Teni’Makanaki’s “FOR YOU” with Davido (5 weeks) as the third to spend its first four weeks at No. 1.
