The boom of Hip-Hop and Pop music in the mid and late 90s saw a lot of young talented Nigerians try to get the spotlight to showcase their talents. The wave of rap battles and talent shows swept across university campuses all over the nation, even secondary school students had rap battles within themselves, almost every teenager and youth believed they could do Hip-Hop thanks to the huge influence of the Hip-Hop scene in America. Several artistes were discovered through rap battles and talent shows.
During this period, musical groups were extremely popular; groups that comprised of singers only, rappers only, and sometimes a mixture of rappers and singers. A lot of groups sprung up, but a few up them left a lasting impression and they’ve been involved in shaping the Nigerian music scene to what it is today. Here’s a list of some of the Musical groups that rocked the Nigerian music scene from the mid-90s – the early 20s that rocked the Nigerian music scene.
- Trybesmen: Trybesmen is a huge name in the Nigerian Hip-Hop scene, arguably one of the best musical groups to grace the music scene in Nigeria. They are the pioneers of modern rap in Nigeria. The Trybesmen made Hip-Hop their way; a perfect blend of heavy raps with catchy hooks – a good combination of American Hip-Hop influenced rap and hooks in local languages, which was evident in their smash hit “Shake Bodi”. They had a distinct style of rap that set them apart from other Hip-Hop groups; fusing Hip-Hop with Afrobeat, Pop, and Highlife. Consisting of eLDee, Freestyle, and Kaboom they took the Nigeria music scene by storm with their debut album L.A.G. Style Vol. 1 released in 1999. After the group broke up in 2004, eLDee and Freestyle went on to pursue their solo careers.
- Plantation Boyz: The members met in the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu before forming the group Plantation Boyz, they got their big break when they relocated to Lagos. Plantation Boyz was made up of Blackface, Faze, and 2Face (now known as 2Baba). Plantation Boyz did RnB introduced themselves with the song, Knock Me Off in 1998 but it was until 1999 they had all eyes on them with the song Don’t Know You. In 2000, they released their debut album, Body and Soul. Following the success of their debut album, they released their sophomore album titled Sold Out. After the exit of 2Face to pursue a solo career, the other members went on to pursue their solo careers. In 2007, the group came back together and released the album Plan B.
- The Remedies: The Remedies is one of the early music groups to emerge on the Nigerian music scene, the group comprised of Tony Tetuila, Eedris Abdulkareem, and Eddy Montana. The Remedies played a very huge role in making Hip-Hop popular in the mid and late 90s; they were the powerhouse and force to reckon with. Their songs were the anthem of the streets and the clubs. In 1999, they released their debut album, Peace Nigeria. The album had hit songs; Sade, Jealousy, Belinda. Peace Nigeria had the first collaboration between a Hip-Hop group and a Fuji artiste, with the song Jealousy featuring Pasuma Wonder. Tony Tetuila and Eedris Abdulkareem went on to have very successful solo careers following the break-up of the group.
- Styl-Plus: The group initially started under the name Styl, an acronym of all the names of the founding members; Shifi Emoefe, Tunde Akinsanmi, Yemi Akinwunmi, and Lanre Faneyi. After Lanre’s demise in 1998, Zeal joined the group, and the new name Styl-Plus was adopted. Lanre left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career without being replaced. Often likened with the famous group Boys II Men for their emotional and heartfelt songs. Styl-Plus rose to prominence following the release of Olufunmi and Runaway in 2003. In 2006, they released their debut album, Expression, to a very huge commercial success; it was one of the most successful Nigerian RnB albums. Styl-Plus changed the face of RnB in the Nigerian music scene setting numerous records; having Olufunmi and Runaway as the most requested RnB songs on the radio, both songs were also the number one and two songs on the MTN Y’ello chart respectively. Following the split of the group and their make-up years later, they released a comeback album in 2008 titled Back and Better.
Other groups worthy of a mention; Junior and Pretty, Mountain Black and Mad Melon, Rooftop MCs, Maintain, Blacktribe, Krazee Kulture, JJC and 419 Squad.