2020 will go down as an unforgettable year in the Nigerian music industry. It was a year of many debuts, a few sophomores and a good number of breakout stars. With a global pandemic raging, the supply of music was high with artistes churning out projects every other week. In the midst of label-backed releases, a number of independent artistes held their own dropping some of the best music out in a release-heavy year. These are five times that indie artistes struck gold in 2020:
Kemena – Bond: Bond by Kemena is an album that is truly phenomenal. On the quality Afropop album that is different and refreshing, Kemena was solely responsible for writing, producing, mixing and mastering, every song on the album bar one. Kemena explored the theme of love on the album, creating a cohesive and enjoyable album.
Standout Tracks: Ibadan, Ye, High Tension.
Paybac Iboro – Cult!: Paybac has a reputation of being an outlier and a non-conformist. This reflects in his music, in the way he fuses rap with other genres. On Cult!, Paybac’s experimentation takes its best form, and it is easily his best project ever. Its nomination for Rap Album of the year by The Headies is a testament of how good this album is. Paybac fuses rock, highlife, dancehall and even samples Nollywood clips on the album. Best described as Folk Rap, Paybac touches on politics, depression, success and the Nigerian dream on Cult!
Standout Tracks: Aguiyi Ironsi, Nigerian Dream, Lupita, Money In All My Pockets.
Ignis Brothers – The Cost of Our Lives: One word to describe this album, beauty. This is Nigerian folk music at its finest, and one of the best albums released in 2020. The vocals of the members of the band compliment each other so well, invoking all the right emotions in their listeners. The Cost of Our Lives touches on the pains of feeling lost, despair, love and freedom. The songwriting on this album is one of the best, that I heard all year long.
Standout Tracks: Time Dey Go, Sand and Shells, To Fly.
Chike – Boo Of The Booless: The debut offering from the reality television star, Boo of the Booless, is one of the best debut LPs in recent times. What Chike did on Boo of the Booless was quite phenomenal, as he touched on the different sides of love; including falling in love, faithfulness, lasting love, the love of a mother, forgiveness and even the love of God. He brought everything together nicely, making it one of the most outstanding albums of 2020, in terms of cohesiveness. Only a few 2020 albums were as good as BOTB, and it is up for the Album of the Year award at the forthcoming Headies Awards.
Standout Tracks: Forgive, Forever, Faithful, Roju
The Cavemen – Roots: Another amazing debut from yet another band, The Cavemen’s Roots is modern Highlife in its finest form. Despite being rendered in Igbo language for the most part, the album resonated with a large audience. The arrangement of Roots is one of the best things about the album. It started with the “feel-good” tracks, moved to mid-tempo songs about a love interest, to slow love songs before moving to the deep songs. Having Onye Ma Uche as the outro is a stroke of genius. The album is up for the Best Alternative Album award at the forthcoming Headies Awards.
Standout Tracks: Anita, Onye Ma Uche, Bena, Crazy Lover.