The Nigerian music industry is evolving more quickly than it ever has, and the growth of social media and streaming platforms has given independent musicians more opportunities to define their own standards and own their styles.
There has been a distinctive renaissance brewing – particularly among African creatives – where old standards of culture and brand identity no longer dictate an artist’s success. We are here for that African movement.
Here is a list of 15 Underground Nigerian musicians you may not be familiar with but are a raving style. So get familiar.
Don Mappy
Urban Life and Afrobeats Music Producer, Songwriter, and Vocalist, Don Mappy, was born in the heart of Lagos, Nigeria where he developed his Urban-Life style of music through the influence of his environment and culture, taking roots from original Afrobeats and Highlife music.
In 2018, he released one of his most successful hit singles “Vibe City” and subsequently dropped his Debut project “Vibe City E.P” charting in the Top 50 Albums on Apple Music.
Following the success of the Vibe City EP and the virus pandemic in the early months of 2020, Don Mappy released a Love-Themed 7-track EP “Urban Love Progressions” charting in the Top 20 Albums on Apple Music World Genre.
Don Mappy releases his new music project – “Ad Meliora”, a Latin word for “Towards Better Things” – on the 30th of June. Another timeless music is upon us from the rising star.
Eniola Havoc
The real hop prodigy “Eniola Havoc,” was raised in the neighborhood of Ebute Meta. He combines street-oriented hip-hop with something unusual, adding the flavor of traditional African heritage and a great sense of lyricism.
Eniola Havoc first gained notoriety in 2012 while a student at OAU, performing alongside entertainers like Chinko Ekun, Blaqbonez, Fireboy DML, Zamorra, MC Arole, and many others.
He independently released mixtapes while he built a following and a wave. With hit singles like “No Play Play Ft. Picazo”, and “Kele”, Eniola Havoc gained a devoted and engaged audience with each release.
Eniola Havoc has a niche market and credits well-known stars for her capacity to transmit relevant information and upbeat energy through superb music. The future is bright for Africa’s diamonds as things change.
This year Eniola Havoc has released two fiery tunes, “Wetin You Smoke” and “35”.
Bizzonthetrack
Even though the year is only halfway over, the all-around creative genius known as Bizzonthetrack has already managed to persevere and produce one album, two EPs, and multiple singles inside the first six months of the year.
Additionally, Bizzonthetrack has confirmed in tweets and emails that a project titled “Afro Jackson” will be released later this year.
We can only get excited for the madness to come since his upcoming release features up-and-coming underground hip-hop stars like Droxx, Mo’Gunz, and Eniola Havoc, to name a few.
SGaWd
SGaWd loves to keep her music unique since she won’t let a label tame her. She provides sensuous hooks on R&B songs, spits fire bars on rap songs, and brings excitement to EDM music.
It is worth noting that SGaWd, also known as Sedi, graduated from the University of Miami with degrees in Marine Biology and Law before returning to Nigeria to pursue her passion for songwriting and music-making.
You will find that SGaWD is a very interesting artist and she’s a musician that refuses to be boxed as her musical preferences are largely Contemporary Hip-Hop, Alt-Rap, and Pop.
Notably, SGaWd appears to be leading the Nigerian female rap scene as one of the nation’s most intelligent lyricists. In addition to her amazing underground verses on Nigerian rap recordings, a quick glance through her Soundcloud will show the wide range of music she enjoys.
Picazo
Rapper, singer, and composer Picazo hit the industry with a number of freestyles and participation in competitions, which led YBNL CEO Olamide to call him up to join the squad.
Picazo Rhap began pursuing music at a very young age. He constantly performed covers of well-known songs and shared them on social media, which helped him build a following.
Sometime in 2018, Picazo caught the notice of YBNL leader Olamide after releasing a rendition of “Able God“.
Though Picazo had a close relationship with Sleekamo’s Bit Bender Studios, a recording, mixing, and mastering facility for music. Picazo recorded some of his tracks there, including Macaroni, which he later remixed with Olamide.
According to rumors, Olamide just provided him with a stage on which to display his talent to the world; he was not signed by YBNL. Since Picazo wasn’t signed by Olamide, he was free to leave the team if he saw a better offer. Shortly after, Senior Boyz Records signed Picazo.
Picazo has a recently released fiery tune, “Holy Ghost Fire“.
Ria Sean
Ria Sean stands out in the current musical world. She is one of the underground female singers who is speaking out and challenging the status quo, rejecting the days when only one female singer could hold the top spot at once.
The Nigerian singer-continual songwriter’s attempt to communicate straight to her soul seems to be the sweet spot in her music. Her most recent album, “FLUID,” a compilation of heartbreakingly candid songs that seem like a friend on the other end of the phone, is a captivating work.
Ria Sean has this thing for singing about things we don’t express out loud. On songs like the promotional hit “Money Bag”, she demands payment for debts she has accrued while simultaneously begging for her lover to satisfy her on “Satisfy My Soul“.
Phyl
Record producer and songwriter, Phyl, began his career in music production while still a student at the university where the brilliant musician adopted the stage name “Produca Wa“.
As a producer or engineer, Phyl has had the chance to work on several amazing records, like Bisi Kuti by Bizzonthetrack, Kilotufe by Fave, Bitter by Deena Ade, Rewind by Hybridbwoy, Omo Dudu by Blvck Topia, and many others.
Notably, in addition to his artistry, Phyl founded and executive produced the label and band Gravity Music. Phyl said in a chat “music is my art, every piece I produce is a special creation on its own” The creative humorously added, “Bread & beans is my favorite food right now, but that might change in a few months.” – haha a true creative that enjoys his meals.
This month, Phyl will deliver two projects, including” Money My Muse (MMM)” by Bizzonthetrack. He also has a 2-track EP, “Hypnosis,” out tomorrow. Plus, the creative act reveals that his second studio project, “Mr Lova Lova“, is due out later in October.
D3KR
D3KR pretty much has only one project out right now – “DnH“. A project of 3 tracks about the #Endsars and The Nigerian youth struggles. The tape basically covers the sad events, the Lekki tollgate killing and how it devastated all of Nigeria, as well as his personal battles (Hei, track3).
D3KR has promised to come hard with this new Afro style, “Afro Latino” with a side deep soul Trap, and we’re excited to see it materialize.
He mentions a project that will be out before the year is through. D3KR will release covers beforehand on his social media channels. The bright act promises to drop a cover of “Kolomental by Victony” this month.
D3KR is well recognized for his admiration of a wide variety of musicians. However, the promising talent stated, “My trap was inspired by XXXtentacion, though, as his songs played a big role,” and “My motivation is life itself and pain.”
Khaid
The newest kid in the Afrobeats music genre is Khaid (born in 2005). The singer, composer, and rapper is an expert in the AfroFusion style and is known for fusing Afro and Trap music.
As the use of social media was on the rise, Khaid started to upload videos of his freestyle songs on his social media profiles. Throughout this time, he continued to produce music, honing his style and developing as a songwriter.
In a short period of time, his videos started to go popular on the internet, and he quickly gathered admirers who like his music. The fact that he was able to combine Afrobeats and Trap sounds to produce catchy music piqued the interest of many listeners.
On January 25, 2022, the gifted musician released his first single, “With You”. After signing a record deal with Sydney Talker‘s Neville Records, Khaid gained widespread recognition. The song has experienced a fair deal of success since its premiere.
Later in the year, Khaid released “Diversity EP“. A truly amazing project.
Maxijonez
Maxijonez began recording music in 2021 after spending time in the recording studio with Tawati and other Tribe Boyz. it is noteworthy to mention that Maxijonez has always sung in church choirs since he was a little child.
On October 5, 2021(his birthday), Maxijonez released his first single, “Superstar”. It had a significant impact on the joint Tribe Boyz EP. Don’t Judge Me became a sleeper smash thanks in part to his hook, garnering over 10,000 streams across all platforms.
Later this year 2022, the rising star came through with another remarkable single hit with Tawati titled “Lessons”. Maxijonez is one genius creative everyone seems to have their eyes on at the moment.
Tawati
Oh well, based on my background check, Tawati has been recording songs for more than ten years now. The brilliant artist originally made an appearance on Jimmy’s jump-off in 2009 going by the name Lil’H.
Although Tawati has released many singles, his debut EP, titled “Roadman: Tale of a Thousand Journies,” was released in 2020. He and the other members of his group later published their joint work, “Trapping in Lasgidi.” which went on to be an amazing body of work.
Tepidz
Tepidz, Adegboyega Abiola, Nigerian singer, songwriter, musician, and dancer – born on May 7, 1997 – began working professionally in 2015.
Remarkably, Tepidz has been building his brand, particularly in 2020 and 2021, when he featured the president and superstar of Zanku, and Papisnoop, respectively. Since then, the talented act has experienced overwhelming levels of attention.
Tepidz will be releasing his debut body of work this year, the industry should be eager to hear this one.
Chylde
Eniola Isioma Hashim, Chylde (pronounced “Child”), is a Nigerian artist, writer, and singer with a wide spectrum of musical styles.
With the song “Koshi Kuro”, she inspired and pioneered a genre known as Afro-Asian Trap in 2020. In March 2021, she released a mini EP called “The Lost Files” – a collection of some of her previously released tracks.
Remarkably, Chylde has a wide range of musical tastes and the capacity to perform in any genre since she has a wealth of global musical influences. Chylde is currently finishing up her next EP, which has not yet been given a title but we expect it will be released in 2022.
Chylde got featured on a pretty good record with Jonny Drille – “CLOCKS“
OluwaMillar
You just seem to always notice the ones whose natural element is art, this is based only on how simple they appear to make creativity look. One of the special ones is OluwaMillar, whose wordplays flow naturally.
Remember the banger boys on Twitter during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown? Yeah, OluwaMillar stood out among them. Millar went above and beyond by inserting wordplays, homophones, and rhymes in the comments of unrelated tweets. This creative and brilliant individual, OluwaMillar, took it top-notch in his music too.
His earliest musical influences included the Fuji, Gospel, and Hip-Hop acts. Although Dagrin, Reminisce, and Olamide were the artists who had the most impact on his rapping style.
OluwaMillar’s first single, “Menu” with Droxx hit differently. Given how effortlessly he produced banger tweets, his deliberate writing ought to be absurdly excellent as well. The drill-themed hip-hop song is really good, and it’s starting to get him some recognition.
“Menu” was released by OluwaMillar in February. We anticipate two more singles, a few collaborations, and ideally a body of work for his audience before the year is through.
Samm Chizi
Samm Chizi, a singer, songwriter, and composer, has been surrounded by this energy for his sound. Notably, the talented artist enjoys creating loops on GarageBand and using vocal samples.
Growing up in a musically inclined family, Saturdays were always bright, vivacious, and melodious, with plenty of food and love to go around. Being in the presence of these vibrations always felt warm.
His motivation is to create music that is healing and doesn’t disturb his listeners, his art comes in a variety of colors since it is artistic, bright, and laid back. Samm Chizi creates EDM, Dancehall, Afrobeats, Afropop, and a few other genres. grew up being influenced by many musicians because he loved music.
Samm Chizi later dubbed THE JUICEBOX/JUICEBOXSOUND which he describes as a synthesis of melodies and chants from his distinctive vocals. In his music, he also discusses real events, viewpoints from many life perspectives, love, and his beliefs. He is occasionally regarded as a loving boy.
“Simi”, “Damilohun”, and “Used To” are three of his early singles. Samm Chizi has collaborated with a number of talented artists, like Emo Grae, BNXN (BUJU), TIMI JAY, and NIPHEKEYS.
The title of his upcoming formal project is “DITR ( DIAMOND IN THE RUFF)”. Additionally, Samm Chizi hinted about working on a project for AUDIOMACK with SKILLA & FYE. This is coming up in August!
