I hate to be one of those people, but while I appreciate the wide range of Afrobeats at the moment, a part of me is still nostalgic about the songs and artistes who raised me.
I’ve been listening to some of them again recently, so I decided to give them their flowers and do a little digging to find out what some of them are up to now.
Olu Maintain
Nigeria is never beating these 419 allegations because how did a song about doing yahoo-yahoo become the country’s unofficial anthem in 2007? Olu Maintain’s Yahoozee was so big I remember watching him perform it in front of then-President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
But even before Yahoozee, Olu Maintain was responsible for 1990s hits like Catch Cold and Wifey.
Mo’Cheddah
Miley Cyrus’ Hannah Montana might’ve raised some of you, but my teen female pop icon was, and will always be, Mo’Cheddah. This babe gave attitude, fashion and range with songs like If You Want Me and Ko Ma Roll. No one was doing it like Mo’Cheddah from 2009 to 2010, both within and outside rap in Nigeria.
Even though Mo has given up music for the lifestyle-content-creator-mummy lifestyle, she’s still one of the baddest to ever do it, and that’s on Mary and her little lamb.
Naeto C
For millennial Nigerians, life is divided into life before Naeto C’s Kini Big Deal and life after. Economies were saved, clubs were popping, MP3 players were on fire, and life was good, all because Naeto C sang the lyrics, “Wahalai lai talai, gimme lighter. Shebi shebi, we’re on fire.”
Naeto C has evolved from yummy rapper to yummy Instagram daddy and husband. Even though I want new music, watching him and Nicole Chikwe serve couple goals is enough for me.
Terry G
Is it me, or did Terry G’s Free Madness come out 15 years too early? We were all relatively sane when he dropped that and Akpako, but after the shege we’ve seen over the years, omo, Nigerians are currently running on madness, vibes and long island.
I discovered that Terry G still makes music, so I feel this is the right time for Free Madness 3.0. Does anyone have his WhatsApp number so I can pitch my idea?
RECOMMENDED: Gen Zs, Here are the Biggest Nigerian Songs From the Year You Were Born
Soul E
Soul E’s short run in the Nigerian music industry feels like a fever dream. One minute he’s climbing charts with Soul E Baba and singing with 2Face on E Be Like Say. Next thing, the man is announcing that he’s an apostle.
Happy for you, sir, but you could still drop a gospel album. I won’t be mad at that.
Kas
I know what you’re thinking, “Conrad, but Kas had only two hit songs, Fimile and Whine for Me“, and my response is:
Imagine leaving such an indelible impression with just two songs that people still ask of you over ten years later? I mean, look at the material. But like Soul E, Kas is now a man of God, so we’ll have to manage these songs until we get raptured or something.
Shank
Before Burna Boy began serving dancehall-inspired jams like Run My Race and Check & Balance, Shank was the original don gorgon of reggae and dancehall in Nigeria. Remember Julie and Ghetto? Shank was the music industry’s resident bad boy, churning out hits and getting tattoos like it was nobody’s business (to be fair, it’s actually no one’s business).
Burna might be the African giant now, but best believe he’s standing on the shoulders of artistes like Shank.
Sasha P
If there’s one rap song I can rap bar for bar with a gun to my head, it’s Sasha’s 2007 hit, Adara. Dropping the song as a response to the haters who called her a one-hit wonder after the success of 2004’s Emi Le Gan, Adara was a significant part of my early teens. Even though I couldn’t see them, I was super confident I had haters too.
Sasha, we don’t have a lot of female rappers in Nigeria today. Do you maybe want to help us with an album or two?
