Omar Lay | Zikoko!

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Omar Lay | Zikoko!

2022, why are you running? Just a couple of months ago, we were out on the streets shouting happy new year, and now, we’re in the sixth month of the year. But before we settle into June, find out the people running for president after the election primaries (We hope you have your PVC) and face Nigeria with full vim, let’s dive into some of the fun projects we’re looking forward to in the new month.

1. Another Nollywood remake……will this slap? Let’s see.

Glamour Girls — Bunmi Akajaiye

Nollywood is taking this remake — or should we say “using the title of an old film to sell a new film with a similar story” route — seriously. Following the success of Living in Bondage: Breaking Free, Charles of Play has made it his life’s mission to remake all our favourite Nollywood classics, whether we like it or not. While his plans haven’t always slapped (Nneka the Pretty Flop was a moment we’d like to forget), we’re intrigued by a new take on the OG bad bitches from 1994’s Glamour Girls. This retelling of a story of women trying to hustle their way to the top features Sharon Ooja, Toke Makinwa, Joselyn Dumas, Lily Afe and Nse Ikpe-Etim. Are we in love with the trailer? Next question, please. But this is a major Netflix production produced, directed and starring women. So if there’s one thing we’ll do, it’s support women’s rights (and wrongs, in case the movie ends up being terrible).

2. Falz has a six-pack now….oh, and there’s an album too.

Bahd — Falz

Whether you like it or not, Falz is an icon for this generation. When he’s not leading movements and giving the government headache, he’s creating amapiano bangers with Niniola and tearing up the dance floor. Following up 2019’s Moral Instruction, Falz is set to drop a new album titled, Bahd, with guest features from Tiwa Savage, The Cavemen, Chike and BNXN. While his abs on the album cover might be distracting, we’re really excited for this one.

3. New Omah Lay album? Inject it!

Boy Alone — Omah Lay

Breaking out at the height of Ms. Rona with the hits, Bad Influence and Damn, Omah Lay has since become an unstoppable force in the Nigerian music scene. He has dropped banger after banger nonstop (show us a bad Omah Lay song, and we’ll show you the bin your taste has been hiding) and is set to put out his first solo album this month. If the album sounds anything like our current obsession, Woman or our last obsession, Understand, then we’re in for a treat.

RECOMMENDED: We Found the Songs Nigerian Gen Zs Listen to After Heartbreak

4. Nollywood is going back to juju and we’re here for it.

Ile Owo — Dare Olaitan

With New Nollywood constantly churning out ensemble comedies to break even at the box office, it’s always exciting to see a project that goes in a completely different direction. Ile Owo is a horror film that follows a young woman who discovers that her billionaire fiancé isn’t who she thought he was. Then again, is any man who he says he is? Starring Efa Iwara, Tina Mba, Bisola Aiyeola, Temisan Emmanuel and Mofe Duncan, the film’s trailer is scary AF and has us trying to figure out what the hell is going on. It also has a lowkey old Nollywood feel, and we’re here for it. We have high expectations for this film because the director Dare Olaitan is the brains behind one of our favourite ensembles, Ojukokoro. Dare, please, don’t disgrace us.

5. Simi has taken a break from giving us couple envy to drop a new album.

TBH — Simi

Can you believe it’s been almost ten years since Simi decided to give her heart to an armed robber in the name of love? Tiff came out in 2014 and yes, we’re all old as shit.. TBH is Simi’s second album after 2017’s Simisola, and so far, we think it was worth the wait. There are many standouts tracks on the album, but Balance with Adekunle Gold has to be our fave. And no, it’s not because we’re still praying for them to open their marriage to the public.

6. Dr. Sid is moving from your playlist to a cinema near you.

The Order of Things — Dr. Sid

Remember when Pop Champagne and Surulere had us in a chokehold? Dr. Sid is making a big comeback to the scene, but it’s not in the way you might expect. The award-winning singer is releasing his debut film as a director, and we’ll definitely have our eyes out for this one. His film, The Order of Things, stars Timini Egbuson, Lily Afe, Lateef Adedimeji and Di’ja (Yes, the same Dorobucci Di’ja). While an artist pivoting to a different field can be tricky, Dr. Sid schooled at the New York Film Academy, so maybe this could work. We’ll just have to wait and see.

ALSO READ: With These 7 Steps, You Too Can Have Your Very Own Nollywood Romance

Conrad Johnson-Omodiagbe

June 6, 2022

Pop

Glamour girls, music, Nollywood, Omar Lay, Pop, Simi
With new music dropping faster than you can say, “Kapaichumarimarichopaco”, standing out and making a hit song takes a lot of work. But do you know what’ll make that work easier? Knowing the right artist to feature. Looking at their track records, we believe these are the artists that are guaranteed to give you a banger in 2022. Don’t say we didn’t do anything for you.

1. BNXN (formerly Buju)

It doesn’t matter what name he decides to go with, BNXN is a certified hitmaker. From the moment L’enu hit the airwaves, we could see that this artist was here to stay. Since then, it’s been back-to-back hits both on solo projects and features. If you check the charts, chances are BNXN is directly involved with five songs that are popping — there was the time where his two songs, Feeling with Ladipoe and the solo single Outside were fighting for the number one spot on the charts. Check it and balance it; no one is doing it with as much finesse as BNXN.

The Receipts: Cold Outside with Timaya, Finesse with Pheelz, Bling with Blaqbonez, Mood with Wizkid and Hustle with Reminisce.

2. Tems

Remember when Tems popped up in 2019 and asked us not to try her? Omo, this babe wasn’t playing o. In less than five years, Tems has worked her way to the top of the Billboard charts, a Grammy nomination, two critically-acclaimed EPs and being featured on one of the biggest songs of 2021, Essence. At this point, you can’t talk about Nigerian music and not mention Tems. When she’s not making hits with Wizkid, Drake and DRB, our girl is busy making songs of her own that gets us in our feels.

The Receipts: Fountains with Drake, Peace with MannyWellz, Trouble with DRB Lasgidi and Tales by Moonlight with Show Dem Camp.

3. Fireboy DML

It’s Fireboy DML’s world and the rest of us are just paying rent. This man dropped Jealous in 2019 and decided we will not rest again because why has he been dropping hits consistently since then? When he’s not dropping albums back to back or moving from San Francisco to Germany, he’s laying vocals for other artists and shooting their songs to the top of the charts.

The Receipts: Running with Ladipoe, Southy Love with Peruzzi, History with Cheque, Sere with DJ Spinall and Ogaranya with Reminisce

RECOMMENDED: We Re-Imagined Your Favourite Nigerian Musicians As Musical Groups

4. Zinoleesky

If you want your song to do extraordinary things for real, you should probably hit up Zinoleesky ASAP! The way it is, it feels like our memory of music has been split into two: music before Zinoleesky showed up and music after Zinoleesky came and put his foot on our necks. Zinoleesky’s vibe is all about not giving two fucks and living your life to the fullest, two things we fully agree with.

The Receipts: Blessings with Niphkeys, Don’t Call Me with Lil Kesh, Good Life with Mulla Rae and Like Dat with Lil Frosh.

5. Tay Iwar

Tay Iwar is hands down one of the most gifted artists of this generation, no cap. While many people may have been introduced to Tay on Wizkid’s True Love, the songwriter/singer/producer has been in the game since he dropped his first EP at 16 way back in 2014. Often credited as one of the pioneers of the alté movement, Tay has featured on and written songs for everyone from M.I to Tiwa Savage.

The Receipts: Special Kinda with Tiwa Savage, Shining with Pa Salieu, Murvlana with Cruel Santino, December with Juls and Steady with Wizkid.

6. Oxlade

Just when you think Oxlade is taking a break, he drops another banger. This guy has been unstoppable since we first noticed him on Blaqbonez’ Mami Wota. Scoring major hits left, right and centre, Oxlade is guaranteed to give you a hit record just by breathing into the mic. Yes, it’s that simple.

The Receipts: Causing Trouble with DJ Tunez, Ojuju with Troniq Music, Kolo with Ice Prince, Non Living Thing with Sarkodie and Myself with Basketmouth.

7. Omah Lay

There’s something about Omah Lay’s music that just makes you want to relax and take life jejely. Coming out at the height of the pandemic with Bad Influence, Omah Lay’s creative combination of Afrobeats and Atlanta-inspired R&B made him stand out immediately. With lockdown finally over, Omah Lay’s songs have moved us from our bedrooms to the streets and we’re here for it.

The Receipts: Infinity with Olamide, Pronto with Ajebo Hustlers, PAMI with DJ Tunez, Forever with Gyakie and Peaches with Justin Bieber.

ALSO READ: We Ranked the Best Nigerian Albums/EPs of the Year

Conrad Johnson-Omodiagbe

April 5, 2022

Pop

afrobeats, buju, Fireboy DML, nigerian singers, Omar Lay, Oxlade, Pop, Tems
Ever listened to an artist and immediately thought, “They should totally collaborate with so and so?”. Some international collaborations come as a surprise, but there are some we could’ve seen coming from a mile away. With international collaborations and remixes flooding the streets like party jollof rice, we’ve compiled a list of mergers we saw coming from the start. We’re not claiming to be prophets or anything, but look at the material and connect the dots yourself.

1. Peru Remix — Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran

When Fireboy DML announced Ed Sheeran would be on the remix of his hit song Peru, a lot of you were shocked, but not us. While the collaboration sounded a bit off on paper, true Fireboy stans could’ve seen this from a mile away. Apart from being resident musical lover boys, Need You, the opening track to Fireboy’s 2019 album Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps sounds almost exactly like Tenerife Sea.

We saw this thing coming since.

2. Somebody’s Son — Tiwa Savage and Brandy

When it comes to vocals in Nigeria, Ms. Savage is in a lane of her own. Announcing Water & Garri, the follow-up EP to her 2020 album, Celia, a lot of people were excited about one name on the tracklist, Brandy. While Somebody’s Son has become quite the earworm, some of us saw this collaboration coming years ago. Remember when Brandy came to Nigeria in 2014 right after Tiwa dropped Once Upon A Time and mentioned that she’d like to work with her? Ehen.

3. Essence — Wizkid, Tems and Justin Bieber

Essence was the biggest Nigerian song of 2021, no cap. So when it became time to enlist another artist to hop on the remix, we weren’t surprised when Wizkid went with Justin Bieber. The parallels between both artists are obvious AF: Usher discovered Justin and turned him into a star, Banky W discovered Wizkid and turned him into a star. Both artists started pretty young, became household names, struggled with controversies and remained consistent with their music over the years.

Wizkid is Justin and Justin is Wizkid, periodt.

4. Every song Yemi Alade has with Angelique Kidjo

Over the past few years, Yemi Alade and Angelique Kidjo have collaborated on not just one, but two hit songs. Yemi featured Angelique on Shekere and the favour was returned when Yemi made an appearance on Angelique’s song, Dignity. These collaborations didn’t come to us as a surprise because they have the same vibe. While Yemi Alade might get a lot of backlash for her lyrics — or lack thereof — her songs are slapping in other African countries. They’ve slapped so hard, even Mummy Blue noticed.

These collaborations were definitely meant to be

5. Damn Remix — Omah Lay and 6lack

While the industry was heavily focused on breezy afrobeats and amapiano-influenced songs, Omah Lay came in with this cool kid R&B vibe at the height of the 2020 pandemic and took us all by surprise. Listening to his music, especially songs like Bad Influence and Damn, it’s easy to spot the Atlanta-style R&B influence of artists like Bryson Tiller, PartyNextDoor and of course, 6Lack. Did we know it was going to be 6Lack for sure on that remix? No. But at least he picked someone on our shortlist.

Conrad Johnson-Omodiagbe

January 27, 2022

Pop

afrobeats, Fireboy, Nigeria, nigerian music, Omar Lay, Pop, tiwa savage, Wizkid, Yemi Alade