To say that the competition in the Nigerian music industry is stiff is stating the obvious. In an industry where new acts are discovered every other day, breaking into the music scene and making an impact could be likened to the proverbial camel passing through the eye of the needle before a rich man makes the kingdom of heaven...in other words - e no easy.
With such cut-throat competition, it goes without saying that only the ‘tough’ survive and only the ‘ordained’ make it to the very top; the top being – breaking into the Lagos market (just to be clear, Lagosremains the commercial and entertainment capital of Nigeria and only when an artiste captures this market have they truly earned bragging rights, every other area remains secondary), having a large follower-ship (online and offline), newsworthiness (bloggers must find the artiste relevant enough to stalk their every purchase and latest arm candy), a performance fee in the neighbourhood of seven figures, a few awards (home and abroad), an endorsement or two and a house in Lekki filled with enough mouth watering cars to show for the years of hustling. Only when an artiste can lay claim to all or at least majority of the above, can they be said to be at the top of the Nigerian music game.
Yes, making it in the Nigerian music industry is no walk in the park which is why more often than not, several truly talented acts get lost in the mix of things, either fading to oblivion or hovering in the almost there category – popular enough to be recognised but not quite making it to A-list.
In light of this, we count down 5 of such Nigerian artistes who for one reason or the other have failed to take their rightful place at the top of the Nigerian music game.
5. Timi Dakolo: After winning the West African Idols contest in 2007, it seemed like Timi was poised for greatness. But after months of accusations and counter-accusations of foul play with his SONY BMGcontract; one of the things he got as the Idols winner, the Bayelsa native eventually struck out on his own to build a career for himself. He eventually released his first single in 2009 and went on to win the 2010 Best Recording of the Year Headie for his single ‘Heaven Please’ and in 2012, he released his highly anticipated debut album. In all of this however, Timi has not fared well with breaking into the mainstream music market inspite of his remarkable talent. While he has a sizeable fan base and even awards to his name, Timi has failed to completely break free of his West African Idols image and cross into the big league which leads us to wonder what could be keeping such a great act from sitting atop the Nigerian R ‘n’ B scene – right beside Banky W and Dare Art-Alade ofcourse.
4. Djinee: He first burst into our consciousness as a presenter in Soundcity but for him, music was the first passion and soon enough, he released his first single ‘Ego’ which earned him critical acclaim and a fan base. He also won the Best New Artiste at the Nigerian Entertainment Award in London as well as two nominations at the 2006 Headies. However, following a disagreement with his then record labelWestside Inc, Djinee had a lapse in releasing his debut album and eventually left the label to fully pursue his career. He followed with other singles like In 2009, he dropped the widely popular Overkillin’which temporarily returned him to the limelight. One album and a few singles later, Djinee still hovers on the edge of the music scene and although there’s been an attempt on his part to get back in the game in recent times with the release of two singles earlier this year, Djinee, in spite of his wealth of talent still largely remains an almost there.
3.Durella: When the ‘King of the Zanga’ first hit the Nigerian music scene, not a few people mixed him up with D’banj. Both artistes had an almost similar sound and energy but Durella quickly established himself as an independent artiste with his own style and sound. In 2008, he won the MTV Advance Warning contest beating Waje who came in at second place. With his catchy hooks and club bangers,Durella soon became a fixture in the Nigerian club and entertainment scene and while he has enjoyed relative success and remains one of Nigeria’s most versatile artistes, Durella has yet to make it to the big league of the Nigerian music industry.
2. Shank: Like a breath of fresh air, Shank stormed the music scene with his hit single ‘Julie’ in 2008. The song made a huge impact in the club scene and in 2009, he released his debut album with such great hit singles like ‘Never Felt This Before’ featuring D’banj and ‘Shawty’ featuring Akon. After a 2 year hiatus, he returned to the scene in 2011 with the singles ‘Salute’ and ‘Ghetto’. Though Shank has consistently delivered fresh music, he’s never quite broken into the mainstream music scene.
1. General Pipe: The Seven Star General arrived the music scene with a mission to spread thereggae/dancehall gospel, and spread the gospel he did. From his collaborations with the likes ofDagrin, MI, Sasha, Sauce Kid and Ill Bliss to name a few, to his personal tracks, General Pype shone through as a reggae/dancehall artiste to watch. In 2009, he released ‘Champion’ with a huge remix that featured several industry heavyweights including the late Da Grin, Naeto C, Sasha and Vector. The song became a street anthem of sorts and earned General Pype a huge fan base and accolades. However, after the huge success of 2009/2010 and inspite of being one of the most gifted and unique acts on the scene, General Pype has remained largely under the music radar, his ‘Give it to Me’ single of last year not withstanding.
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