As 2013 draws to a close, it is time to take stock of events and artistes that shaped the year. Indeed, it was an eventful year, a year full of surprises as it witnessed many upsets and of course, new revelations.
KCEE’s moment
KCEE has finally broken the jinx and found his footing. His track, Limpopo could get nominated for the award for Song of the Year. It received millions of downloads online and completed the successful transformation of KC of KC Presh to KCEE.
With the release of his album, Pull Over, the lead track has seized the airwaves and there’s no doubt that this is KCEE’s moment! He has successfully given us back to back two straight hits.
For this effort, most music fans may tip KCEE for The Music Man of The Year Award.
Sean Tizzle, Revelation of The Year
The year will go down as one when hip-hop singer, Sean Tizzle (Seun Morihanfen) established himself as a force to reckon with in the music industry. From nowhere, the act shot into the limelight following the success of his runaway single, Sho Lee. He also performed on the biggest platforms including Julius Agwu’s Crack Ya Ribs. As 2014 rolls in, Sean Tizzle is definitely one of the acts to watch out for.
Rise and rise of new generation stars
2013 remains a remarkable year for new generation singers. Wizkid, Olamide and Davido all gave a good account of themselves in the year under review. Wizkid set night clubs and parties bubbling with his hit track, Back To The Matter, Carol and Jaiye Jaiye, featuring Femi Kuti, while Davido ruled with Skelewu and Phyno made an impact with Ghost Mode, featuring Wizkid. Olamide’s new album, Yahoo Boy No Laptop featuring the hit song, Duro So Ke, also made huge impact and as 2014 beckons, these acts are on top of the watch list.
However, one musician we cannot ignore is Burna Boy whose latest album, LIFE, an Afrofusion has been a resounding success.
Year of Skelewu
It was definitely a good year for hip hop singer, Davido. He started a new thing in music when he dropped his latest track, Skelewu, which came with its own dance steps. The track could have been just one of those tracks of 2013, but the act made so much noise about it and there was talk of his shooting several videos which cost millions. Before one could say Jackie Robinson, Skelewu was everywhere. Davido is definitely going places in the New Year.
Iyanya’s year of endorsements
Until Tuface’s N20 million-endorsement deal with Guinness Nigeria Plc in 2004, endorsements were rarely heard of as far as Nigerian music was concerned. However, all that has changed. And now, Iyanya would not forget this year in a hurry as far as endorsement is concerned. The artiste raked in a whopping N130 million from endorsements in the year under review.
Iyanya hit pay dirt when he closed a deal with Solo Mobile worth N35 million. A while later, he got a N40 million ambassadorship deal with MTN, and before anyone knew what was happening, he had inked another endorsement deal worth N65 million with Zinox Technologies Limited.
As 2014 beckons, Iyanya has no excuse but to take his game to the next level.
Goldie’s shocking exit
It was with shock that Nigerians on February 14 woke up to receive the news of the passing away of Susan Harvey popularly known as Goldie. What made her sudden exit so painful was that the singer died just when her career was beginning to blossom on Valentine’s Day after she returned from the Grammy Awards.
Reports later revealed that Goldie succumbed to hypertension, and as the week rolled by, she became the source of even more controversy as her husband, Andrew Harvey, whom she successfully hid from the media popped out of the blues. The Briton declared that he was the singer’s only legal husband amid reports that she was having an affair with BBA’s Prezzo, even as there was talk of marriage between the two housemates.
Tuface finally marries Annie Macaulay
-As P-Square’s Peter says ‘I do’ to Lola Omotayo
It’s definitely the biggest celebrity wedding of the year! With the controversies trailing the boy from Otukpo regarding his harem of ‘baby mamas’, fans had expected that Tuface would keep to his promise and never get married in order to keep the mothers of his six children from going to war.
However, as Nigerians were benumbed by the news of Goldie’s death, they were consoled by the news of Tuface who had sensationally proposed to an astonished Annie Macaulay at a celebrity hang out in Lagos. This culminated into a traditional wedding that attracted the crème de la crème of Nigeria to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and climaxed with a white wedding in far away Dubai.
Just like Tuface, P-Square’s Peter also took to the aisle his ‘baby mama’, pretty Lola Omotayo. It was also a wedding that will not be forgotten in a hurry as it oozed glamour, panache and razzmatazz.
Tiwa Savage ties the knot
Tiwa Savage finally tied the knot with her live in lover and manager, Tunji Balogun (Tee Billz) in November, in a society wedding that attracted the crème of Nigerian entertainment. The marriage came after months of denial that they were having an affair.
And Efere Ozakor passes on
It was a tragedy that made headlines on April 18 when renowned entertainment lawyer, Efere Ozako, succumbed to the cold hands of death after a trip from South Africa. It was indeed tragic as Ozako was just 45-years-old. Reports claimed that he died of cardiac arrest.
Until his death, Ozako was a foremost entertainment lawyer, who contributed in no small measure to the growth of the industry. He was post-humoursly honoured by the organizers of Abuja International Film Festival when the experimental category was named after him. He is survived by three kids and a wife.
Saka ports to MTN
One word that came into the Pidgin lexicon in April was ‘port’ which was made popular by comedian, Saka (Afeez Ayetoro). Saka had dumped Etisalat for MTN as the telecoms industry kicked-off its number portability campaign, and he became a household name overnight.
“I don port o, I don port go MTN. I don upgrade to MTN,” Saka sings in Pidgin as he dances in the commercial that went viral on the Internet. Sources say he ‘ported’ for a whopping N20 million.
Glo X Factor raises the bar
It was the most talked about show of 2013. In a surprise move that sent ripples through the entire industry, telecoms giant, Glo unveiled the biggest music reality TV show, X Factor amid pomp and glamour.
A franchise of American X Factor owned by Simon Cowell, the maiden edition of the show was won by DJ Switch (Obianuju Catherine Udeh) who pocketed a whopping N24 million. Already, DJ Switch has begun work on her debut album and is definitely one of the acts that will make wave next year.
Four Grammy nominations for Femi Kuti
Nigeria’s flag will be flying at next year’s edition of the Grammy Awards courtesy of Femi Kuti’s latest nomination, which proved that he is indeed the King of Afrobeat.
The musician got the nomination through his latest album entitled, No Place For My Dreams.
Femi was nominated in the World Music category alongside the likes of Gipsy Kings, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ravi Shankar. The Grammy Awards holds in the United States on January 26, 2014. Prior to his nomination, however, the singer had dominated the contemporary music scene with his duet with Wizkid entitled, Jaiye Jaiye.
When the old meets the new generation
Indeed, it was an exciting year for Nigerian music as the new school met the old school in various duets. Beginning with Victor Olaiya and Tuface who did a remix of Baby Jowo, which became a run away hit, other acts were inspired to do collabos as well and this became the new trend.
Other collaborations that made impact in 2013 are Jaiye Jaiye by Wizkid featuring Femi Kuti and Omoge remix featuring Omawunmi. MI also featured J. Martins in a song made popular by Ebenezer Obey.
Wande Cole dumps Mavin Records
Despite the release of Sola Plexus, which features the likes of Tiwa Savage, D’Prince, Wande Coal and Dr. Sid, the deconstruction of Don Jazzy’s music empire continues this year when a major pillar on the platform, Wande Coal, called it quits barely a year after D’banj parted ways with Mo’Hits.
Now the future of Mavin Records, Don Jazzy’s creation is shaky as we move into 2014. The question on every one’s lips is: ‘Will Mavin Records survive this ‘Armageddon’? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, Wande Coal has joined the league of Glo Ambassadors, as he was appointed one recently.
OJB Jezreel survives kidney transplant
Music producer and singer, OJB Jezreel made newspaper headlines after he cried out to Nigerians for help following his diagnosis with kidney failure. Indeed, it was a touching image of OJB that Nigerians saw on TV, newspapers and online publications.
However, this could have gone without drama but for Ghanaian actress, Juliet Ibrahim, who raised questions about the authenticity of OJB’s health bill which ran into N16 million, and this stirred a lot of controversy.
However, both OJB and Ibrahim later kissed and made up on Rose Peter Graham’s TV show, Sugar N Spice, but by that time a lot of water had gone under bridge. But then, it was Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi that donated $100, 000 for the singer’s surgery in India. He’s currently back in the country.
Fada U-Turn succumbs to kidney disease
Death made the headlines again when Okokomaiko act, Fada U-Turn (Olufemi Mayomi), died at the unripe age of 36 on November 17, after battling kidney disease for years.
Known for his hit, Yetunde, the Ultima Records’ sign-on was one of the acts that popularized galala, a brand of music that originated from the ghetto of Ajegunle, Lagos, and which was popularsied by the likes of Baba Fryo and Daddy Fresh.
Sources say friends and well meaning Nigerians could have come to his aid like they did for OJB Jezreel after he came down with kidney failure. However, Fada U-Turn kept his illness to himself because he was not ready to beg anybody for a lifeline.
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