“Song of the year?”

2019 has been an amazing year for the Nigerian music scene and it’s likely that it will only get better. With albums expected from Wizkid (Made in Lagos), a second album from Davido which has been in the works for quite some time and also Burna Boy who recently teased on twitter about having another album ready, just after dropping undoubtedly the biggest album out of Africa this year. Nevertheless the song of the year might just elude the African superstars this year and fall on the shoulders of the two hottest rookies right now. 

Over a decade after their illustrious breakout, a cycle that saw Wizkid, Davido, Skales and Yung6ix burst into the limelight has now been slowly recreated with breakouts from young talented acts like, Rema, Fireboy, Joeboy, Oxlade and a lot more. It seems the Nigerian industry might just be at the cusp of another golden generation.

The song of the year topic has unprecedentedly seen the Nigerian heavyweight hitmakers somewhat sidelined for the younger, hungrier talents taking over the industry. Dumebi by Rema who is signed to Don Jazzy’s Mavin is a strong contender for the song of the year. Dumebi is an infectious, melodic and addictive song over an unorthodox Ozedikus beat(which was severally rejected by other top artists according to Rema). The song shows Rema’s unending fountain of flows and sweet melodies coupled with his youthful eagerness. Dumebi was an instant chart topper and it’s clearly a serious  contender for the song of the year award.

On the other side, Fireboy DML currently signed to Olamide’s YBNL put out a timeless, meaningful and thoughtful track called Jealous. The song is laced with a sweet voice edged into the background, duly followed by confident well poised lyrics accompanied by a soulful beat by Cracker Mallo. The song made major airwaves and is constantly playing on a radio or TV close by(literally check). It really has all the right elements to be crowned the song of the year and would be deserved too without a shadow of doubt. 

Other honorable mentions for the song of the year would be Burna’s Killin dem & Dangote, Kizz Daniel’s Madu, Wizkid and Larry Gaga’s low. Although it is expected that we’d see a winner between the two rookies which is ultimately impressive as they’re both fresh to the Nigerian industry and offer some hope to the upcoming artistes out of Nigeria.