Top 10 Hottest Musicians In Nigeria (2020 Update)

Nigerian music has grown to become one of the most internationally recognized and distinct sounds in the last few years. This rise can be attributed to a number of Nigerian musicians who have laid claims to being the hottest in the business.

With the number of talented musicians in Nigeria, it is quite difficult to make a top artiste list. However, some artistes have worked harder than most and established themselves as the best in the industry.

In this article, we take a look at the hottest musical talents in Nigeria at the moment. These Nigerian musicians have been chosen based on their popularity, the number of hit songs they have released and sheer talent to produce fantastic music.

Here are the top 10 hottest musicians in Nigeria:

1. Burna Boy
2. Davido
3. Naira Marley
4. Wizkid
5. Rema
6. Fireboy Dml
7. Teni
8. Tiwa Savage
9. Olamide
10. Zlatan Ibile

1. Burna Boy

Damini Ogulu popularly known as Burna Boy is undoubtedly the hottest musician in Nigeria at the moment. After releasing his fourth studio album titled African Giant in 2020, Burna Boy’s reputation grew rapidly both home & abroad earning him a Grammy nomination which he eventually lost to Angelique Kidjo.

The album with hit tracks such as Anybody, Spiritual and Gumbody which were topping the chart and also featured with musicians such as Jeremih, Serani, Future, Jorja Smith amongst others. Burna boy also bagged endorsement deals this past year the likes of Pepsi and Star added Burna boy as a brand ambassador.

Not resting on his oars, the artiste sold out the O2 Indigo for his first UK concert and sold out his own concert in December.

2. Davido Davido (full name David Adeleke) is a force to reckon with in the Nigerian music industry. He has been a force to reckon with from the onset with songs like Dami Duro and Back when having nationwide acclaim, Davido has gone ahead to cement his name among the best that ever did it, in 2019 Davido sold out the 20,000 capacity o2 arena for his show in London, Davido released his highly anticipated second studio album A Good Time with hit songs like Sweet in the Middle, Risky and Assurance to cap of a great 2019.

3. Naira Marley

Azeez Fashola, popularly known by his stage name Naira Marley started gaining local recognition for Afropop song Issa-goal which featured some of Nigerians best musicians like Olamide, Simi, etc. Naira Marley also made the news early last year when he was arrested by the EFCC on claims of being a Yahoo boy but he was later released due to lack of evidence, this further increased his popularity among his fans who are identified as Marlians.

4. Wizkid

Wizkid is undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s finest musicians. Since the release of Ojuelegba remix, which featured Drake & Skepta, Wizkid has continued to make waves on the international music scene.
After a quiet 2017, Wizkid came into 2018 with a bang. He released some of the year’s biggest hits like SOCO, Fever & Fake Love (featuring Duncan Mighty). Wizkid sold out the 20,000 capacity O2 arena in the UK that year and also headlined three concerts in Lagos & Abuja.

In April 2019, Drake brought out Wizkid at his concert in the UK further cementing his status as an international superstar.

5. Rema

Divine Ikubor, known professionally as Rema, is a Nigerian singer and rapper. He got signed to Jonzing record in 2019 which is an imprint of Mavins record. He rose to prominence with the release of songs like Dumebi, Iron man, and Bad commando. Rema was awarded the headies next rated category and also got international acclaim when Barack Obama added him to his 2019 playlist.

6. Fireboy DML

Adedamola Adefolahan, known professionally as Fireboy DML, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is signed to YBNL Nation, an independent record label founded by Nigerian rapper Olamide, Fireboy started gaining recognition for his smash hit Jealous which was part of the YBNL project he followed this with his debut studio album Laughter, Tears, and Goosebumps.

7. Teni
Teniola Apata a.k.a Teni Makanaki is one of Nigeria’s most talented. The artist rose to become one of Nigeria’s biggest musical acts after a fantastic 2018. The talented artist released several hit singles including Askamaya, Wait, Uyo Meyo and Case. Unlike most artists, Teni’s rise has been credited solely to her amazing musical talent. She rose from a budding Instagram artist to become one of the most sought after artists in the Nigerian music industry. Teni is surely one artiste to be on the lookout for in the coming years.

8. Tiwa Savage

Nigeria’s music queen, Tiwa Savage, enjoyed a fantastic 2018 and became one of the country’s most sought after musicians. Tiwa still released some of 2019’s biggest hits including 49 – 99 & Attention. She was also featured on several hit singles like Dis love & Sho tan (with Zlatan). Tiwa capped off her fantastic year with a record label signing with Universal Music Group.

9. Olamide

Olamide a.k.a Baddo is a force to reckon with in the Nigerian music industry. Since he broke into the scene in 2010 with his hit single, EniDuro, Olamide has risen to become one of Nigeria’s biggest music acts. In 2019, Olamide released the smash hit, Oil and Gas, and followed it up with hit singles, Woske, Pawon.
It is a known fact that Olamide always releases smash hits every year since he began his career

10. Zlatan Ibile

Zlatan Ibile is one of the hottest musicians in Nigeria at the moment. The rapper shot to prominence in 2018 thanks to his unique dance step, ZANKU, which is the rave of the moment.