Here are the top 5 Nigerian songs of 2021 - Africa Flavour

 With that being the case, 2021 also saw a spike in the number of hits, compared to 2020 and 2019.

It’s been a great year for Nigerian music. In 2020, Nigerian music went back to being a body of work market with EPs forming the epicentre of Nigerian album experience. In 2021, the quality might have remained equally excellent, but the consistency at putting out bodies of work at all levels, has even inspired a conversation around certain categories at the Headies.

With that being the case, 2021 also saw a spike in the number of hits, compared to 2020 and 2019. From regular ‘eye test,’ a Nigerian hit can be spotted from a mile off, and we had tons of them this year.

Customarily, #AfricaFlavourPicks is our year-end medium to celebrate excellence across different aspects of Nigeria.

5.) Feeling

Artist: LadiPoe featuring Buju 

LadiPoe found a formula and stuck to it It’s given him two hit records and a third one, which has a lot of buzz. It’s the rap-sung collaboration type thing, filled with reflective topics around love, life and society. For many, this record is Nigeria’s biggest of 2021.

They would have a point, but it feels like this record hit the highest possible zenith in terms of impact, acceptance, virality and stickiness. Many records on this list didn’t hit that zenith. However, it also feels like the record lacked the staying power at that zenith.

4.) Bounce

Artist: Ruger

Release Date: May 12, 2021

Producer: Kukbeatz

When Pandemic EP dropped, ‘Bounce’ seemed like the unlikely hit from it. Most people initially gravitated towards ‘Abu Dhabi,’ ‘Yekpa’ and ‘Monalisa.’ 

3.) Peru

Artist: Fireboy

Release Date: July 21, 2021

Producer: Shizzi 

Fireboy was a veteran of two critically-acclaimed, commercially successful albums, but he needed another hit record. Enter, ‘Peru,’ a freestyle-esque record, which expanded his range, showcased his ability and positioned his brand in a different light: another step above the grown musings of Apollo.

Asides from the unstructured hypemen hits, ‘Peru’ was Nigeria’s most culturally impactful record of 2021. It got remixes from Buju, Tolibian and Alfa Sule. If this record had dropped just one month earlier, it would have easily been Nigeria’s song of 2021.

2.) Ko Por Ke (KPK)

Artist: Rexxie and Mohbad

Release Date: December 4, 2021 

Producer: Rexxie

If 2020 had Detty December, ‘KPK’ would have been the ‘Killin Dem’ of 2021. While that didn’t happen, this record was so big that its video was inconsequential in the grand scheme.

‘KPK’ will go down as one of those classic records that don’t come around very often. In 10 years, this record would scatter Nigerian dancefloors like ‘Dami Duro’ or ‘No Lele’ would.

It hit a similar zenith to ‘Feeling,’ but it touched the depths of Nigeria better, across all demographics.

1.) Monalisa 

Artist: Lojay and Sarz

Release Date: June 5, 2021

Producer: Sarz

While this record never hit the zenith that ‘Feeling’ hit, it hit and stayed on a higher level than ‘Bounce’ throughout the year. It was also released one month before ‘Peru.’

To some degrees, the advantage that ‘KPK’ and ‘Monalisa’ enjoyed might have been because they are more uptempo, dance tracks, but we can only judge from what we see.