Gilbert Bani, popularly known by his stage name A-Q, is a Nigerian rapper and songwriter. His single "Agu Ji Ndi Men" was nominated for Best Rap Single at The Headies 2016.
Jude Lemfani Abaga, commonly known by his stage name M.I Abaga, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He gained recognition in 2006 with the popularization of his track "Crowd Mentality" in his home city of Jos. His debut studio album, Talk About It, was introduced in 2008, followed by MI 2: The Movie in 2010. Subsequently, he unveiled his third studio album, The Chairman, four years later. Additionally, Abaga released the playlist Rendezvous in February 2018, followed by A Study On Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl, in August of the same year. He released "The Guy" album in 2022.
Elom Adablah, better known by his stage name E.L, is a Ghanaian Afrobeats musician, rapper, singer and producer.
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern day Afrobeats music scene, he is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential African artists of all time.
Olamide Gbenga Adedeji is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. One of the most influential artists in Africa, he has been pivotal to the creative and commercial success of several Afrobeats music stars, and is consistently praised for his role in elevating Street Pop to mainstream recognition as a distinct music genre. He records in Yoruba and English. In 2011, he released his debut studio album Rapsodi while signed to Coded Tunes. YBNL, his follow-up album, was released under his label imprint "Yahoo Boy No Laptop," aka YBNL Nation. The album was supported by the singles "First of All," "Voice of the Street," "Stupid Love," and "Ilefo Illuminati." On 7 November 2013, he released his third studio album Baddest Guy Ever Liveth. The album's singles include "Durosoke" and "Yemi My Lover." On 17 July 2013, Olamide became the first Nigerian to sign an endorsement deal with Cîroc.
The Headies is a music awards show established in 2006 by the Hip Hop World Magazine of Nigeria to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry. The annual ceremony features performances by established and promising artists. It is broadcast live on HipTV to viewers across Nigeria. The first and second editions of The Headies were held at the Muson Center in Onikan, Lagos State. Between 2010 and 2012, the awards were held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos. Several media personalities in Nigeria have hosted the annual ceremony, including Darey Art Alade, D'banj, Dakore Egbuson, Banky W., Rita Dominic, M.I, Tiwa Savage and Dr SID.
Onome Onokohwomo, better known by his stage name Yung6ix, is a Nigerian hip hop recording artist.
Esegine Allen, better known by his stage name Orezi, is a Nigerian musician from Delta State. He rose to prominence with his song "Rihanna" in 2013.
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu , known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. Dubbed the "King of Afrofusion", he is widely regarded as one of the most influential African artists of his generation. He is widely acknowledged as a pivotal force in spreading the infectious rhythms of Afrobeats worldwide.
Legendury Beatz is a Nigerian record producing and songwriting duo, composed of siblings Uzezi Oniko and Okiemute Oniko. Their production style is deeply rooted in afrobeats as well as in several other genres, including hip hop, reggae fusion, moombahton and electro house.
"Ojuelegba" is a song by Nigerian singer Wizkid from his self-titled second studio album, Ayo (2014). It was written by Wizkid and produced by the record producing duo Legendury Beatz. The song shares its title with the metropolitan subsection of Lagos Mainland. It highlights Wizkid's struggles as an underground artist, who roamed the streets of Ojuelegba to support his recording interest. The song received numerous airplay on all major radio stations in Nigeria, and peaked at number 1 on Capital Xtra's Afrobeats Chart for February 2015. The official remix of "Ojuelegba" features vocals by Canadian rapper Drake and English grime artist Skepta. It made its premiere on OVO Sound Radio in July 2015. The song was ranked 12th on The Fader's list of the 107 Best Songs of 2015. Prior to the release of the official remix, Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie released his rendition of "Ojuelegba".
Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade, better known by his stage name Mr Eazi, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is the pioneer of Banku music, a fusion of sound he describes as a mixture of Ghanaian highlife and Nigerian chord progressions and patterns. Mr Eazi relocated to Kumasi in 2008 and enrolled at KNUST, where he began booking artists to perform at college parties. He showed interest in music after recording a guest verse on "My Life", a song that gained traction and became a popular record at KNUST. Mr Eazi released his debut mixtape About to Blow in 2013. He gained an international audience following the release of the Efya-assisted single "Skin Tight". His second mixtape, titled Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1 – Accra To Lagos, was released in 2017.
The Headies 2016 was the 11th edition of The Headies. It was held on December 22, 2016, at the Eko Convention Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos. Themed "Think, Create, Recreate", the event was hosted by Adesua Etomi and Falz. The nominees were announced by the award's organizers in November 2016. Tekno was nominated for the Next Rated award, but ended up being disqualified due to his refusal to honour the category and support the campaign. Jazzman Olofin and Adewale Ayuba jointly performed the song "Raise the Roof". Aramide performed her song "Funmi Lowo" with assistance from Ras Kimono. The ceremony also featured additional performances from Falz, 2Baba, Seyi Shay and Flavour. Olamide received eight nominations and won a total of four, including Best Rap Single for his single "Eyan Mayweather". Mr Eazi won the Next Rated category and was awarded a SUV at a later date. Mayorkun toppled Dice Ailes and Koker for the Rookie of the Year award. Laolu Akins was honored with the Hall of Fame award, while Flavour received the Special Recognition award.
Sounds from the Other Side is the third studio album and major label debut by Nigerian singer Wizkid. Described by the singer as an EP, the album contains songs that were recorded between 2014 and 2017. It was released on July 14, 2017, by Starboy Entertainment and RCA Records. Primarily a Caribbean-influenced record, SFTOS encompasses several other genres, including Afrobeats, EDM, R&B, and house. The album features guest appearances from Drake, Major Lazer, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla Sign, Efya, Bucie and Trey Songz. Its production was handled by Sarz, Del B, Spellz, Dre Skull, DJ Mustard, Major Lazer, and the Picard Brothers.
Ayoola Oladapo Agboola also known as KDDO is a Nigerian record producer, songwriter, and artist. He's best known for producing and writing "Under The Influence" by Chris Brown, charting at number 1 on the Billboard Rhythmic Chart & number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition KDDO wrote and produced Afrobeats longest charting Billboard single "Fall" by Davido, renowned for breaking Afrobeat Music globally. The song peaked on US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart at number 13 and US Hot R&B Songs chart at number 25 on Billboard. KDDO is the first Afrobeats producer in history to be certified by the Recording Industry Association of America, after Fall became a certified gold record in the US. He is currently managed by Christian McCurdy & Rehan Manickam at LEGION Management.
Afrobeats is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a style per se, and more of a descriptor for the fusion of sounds flowing majorly out of Nigeria. Genres such as hiplife, jùjú music, highlife and naija beats, among others, were amalgamated under the "Afrobeats" umbrella.
The Headies Award for Best Rap Single is an award presented at The Headies, a ceremony that was established in 2006 and originally called the Hip Hop World Awards. It was first presented to Mode 9 in 2006.
Zainab Elizabeth Donli, known as Lady Donli, is a Nigerian musician. She is an alternative R&B, hip hop, alternative jazz and Afrobeat singer and songwriter.
Olusegun Olowokere, known by his stage name Iceberg Slim, is an American-Nigerian rapper, and singer, widely known for his controversial self-proclaimed status as being "Better than M.I", which became the most talked about topic in the Nigerian hip hop space between June and August 2009, few months after he won the Nigeria Entertainment Awards, in the Best International Artist category.
Nicholas Ihua-Maduenyi, widely known as PsychoYP, is a Nigerian alternative hip hop rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is a member of the music collective Apex Village. He came into the music scene with a critically acclaimed mixtape, YPSZN, which earned him a nomination at the SAMAs, and the Headies for his second fit album YPSZN2. Dubbed "The Fresh Prince of Nigerian Rap", he is regarded as one of Nigeria's rap music pioneers in the alté music scene.
