♦Top 10 Nigerian Music Moments in 2023
2023 has been a busy year for Nigerian music, with Afrobeats reaching new heights abroad and Nigerian superstars making headlines for a variety of reasons.
Bigbrothergisthub considered the most acclaimed, talked about, and significant in Nigerian music moments in 2023 when selecting the most unforgettable moments.
Here are the ten most memorable Nigerian music moments in 2023, ranging from the amazing to the unbelievable and the unpleasant
1. Rema’s international success with ‘Calm Down‘
Calm Down makes history by being the first African song to top the Global Shazam Year-End chart, beating out well-known singles like Miley Cyrus’ Flowers and Lady Gaga’s Bloody Mary, which came in second and third place, respectively.
Rema’s remix, which featured Selena Gomez, was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records.
‘Calm Down’ debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, the second highest for an African, and reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
The song garnered him an MTV VMA award and made history by becoming the first Afrobeats song to receive one billion Spotify streams.
2. Rema and Asake were inducted into the 02 Afrobeats Hall of Fame.
The O2 facility has provided as a platform for Nigerian musicians to announce their international ascension, and in 2023, Rema and Asake staked their claims as the next generation of Afrobeats superstars by headlining the 20,000-capacity facility in astonishingly sold-out shows.
Rema and Asake have received worldwide praise since breaking into the spotlight.
The duo has recorded a number of chart-topping singles that have continued to delight its fans. Rema’s favourites include ‘Dumebi’ and ‘Calm Down,’ among others, while Asake’s favourites include ‘Terminator’ and ‘Joha,’ among others.
The singers are ready to push their stardom to new heights by performing at the 02 Arena alongside other A-list Nigerian artists such as Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy.
3. The ‘Timeless’ album by Davido
The release of Davido’s record-breaking fourth album Timeless in 2023 will be the most unforgettable and legendary moment in Nigerian music.
The album was an instant commercial success, breaking various African streaming records in its first week of release.
The Timeless album is without a doubt one of the most significant milestones in Nigerian music in 2023, with to its intricate year-long marketing, hit singles, international popularity, multiple concerts Davido headlined, and three Grammy nominations.
Timeless is Nigerian artist Davido’s fourth studio album. Davido Music Worldwide, Columbia Records, and Sony Music Entertainment published it on March 31, 2023. The album is mostly an amapiano record, although it also includes afrobeats, dancehall, ragga, konto, highlife, and afropop. Timeless includes collaborations with Skepta, Angelique Kidjo, Asake, Focalistic, and The Cavemen, among others.
4. Burna Boy’s statement about Afrobeats lacking substance
Burna Boy remarked in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music that Nigerian mainstream Pop music, Afrobeats “lacks substance” and is “mostly about nothing.”
The remark prompted immediate criticism from music journalists, fans, and Nigerian music business insiders, who called it “careless,” “unwarranted,” and “categorically false.”
The industry’s reaction to the comment was that it was a shameless attempt by Burna Boy to separate himself as the only Nigerian doing excellent music while also promoting his soon-to-be-released seventh album, I Told Them.
Burna Boy’s statement, while factually incorrect and, some would argue, inappropriate, was true to his nature, as he has always been seen as a provocateur by members of the industry and the general public. There’s no telling what daring statement he’ll make when his next album is out.
His statement;
“Not even experience, because half of them, like 90% of them, have no real-life experience that they can understand.
“That’s why you hear most Nigerian music, African Music, or Afrobeats, as you people call it, is mostly about nothing, absolutely nothing. There is no substance to it, like nobody is talking about anything, it’s just a great time. But at the end of the day, life isn’t an amazing time.”
His statement elicited a wide range of emotions on social media, while some supported him and others criticized him for being arrogant.
5. Afrobeats headlining the NBA Halftime show
The NBA All-Star Game was held on 20 February in Salt Lake City, Utah, with superstars from both conferences competing in a thrilling competition to raise funds for charity.
The electric performances of Team LeBron and Team Giannis were not the night’s only highlights. Burna Boy, Tems, and Rema, three Nigerian international sensations, also shared the spotlight with an Afrobeats-themed performance.
6. Tiwa Savage’s coronation performance
Tiwa Savage, a Nigerian singer, was one of the stars who sang during the coronation of England’s new king, King Charles III, on May 7, an event that drew high-profile guests from around the world.
Tiwa Savage sang Key to the Kingdom, her contribution to Beyonce’s Lion King remake compilation album.
This astounding achievement declared not only Dr. Savage’s international superstar status, but also the incredible heights attained by Nigerian music.
The concert also featured performances from global music icons like Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Take That, Freya Ridings, Alexis Ffrench, Andrea Bocelli, and Sir Bryn Terfel.
7. Burna Boy and Wizkid stadium concert
Burna Boy became the first African musician to sell out a stadium in the United Kingdom on 3rd July, when 60,000 fans turned out to see him perform at West Ham United’s stadium.
The event, which was part of his Love, Damini globe tour, was significant for Afrobeats since it represented not only Burna Boy’s precipitous ascension to global popularity, but also Afrobeats’ rapid rise.
Wizkid’s performance on July 29 made it two stadium gigs in a row for Afrobeats, as the hitmaker packed the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
8. Rema’s Headies speech
During the awards ceremony on Sunday, September 4, 2023, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, the 23-year-old performer presented an encouraging speech on the Nigerian music industry and Afrobeats.
Rema remarked in her stirring address that no matter what self-designated genre Nigerian musicians choose to slap Afro in front of, they would always meet at Afrobeats awards and be classed as Afrobeats abroad.
The speech came just weeks after Burna Boy declared that the bulk of Afrobeats were insignificant and that Nigerian music required one of its superstars to come forward.
Rema’s speech portrayed him as a superstar eager to take on the challenge of being the face of Afrobeats and the mentor to the future generation of musicians.
The Headies: Rema’s award acceptance speech
“If you like do Afro this Afro that, we will meet at Afrobeats Awards”
He said: “I must say it is very important that I must let everyone know that I am not here because of the award. I am here because it is important to support our institutions. When I say institutions, I mean you know the body that supports you to be able to have these major successes. The media houses, the awards,” he said.
“I feel like we are in a very sensitive period that if we do not give attention to our institutions, with this chance that we have, if we miss this chance, we will never have this chance again.”
Rema also emphasised the need of supporting the Nigerian music business, claiming that even fans are hesitant to pay for tickets to Nigerian music shows because they are worried whether the artistes will perform.
9. Grammys: Tems’ win & Afrobeats domination of new category
Tems has received four nominations, including R&B song of the year for ‘Essence,’ collaboration of the year for Future’s ‘Wait For U,’ rap song of the year for ‘Wait For U,’ and Favourite Afrobeats Artist.
Tems has one more nomination than Jack Harlow and one more than Latto, both of whom are first-time nominees. Favourite rock songs, albums, Afrobeats singers, and K-pop artists are among the new categories added to the American Music Awards this year.
Tems became the first Nigerian female musician to win a Grammy in 2023, when she won the award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for her contributions to Future’s Wait For U.
Tems’ Grammy triumph was a high point in her worldwide fame, as well as a significant event for Nigerian female stars.
Similarly, the announcement of the 2024 Grammy nominees is one of the high points in Nigerian music in 2023. In an indication of Nigeria’s dominance, four Nigerian songs were nominated for the new Afrobeats Song Performance category. Burna Boy was also the first Nigerian lead artist to be nominated for an award outside of the global categories.
10. Oladips’ fake death act.
On November 15, 2023, the Nigerian music community, particularly the Hip Hop environment, was thrown into sadness as the rapper Oladips died.
Just hours after his management announced his tragic death via an Instagram message, word spread on social media that his death was a hoax.
The fact that Oladips was not buried hours later according to Islamic rites (he is a practicing Muslim), combined with comments from his friends about him being in good health, quickly suggested that the news of his death was false and possibly a marketing ploy for his debut album Super Hero Adugbo, which was set to be released just two days later.
Oladips will “resurrect” from the “dead” on November 23, completing what the public already suspected was a ruse.
Oladips undertook a media tour after he “returned to life” to prove his case. However, public opinion was fiercely against him at the moment.
In his defence, Olapids stated in an interview that he was suffering from a fatal disease that had rendered him unconscious. He also stated that the team issued the announcement because they believed he had dead.
Oladips, on the other hand, has apologised for the misunderstanding.