OMAH LAY

Omah Stanley Didia (born 19 May 1997), Professionally known as Omah Lay, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer.[1][2] Omah Lay came into limelight and gained international recognition with his singles "Bad Influence", "Do Not Disturb", "Godly,” Understand," "Attention," and "Soso". He has won numerous awards in cluding Headies in 2020 and 2023. Omah Lay released his debut studio album Boy Alone in 2022, followed by a deluxe in 2023.[3] The album received critical acclaim.[4][5] He is the CEO of his new music company called Boy Alone. It was reviewed by his manager in an interview with Okay Africa. Omah Lay began his career in a rap group where he went by the stage name " Lil Street King." At 16, he moved on to songwriting and producing for several artists. He went solo in 2019 with the release of "Do Not Disturb" and "Hello Brother".[1] The same year, he signed to the record label named KeyQaad[6][9] and began working on Get Layd, his debut EP. In an interview with OkayAfrica, Omah Lay stated, "I started working on it August [of 2019]. At some point I had to go off social media, stay away from a lot of things and keep my head straight to get the project right."[10] In 2020, Omah Lay released the singles "Bad Influence" and "You," two songs from the Get Layd EP.[11] "Bad Influence" became the most streamed Nigerian song on Apple Music at the end of 2020.[12] His Get Layd EP peaked at number one on the Nigerian Apple Music charts.[6] All five songs from the EP reached the top 15 of the Apple Music charts for Nigeria, with "You" peaking at number one.[13] The same year he also appeared on the song "Infinity" on the Olamide's album Carpe Diem, which topped the Apple Music charts in Nigeria.[14] On 3 July 2020, Omah Lay was the first artist highlighted for Apple's Africa Rising Campaign to spotlight African talent.[2][15] On December 2020, he was included in BBC Radio 1Xtra's annual "Hot for 2021" list.[16] He was the first African artist featured on Audiomack's #Up Now program for emerging artists;[17] was included in Montreux Jazz Festival's "20 artists to watch in 2021";[18] and was named BET's Amplified International Artist of the Month for November 2020.[19] He was nominated in four categories at the 2020 Headies Awards, winning the Next Rated award.[20] On 20 November 2020, Omah Lay released his second five-track EP, What Have We Done. All five tracks reached the top 12 of the Apple Music charts for Nigeria, with "Godly" reaching number one.[21] On 14 December 2020, Omah Lay was arrested alongside[22] Tems after they performed in a show in Uganda. The Ugandan Police authority identified violation of COVID-19 lockdown protocols as the reason for their arrests. The artists felt they were set up.[23][24] Two days later, the Ugandan government released the two, apologised for the arrests and cleared them of wrongdoing.[25] On 25 June 2021, Lay was featured alongside fellow Nigerian singer Alpha P on Nigerian producer Masterkraft's official remix of Canadian singer Justin Bieber's single, "Peaches". On 8 July 2021, Lay released a new single, "Understand".
CLICK HERE TO STREAM HIS LATEST ALBUM

FIREBOY DML

Adedamola Oyinlola Adefolahan (born 5 February 1996), known professionally as Fireboy DML, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. In 2018, he signed a record deal with YBNL Nation, a record label founded by rapper Olamide. His debut studio album, Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps, was released in 2019. He won Listener's Choice and was nominated for Song of the Year for "Jealous" at the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival. His third studio album, Playboy, entered the Billboard 200 at number 123. His latest album, Adedamola, was released in 2024. His breakthrough single "Jealous" first appeared on YBNL Nation's collaborative album, YBNL Mafia Family (2018), before being re-released on 25 March 2019. The song is composed of guitar riffs, traditional drums and percussion; it combines African harmonies with elements of country and soul music. "Jealous" was produced by Cracker Mallo and is centered around love and the complicated feelings that go along with it. The visuals for "Jealous" were directed by Director K. In June 2019, Fireboy DML released the ballad single "What If I Say". It was produced by Pheelz, who incorporated a mix of percussion, ambient synth harmonies, and a drum riff into the production and plugged by Olaitan. The visuals for "What If I Say" was directed by TG Omori. On 1 August 2019, Fireboy DML released another single titled "King", where he declares his worth to his love interest. The accompanying music video for "King" was directed by TG Omori; it contains images of Fireboy and his love interest in a rose petal embellished Rolls-Royce, and images of him singing at a fashion show where models walk on a runway.
CLICK HERE TO STREAM HIS LATEST ALBUM FOR FREE

SALIF KEITA

Salif Keïta (IPA: [salif keita]) (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Due to political unrest, Keita and his band-mates fled Mali in the mid-1970s. They settled in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where they struggled financially and often had to rent equipment to perform shows. The band (now named Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux) steadily grew in popularity in the ensuing years. Their 1978 album, Mandjou, became an overnight success in West Africa. In 1976, Sékou Touré, the President of Guinea, made Keita an Officer of Guinea's National Order of Merit. The President had been a fan of Keita and the band's since they met at an official visit in 1974. Touré had remained a fan and supporter even after they fled Mali. Wanting to reciprocate the honour, Keita composed the track "Mandjou" (featured on the eponymous 1978 album) as a praise song for Touré However, by the time the song was released, Touré had completely resorted to authoritarian rule and plunged his country into bloodshed and chaos. Keita still performs rearranged versions of "Mandjou". Keita moved to Paris, France, in 1984 to reach a larger audience and to pursue a solo career. His music combined traditional West African music styles with influences from both Europe and the Americas.
CLICK HERE TO STREAM HIS LATEST ALBUM FOR FREE

AYRA STARR

Sarah Oyinkansola Aderibigbe (born 14 June 2002), known professionally as Ayra Starr, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. She achieved mainstream international recognition in 2022, with the release of her hit song "Rush". The song charted in several territories, including Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 24.[2] It earned Starr a nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance. In early 2021, Starr began her career with the release of her debut EP Ayra Starr and its lead single "Away", which spent two consecutive weeks at number four on Nigeria's TurnTable Top 50 chart; the song also peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Top Triller Global chart. It was followed by the release of her debut studio album, 19 & Dangerous (2021). Categorized mainly as Afropop and R&B, it received favorable critical reception and spawned two top forty hits in Nigeria. The lead single "Bloody Samaritan" peaked atop the Top 50 chart, becoming the first solo song by a female artist to reach the number-one position. In August the same year, Starr was ranked number three on Billboard's Next Big Sound.[4] In 2024, Starr released her second album, The Year I Turned 21
CLICK HERE TO STREAM HER LATEST ALBUM FOR FREE

YOUSSUO N'DOUR

Youssou N’Dour (born October 1, 1959, Dakar, Senegal) is a Senegalese singer known for his extraordinary vocal range and for introducing international audiences to mbalax—a Senegalese popular music style that blends Wolof traditional instrumental and vocal forms primarily with Cuban and other Latin American popular genres. He served as Senegal’s minister for culture and tourism (2012–13). N’Dour was raised in a devout Sufi Muslim household by a mother who was of Tukulor descent and a carrier of the bardic griot tradition and a father who was Serer. Like most other residents of Dakar since the mid-20th century, however, N’Dour grew up culturally and linguistically Wolof. He began singing at neighbourhood religious festivities when he was about 12 years old, and he and his band were performing outside various dance clubs in Dakar by the time he was in his early teens. (He was too young to play legally inside the clubs.) At age 16 N’Dour joined the regionally popular Star Band de Dakar. That group, with its incorporation of the Senegalese tama (talking drum) and Wolof and Malinke songs into the popular music repertoire, was a pioneer of the music genre that eventually became known as mbalax. N’Dour’s impressive vocal range quickly propelled him to prominence within the Star Band, and in 1977 he and several other band members left the group to form Étoile de Dakar. Although it shared some stylistic features with its parent band, Étoile de Dakar proudly promoted a more strongly Africanized version of the emergent mbalax music. Most of the group’s songs were sung in Wolof, using an ornamented vocal style—sometimes sustained and soaring, sometimes low and declamatory—that drew directly from the griot tradition. In keeping with the griot’s heritage as a storyteller, the songs often recounted history and offered advice on politics, religion, and current events.
CLICK HERE TO STREAM HIS LATEST ALBUM

ASAKE

Ahmed Ololade (born 13 January 1995), known professionally as Asake, is a Nigerian singer, rapper and songwriter. His debut album, Mr. Money with the Vibe (2022) broke the record for the biggest opening day for an African album on Apple Music at the time, and debuted at number 66 on the Billboard 200 chart. His second album Work of Art (2023), matched the chart position of its predecessor. Asake's third album Lungu Boy (2024) became his third consecutive number one album in Nigeria, and the longest-running number one in Nigeria chart history. Asake's accolades include an All Africa Music Award, two Headies awards, and one MOBO award. He has also been nominated for a BET Award, two Grammy Awards, and an NAACP Image Award.
CLICK HERE TO STREAM HIS LATEST ALBUM FOR FREE

ANGELIQUE KIDJO

Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (/ˌɒ̃ʒəˈliːk ˈkɪdʒuː, - ˈkɪdʒoʊ/;[1][2][3]) is a Beninese-French singer-songwriter, actress, and activist. Kidjo has won five Grammy Awards and is a 2023 Polar Music Prize laureate. She has released many albums, performed around the world, and frequently collaborated with other artists like Alicia Keys[4], Peter Gabriel, John Legend, Philip Glass, Bono, Yo-Yo Ma or Burna Boy. She is the first Black African artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame She performed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on July 23, 2021. On September 15, 2021, Time included her in their list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Kidjo is fluent in five languages: Fon, French, Yorùbá, Gen (Mina) and English. She sings in all of them, and she also has her own personal language, which includes words that serve as song titles such as "Batonga". Kidjo often uses Benin's traditional Zilin vocal technique and vocalese.
CLICK HERE TO STREAM HER LATEST ALBUM FOR FREE