Nigerian Musicians That Have Gotten International Recognition

Nigerian Music genre, Afrobeat, is making massive waves all over the world. From the likes of 2Baba to Wizkid the contemporary Nigerian music is a wonder to behold and it is no brainer why international artistes are jumping all over to have a taste of what we have to offer.

As a result of this, many Nigerian Musicians are getting well deserved international recognition. Getting intentional recognition for an artiste is great because that shows that their reach and impact are great.

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Here is a list of some Nigerian artist that have gotten international recognition.

DAVIDO

The name Davido is popular in the African music scene. He is one of the most influential African musicians. The impact his music has made is massive and cannot be forgotten in a hurry. Davido came into the limelight when he released his hit song “Dami Duro”. But it wasn’t until 2017 when he released “Fall” that he gained international recognition.

Fall was certified platinum by the South African Recording Industry plus in the history of Billboard, it became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song. The success of “Fall” led to a lot of open doors for Davido as an artiste. He went ahead to collaborate with foreign musicians like Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, Lil Baby, and others.

Davido went ahead to win the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards “Best African Act” and one of the Best Worldwide Act recipients.

WIZKID

Fondly called Star boy, Wizkid is arguably among the most sought-after African artistes. His impact on the music industry is incredible. Modern-day Afrobeat cannot be discussed without the name Wizkid. This is how big his influence is. He has reached an enviable height in the music industry. He first came into the limelight when his hit song ‘Holla at your Boy’ was released. But it wasn’t until he collaborated with American rapper, Drake, on the song ‘One Dance’ that he gained international recognition. The song fetched Wizkid a spot on the Guinness book of world records, making him the first Afrobeat artiste to attain such feat. Since then he has collaborated with famous musicians like Beyonce, H.E.R, and others.

In 2021 with a total of 3,485,993,216 Billion streams across all credits, Wizkid became the most streamed Nigerian artiste of all time on Spotify. Trendybeatz.com mentioned Wizkid  as one Nigerian artiste who could become a fashion star, if not for music – due to his recent fashion deals and statements.

BURNA BOY

Burna boy is one of the most influential musicians in Africa. The reach of his music is enormous. He first gained attention after his hit song “Like to Party” made waves in Nigeria and since then he has gone from glory to glory. He has been nominated twice for Grammy Awards and won once. He has collaborated with different international artistes like Beyonce, Sia, Sam Smith, and others. He won the Best International Act in the 2019 BET Awards. He is also the first Nigerian to get a back-to-back Grammy nomination. His song titled ‘Destiny’ was included in Joe Biden’s inauguration playlist.

ASA

Bukola Elemide, popularly called Asa, is a French-Nigerian artiste who came into the limelight with her hit songs, “Fire on the mountain and “Eyé Adaba”. Fortunately, her first album gained international recognition. Her subsequent albums had a lot of international airplay. In 2008, she won the prestigious Prix Constantin Award.

KING SUNNY ADE

Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye popularly called King Sunny Ade is a multi-instrumentalist and jùjú singer. He is known as the first Nigerian artiste to get a Grammy nomination and one of the most influential musicians of all time.

King Sunny Adé gained international recognition when he released music under Island Records in 1982. In 1983 his music was featured in the film “Breathless” which starred Richard Gere. He also made an appearance in the 1987 comedy O.C. and Stiggs.

His music was featured in the 1983 film Breathless, starring Richard Gere, and the 1986 comedy One More Saturday Night, and he acted in Robert Altman’s 1987 comedy O.C. and Stiggs. He was inducted into the Hard Rock Cafe hall of fame In December of 2016.

2BABA

Innocent Idibia popularly known as 2Baba is a legend in the Nigerian Music industry. He has been on the scene for over two decades. He first gained fame in Nigeria with the release of his evergreen song, African Queen. The hit song was used as the soundtrack of the movie, Phat Girlz, and he gained international recognition. In 2015, 2Baba became the first winner of the MTV Europe, Best African Act Award.

DBANJ

Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as DBanj, or Kokomaster is one of the most successful veteran musicians in Nigeria. He came into the limelight after the release of his hit single “Tongolo” under Mohits Records. He gained international recognition after he released his hit song, ‘Oliver Twist’, which featured Kanye West and Big Sean in the music video. The song peaked at no. 2 on the UK R&B chart and was among the top ten hit songs in the UK singles chart in 2012.

P-SQUARE

P-Square which was made up of two twin-brothers Peter and Paul Okoye, P-Square is the most influential musical duo in Nigeria. They showered fans and others alike with back-to-back hits and amazing dancing skills. Although they are currently disbanded they were once a top-charting duo.

They came into the limelight with the release of their first single “Senorita”.

But they gained International recognition when they paid tribute to Micheal Jackson in their “Personally” Music Video. This led to getting a feature from Jermaine Jackson. They have collaborated with famous musicians like T.I, Rick Ross, and others. They are the recipients of several awards and some of them are MTV Europe Music Awards, MTV Africa Music Awards, Channel O Music Video Awards, Ghana Music Awards, BET Awards, among others.

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