6 months have passed and we’re now well into the second half of the year. We had a very slow start to the year, with spillover hits from Q4 2023 like Kizz Daniel’s Twe Twe and Chike’s Egwu dominating the airwaves. Things wouldn’t start picking up until Q2 and then our superstars also started dropping albums in May. But a lot of amazing music got released from emerging and underground acts also. In this article, we highlight our best projects—albums and EPs—of the year, so far.
10. Madam Dearest Pt. 1 – Dotti The Deity
Dotti entered mainstream consciousness in 2022, with the niche smash “Forever Sweet“, a beautiful neo-folk record that was unapologetic in drawing from his Yoruba roots. He would continue on this same traditional, folk music path in his sophomore EP and now his debut album. Across 11 tracks, Dotti takes the listener on a rewarding sonic odyssey of soundscapes that traverses Highlife, soul, jazz and folk music in an experience that is as cohesive as they come.
The sonic experience isn’t the only grand and cinematic characteristic about this album. The thematic direction is also as progressive and intentional as they come. In the opening 3-track sequence it’s the back and forth game of wooing his woman. He then wins her heart in the middle act and from there on out, it’s poetic declaration after another—swooning about the gravity of his woman and the love they share.
9. Love & Hustle – UAX
Whilst the country’s alte scene has struggled in recent years with sonic and aesthetics identity, as a result of a lot of mainstream acts invading their creative spaces and making more accessible music in the process—another community that has otherwise started to grow and even thrive is the RnB scene. In the past 2/3 years, there has been a plethora of amazing Afro-RnB projects released by non-mainstream artists that have gone on to become niche classics.
UAX’s Love & Hustle is one of the major highlights this year, with cohesion so tight—it’s almost monotonous. But the artist understands the tight rope he’s walking and varies his delivery all across the project, and tracks like Koselomi and Lagos 2 Crazy—the former being an Afroswing and EDM fusion track, and the latter leaning towards the psychedelic trap-bounce spectrum—deviate from the tight coherence and provide some refreshment when it gets a little stale.
8. Jiggy Forever – Young Jonn
Jiggy Forever is Young Jonn’s debut album in every sense of the word. The music on there is unmistakably his, the way the lyrics are crafted and the songs are structured couldn’t be mistaken for someone else. Basically, it’s the simplistic but relatable brand of Afro-Pop music we’ve known and come to love from him and on this album, he doubles down on that because why not? Debut albums are supposed to be an exhibition of your talent and nail down your unique sound.
The album does tend to drag and become quite monotonous in certain track sequences, as a result of his lack of dynamism and formulaic writing style, which whilst great in small doses in singles and helps the song to stick—can become quite tenuous across an album. However, one can’t deny its high peaks such as the standout collab Big Big Things ft. Kizz Daniel and Seyi Vibez and the other great singles like Aquafina and Sharpally that preceded the album.
7. Clouds – Kemuel
Without mincing words, Afro-R&B doesn’t get better than Kemuel’s Clouds. It isn’t just the fact that it satisfies all the great tenets of an R&B record in emotive writing, soulful vocals and relatable, heart wrenching themes. The production is so dynamic and refreshing, incorporating elements of electronic music, funk and swing drum patterns. Off the basis of quality alone, this is easily one of the best projects released this year.
Away from the heartfelt crooning and sombre melodies of the RnB cuts of Water and Find—are still the mainstream leaning songs in POLO and GLNT that infuse Amapiano in subtle portions, enabling the project to retain its authentic identity. But it’s on songs like Alone and 234 that the EP’s true dynamism is on full blast in its ideal electro-soul balance.
6. RnB – Ruger x BNXN
If there is one thing Afrobeats needs more of, it’s definitely more collaborative projects between superstars. Despite being a culture that prides itself on promoting unity and fostering love, it lacks enough collaborations that aren’t just one-off singles. That’s why when former foes appeared to have squashed their beef and announced a song together and then an EP, it was unprecedented and sent everyone into shock.
The EP turned out to be a good offering, delivering some good RnB cuts like Bae Bae and Calculate Love. POE also received mainstream acceptance and had its run. However, despite the EP delivering on good music, you just can’t help but fight the feeling that it features tame versions of both artists and we didn’t exactly get them in their best elements.
5. The Messenger – Wizard Chan
Like the other alternative/folk LP on this list, Wizard Chan is big on creating a unique sonic experience that prioritizes environment and ambience, through grand and cinematic instrumentals. One thing that Wizard scores extra ingenious points for on this EP is his integration of Hip-Hop into a dominant traditional soundscape potpourri of earthy contemporary folk, reggae influences and Beautiful Nubia sounds.
His themes are also larger-than-life and they exist in the realms of the preservation of legacy, finding purpose and seeking for meaning amidst all the chaos. Despite how dense and alienating these topics could seem at face value, Wizard manages to deliver seamless, enjoyable music with modern influences that would appeal to many audiences.
4. YP & Azanti, Vol. 2 – Azanti & Psycho YP
Unlike RnB that simply delivered on good music and doesn’t exactly have both artists pushing each other to their creative best, YP & Azanti, Vol. 2 exist in an uncharted realm of artist synergy that is very hard to find these days. In the pop-oriented sequel to the predominantly R&B successor, both artists constantly step out of their comfort zones to reinvent the sound of the series and keep it fresh.
They could have done more of the same from the previous project, but chances are it wouldn’t be as rewarding as it turned out to be. On a song like Clear Road, you have Psycho YP channelling his inner Shallipopi, despite being an incredibly skilled rapper. Azanti also sheds his R&B skin multiple times, despite not being a pop artist primarily and delivers resonant, catchy flows that has the ability to translate songs into pop anthems.
3. The Year I Turned 21 – Ayra Starr
Ayra Starr’s sophomore album is a bold display of ambition and talent. In 40 minutes, she embarks on a sonic adventure—drawing influences from Fuji, Highlife, Regga, Reggaeton and Hip-Hop. Having curated a debut LP that was mostly R&B/Soul centric, she challenged herself on this album and pushed her creativity to its limits and to good results also. TYIY21 is a sonic and topical triumph in every form.
However, the same ambition that elevates the album doesn’t exactly do well for it as a cohesive experience. The sequencing of the album especially isn’t the smoothest and it makes for certain jarring sequencing at times, but one can’t deny the fact that almost every song is great in its own right and there are arguably zero fillers on the project.
2. Ikigai / 生き甲斐 , Vol. 1 – Olamide
Perhaps the biggest blockbuster of any project the country has seen so far is Olamide’s Ikigai, the EP that has demolished opening day and opening week numbers of full-blown albums, despite being a surprise drop. It’s first and foremost a testament to Baddo’s superstar status and also evidence of great, resonant music that excels at some interesting creative risks it took.
Hello Habibi and Synchro System are at the forefront of the EP’s experimental ploys. The former merging Arabic sonic influences with Hip-Hop elements and the latter’s interpolation of Chinese instrumentation into a drill beat. Both efforts pay off as a result of Baddo’s ability to convey music in an easily digestible form. And then there’s the mainstream bops like Metaverse and Uptown Disco to bridge the gap and attain good balance.
1. Stubborn – Victony
Already getting ‘Album Of The Year’ shouts, Victony’s Stubborn does have all the makings of a great album. Compelling writing that champions profound storytelling on Oshaprapra and History. Ingenious fusion of unlikely genres like trap and Afropop on Risky and emotive, RnB cuts like Slow Down that incorporates 90s synth-pop elements.
Victony has never been one to shy away from experimentation and his debut album is a great showcase of his mentality as an innovator. Whilst some might opine that it’s this innate nature of his that alienates larger audiences from getting into his music, one can’t argue that there isn’t a great balance of experimentation and accessibility on this project. It just needs more time to grow on most people and sadly in today’s saturated market, that might be asking a lot.
