Timaya
Call him the boy from Bayelsa State, and you may
not be wrong. The former plantain seller started
out as an inspirational singer. But along the line,
he drifted and that was when he started gaining
recognition within and beyond the shores of the
country. He started releasing songs that many
termed as being “repetitive and monotonous to
gain popularity.
Timaya once confessed that he started his career
writing inspirational songs. But it didn’t get him
the much needed fame and fortune. It was when
he began singing songs without writing down
lyrics, but just basically ‘free-styling’ that the
music began to pay. Before now, he has been
criticized for songs such as ‘Ukwu,’ ‘Bum Bum,’
and ‘Malonogede.’ But he doesn’t seem to care as
he keeps smiling to the bank.
TERRY G
Another singer that changed the beat is Terry G.
His 2009 song, ‘Free Madness’ revolutionized the
Nigerian music scene in its own way. It was the
era of glorification of beats over lyrics. That song
was nothing more than a compilation of mumbo-
jumbo on a beat that was both danceable and
infectious.
Even though many criticized the meaningless
lyrics, yet it was played at every nook and crannies
of the society; hot spot, and nightclubs. Terry G
also inspired a new generation of artistes who
believed that there is no need for their songs to
have lyrical content in order to break even in the
industry.
For them, all they needed was a ‘banging’ beat
that could get music lovers to dance away their
sorrows. Meanwhile Terry G didn’t begin that from
the onset. He used to be a chorister in church,
who exhibited exceptional skills in playing musical
instruments to propagate God’s work.
Nigerians won’t forget in a hurry how Terry G
negatively influenced the young ones with his love
for marijuana in his songs. But whether we like it
or not, his gamble paid off, as he made a lot of
money and hits from his ‘Free Madness’ even
though his brand was badly affected. The talented
singer and beat-maker confessed in a recent
interview that his past is still haunting him as he
wasn’t getting corporate endorsements like many
of his colleagues.
IYANYA
For those who followed the MTN Project Fame
West Africa season 1 in 2008, it was evident from
the onset that the eventual winner, Iyanya was
incredibly talented. But his career almost fizzled
out like a fake perfume which was exposed to the
sun. His first album after winning the competition,
‘My Story’ containing songs like ‘Love Truly,’ ‘No
Time’ amongst others was a commercial failure.
It was after the body-building Cross River-born
singer teamed up with producer, D’Tunes that
people began to pay serious attention to his
music. He shed his good boy image and stopped
promoting his sonorous voice as his selling point.
He started showing off his biceps and singing
about sex, and boom, the megabucks started
rolling in for him. Till date, he remains one of the
most successful winners of the competition.
SKALES
We all knew Skales as a rapper in the early stage
of his career. As a matter of fact, he was signed on
to Empire Mates Entertainment (EME) because of
his lyrical prowess. However, the young dude got
confused along the line, or as some would argue,
he got ‘intimidated’ by his label mate, Wizkid who
was making all the money and getting all the girls
by virtue of his vocal dexterity.
We were all surprised when the ‘homeboy’
changed the beat and started singing something
different. However, after releasing songs like
‘Mukulu,’ ‘Shake Body,’ ‘Je kan Mo’ and ‘I am for
Real,’ Skales became more of a singer than a
rapper.
PRAIZ
Praise Ugbede Adejo popularly known as Praiz is
undeniably vocally gifted. He emerged the second
runner up in the 2008 edition of the MTN Project
Fame, but just like the winner, Iyanya, he didn’t
immediately find his footing in the music industry.
His brand of music didn’t connect well with the the
local audience, but nowadays, he has ‘diluted’ his
style, and it has translated into gains for him. His
songs like ‘Oshe’ featuring Awilo, and ‘Sisi’
featuring Wizkid have been club bangers in their
own rights, but they’re definitely not the old Praiz
style that we used to know.
SEAN TIZZLE
Not many people know that Sean Tizzle started his
music career as a rapper, but the Difference
Entertainment Act once revealed that he used to be
a lyricist. In his days as a rapper, he wasn’t
known and he never caught a break. However, the
desire to be more commercially relevant must
have pushed him to hone his vocal skills, and the
rest as they say is history. His songs like ‘Sho
Le,’ Mama Eh’ and ‘Kilogbe,’ have all topped the
charts at different times.
SAINT JANET
Call her the Queen of Nigerian lewd singers, and
you’d be correct. Saint Janet shocked the
sensibilities of many Nigerians with the release of
her live performance CD which contained many
obscene lyrics and sexually explicit content in
2009.
It was so bad that the Lagos State government had
to ban it from playing in public places, but Saint
Janet argued that the move by government even
made her more popular, as the same officials that
banned her song in public, also invited her to
perform at their private functions.
However, Saint Janet has her roots in the church
as she used to be a chorister, but she didn’t
attract public attention and commercial success
until she went wild. And now that she has tasted
fame and fortune, albeit in a controversial way,
Saint Janet doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to
change her style of music anytime soon. In a
recent interview, she asserted that even her
husband can no longer stop her from singing lewd
songs as it is her claim to fame.
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