Today, the young artistes are giving the. older and established stars a run for their money. These new-wave superstars now rub shoulders with the same artistes
whom they once looked up to or chose as role models.
Apart from competing with the ‘old guards’ in terms of income and expenditure, they are often nominated
for major music awards in similar categories.
Multinationals and telecommunications outfits, as well as other major events sponsors, have realised that the younger generation of music artistes represent the future of entertainment in Nigeria.
With a good number of them aged between 20 and 25 years and a few others barely clocking 30, the sky seems
to be the limit.
Many of the emerging stars are not just
rich; they flaunt their wealth at every
given opportunity. It seems that the
rewards for their modest efforts at
making many Nigerians happy are
without limit and they always come in
the form of luxury mansions, sold-out
concerts, huge fan base, state-of-the-art
cars, bestselling albums, multi-million
naira endorsement deals, chattered
flights, big budget videos, custom-made
outfits, ‘bling bling’ and generous airplay
on terrestrial TV stations.
Usually dressed in sagging pairs of
trousers with expensive jewellery around
their necks, many of them charge as
much as N1.5m to mime to their songs
for only 10 minutes at wedding parties or
concerts. Many of them had to drop out
of school to pursue a career in music.
E-Punch presents six young music stars
that have taken the music scene by
storm.
Wizkid
At 23, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, a.k.a
Wizkid, leads the pack. A string of
endorsement deals, including one from
MTN, has placed him on the list of big
earning music artistes in Nigeria. At
present, he is the highest paid Pepsi
Ambassador in Africa and he lives in a
N140m choice home in Lekki, Lagos.
Wizkid’s personal cars include a
N14.6million Porsche Panamera, Rolls
Royce, N10m BMW X6, N6million blue
Volkswagen convertible and a Hyndai
Sonata.
The talented singer, songwriter and
performer has emerged one of Nigeria’s
hottest music acts, seven years after he
broke into the Nigerian music scene. The
last child in a family of six, Wizkid began
to sing at the age of 11. Like new wine,
his performance matured with age. His
talent has taken him to different parts of
the world and seen him perform
alongside world class artistes, such as
Chris Brown, Akon, and Young Jeezy, and
Kardinal Official.
The young man’s fortunes improved in
2012, a few months after he released his
Superstar album. As expected, his rating
soared in the same year and he was
named the second most influential
Nigerian artiste on Twitter, an enviable
position which clearly reflected his
growing popularity.
Wizkid’s position on the African music
chart was further justified after he made
it to the Channel O/Forbes List of
Bankable African Artistes. Mentioned
alongside big weights like Don Jazzy,
Psquare, D’banj, he was placed ahead of
Tuface Idibia, on the list. Early in the
year, he threw a free appreciation party
for his fans at the New African Shrine. He
has the BET, MTV, Channel O, Ghana
Music Awards to his credit.
Olamide
Olamide Adedeji, aka Badoo, has
succeeded in filling the vacuum created
by the death of rap sensation, Dagrin.
The alternative rapper, who has
redefined the word Razz as the new cool,
has been dubbed the ‘king of the streets.
He recently signed a multimillion naira
endorsement deal with the makers of
Ciroc Ultra Premium vodka.
For the self acclaimed ‘Voice of the
Street’, who grew up in the Bariga area of
Lagos, fame did not come cheap. He fell
in love with rap music at a tender age
and was always visiting renowned
producer ID Cabasa’s music studio in his
school uniform.
Today, Olamide hobnobs with some of
the industry big names, especially D’banj.
Pictures of both artistes surfaced online
and their close relationship gave room to
speculation that he had been signed on to
the seld-styled Koko Master’s record
label.
The rapper’s hit songs comprise Jale,
Street Love, Jesu O kola, Durosoke,
Stupid Love, First of All and Ilefo
Illuminati. His forthcoming album titled
‘Baddest Guy Ever Liveth’ will be
released in October.
Today, the 24-year-old star acquired a
brand new 2013 Range Rover Sport. He
also topped the winners list at the 2013
Nigerian Entertainments Awards in New
York, US, with three awards.
Ice Prince
Twenty-six-year-old Ice Prince lives like a
true superstar. A proud owner of a 2010
model of Bentley GT, a Range Rover SUV,
among many others, the Chocolate City
Records ‘golden boy’ is also a BET Awards
winner. Since his first single ‘Oleku’ was
released, he has witnessed a meteoric
rise to the top.
He gained international recognition after
beating 2face Idibia to the Best
International Act Award at the BET
Awards. He recently relocated from his
apartment in Palm Groove Estate, Lagos
to a bigger apartment in the Ogudu area,
after completing a mansion in his
hometown, Jos. The buzz around him got
louder after he appeared in Yvonne
Nelson’s ‘House of Gold’ alongside
Ghanaian actor, Majid Michael.
Dammy Krane
At 19, this 2face Idibia protégé is the
youngest of the pack. He hit the limelight
after signing on 2face’s Hypertek Records
in 2012. He started singing when he was
eight years-old in the toddlers’ choir in
church. By the time he clocked 11, he
was already a back-up singer for other
artistes. His mum, who is currently based
in the US, manages a number of Fuji
artistes.
Long before he put out an official single,
music video, or inked a record deal, he
had over 4,000 followers on twitter. With
his hit singles, My Dear and Ligali, the
artiste known for his melodic voice,
engaging lyrics and exciting genre of
alternative music has collaborated with
the biggest names in the industry.
Burna Boy
Burna Boy made newspaper headlines
after reports emerged that he sold the
marketing rights to his debut album,
‘Leaving an impact for eternity’ for N10m
to popular Alaba music and movie
marketer, Uba Pacific.
The album is also said to have made a
record sale of 40,000 units on the day of
its release.
The singer has the backing of his
grandfather, Benson Idonije, who was the
manager of the late Afrobeat legend, Fela
Kuti.
Burna Boy officially broke into the music
industry in December 2010 when he
moved back to Nigeria from London and
has remained a household name in Port-
Harcourt. But, it wasn’t until June, 2012,
when he made a cross-over to the Lagos
music scene with his mid-tempo Summer
Jam, Like to Party. He is a Globacom
Ambassador.
Davido
At 20, David Adeleke, popularly known as
Davido, is one of the most popular young
artistes in Nigeria. The singer drew the
attention of millions of music fans when
he introduced himself as Omo baba
olowo in his hit song titled Dami duro.
Translated from Yoruba to English
language, it means ‘son of a rich man’.
Davido, whose father, Dr. Deji Adeleke, is
the chairman of Keplo-Pacific Energy
Pacific, a company that is involved in
banking, steel, power and energy, found
his way to the top as if with the snap of a
finger.
The youngster, who is not afraid to boast
about his father’s wealth, always causes a
stir on Twitter with his controversial
tweets.
So far, he has won some international
awards and performed at various shows
within and outside the country. He is also
the face of MTN Pulse.
Davido’s personal collection of exotic cars
comprise a silver 2012 Honda Accord, a
2012 Hyundai Sonata, which he won for
being ‘Next Rated’ at the 2012 Headies, a
N12m 2012 Audi Q7, N17m Chevrolet
Camaro and a N21m Mercedes Benz G55
AMG, his fifth car since he shot to fame
last year.
Source:- E-Punch
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