The year 1999 is generally regarded as the inception of Nigerian contemporary pop music, now widely referred to as Afrobeats.
The turn of the millennium saw the entrance of new talents whose artistry was shaped by American hip hop music and culture.
They took this swaggering rap flow and combined it with ingenious genres, language, and the Nigerian reality for a domesticated sound that charted a new course for Nigerian pop music.
Nothing captures the evolution of Nigerian music more than the hit songs that created era-defining stars, shaped culture, and steadily propel Afrobeats to global heights.
To mark 25 years of Afrobeats (1999 - 2024), Pulse Music Desk has compiled the list of the 25 greatest songs that have left an indelible mark on the nation’s pop culture and played a part in the local and international expansion of Nigerian music.
This list is compiled with contributions from industry experts that include veteran music journalists, executives, and media personalities.
The panelists were guided by the following criteria:
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Commercial Success - The commercial scale of the song and its impact on the Nigerian music scene.
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Cultural significance - The importance of the song in pop culture and its contribution to the sonic direction and mileage of Nigerian music.
The first installment of this list will unveil the bottom 15 songs (25 - 11). The top 10 will be unveiled a week later.
25. Calm Down – Rema (2022)
‘Calm Down’ is Afrobeats' most ubiquitous song globally. The viral hit single not only rocketed Rema to international stardom but also gave Afrobeats a massive push on the global front.
Riding on the decisive influence of TikTok in music marketing, the song reached heights no Afrobeats song has ever attained on the global front. It spent over 1 year on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at NO. 3. It became Africa’s first song to garner 1 billion Spotify streams, and earned Rema a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
24. Bobo - Olamide (2015)
Olamide is Nigeria’s most commercially successful rapper thanks to his consistent delivery of hit records that helped him maintain his place at the summit of the mainstream and his position as the voice of the street.
In 2015, he released the smash hit street pop record 'Bobo”, which had the mainstream audience singing, dancing, and repeating the street lingo “Eyin Omo Wobe” and “Shakiti Bobo”. The song was paired with a viral dance move that swept the country.
23. YE - Burna Boy (2018)
Sometimes the universe aligns and makes a song into a hit through the most unexpected means.
In June 2018, Kanye West released his album ‘Ye’. The similarity in title with Burna Boy’s single ‘YE’ released in January 2018 led listeners to discover the song, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Although ‘YE’, which borrows from Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat, was already a hit in Nigeria, it would travel beyond the country, rocketing Burna Boy to international success while introducing Afrobeats to a new audience.
22. Pana – Tekno (2016)
Tekno is one of Afrobeats' finest innovators, who is always willing to push the domestication of Nigerian pop through colloquial lyricism he molds to fit his urban Southern Nigerian Highlife.
The defining elements that shape his music combined to deliver the smash hit ‘Pana’. At the time when the mainstream was shaped by the Ghana Bounce rhythm popularised by Mr. Eazi’s success, Tekno and Krizbeat combined to bring a Nigerian twist to the sound, which became a continental hit.
21. Ashawo – Flavour (2010)
The song originally appeared on his debut studio album, N'abania. The remix released in 2010 as part of his iconic third album 'Uplifted' soared to international success.
'Ashawo' was Flavour’s dynamic take on lust and desire. Embracing Highlife music and his Igbo cultural influences, he crafted a hypnotic record that samples Rex Lawson’s classic ‘Sawale’.
The lyrics left little to the imagination, and the melodies had listeners across the continent rotating their waist along to the rhythmic lines of “Awusha, ashawo. Ashawo, awusha. Kpom kpom”.
20. Essence - Wizkid feat Tems (2020)
Wizkid maintained his role of leading Afrobeats from the commercial and innovative front with his hit single ‘Essence’, where he combined with sensational singer Tems and ace producers P2J and Legendury Beatz for a smooth blend of Afrobeats and R&B.
The song’s international success was a high point that opened Afrobeats to a wider global audience. A benefit the genre continues to enjoy.
19. Mad Over You - Runtown (2016)
When Runtown released the Del B-produced hit ‘Mad Over You’ in 2016, it was a testament to the readiness of other stars to step into the vacuum left by the superstar duo of Davido and Wizkid, who had traveled across the Atlantic in pursuit of global stardom.
The Afrobeats drums and tingling Ghanaian highlife guitar riffs combined to create a lyrically simple love record whose melodies enchanted audiences across the continent.
18. Azonto - Fuse ODG
When Fuse ODG released 'Azonto' featuring Tiffany Owusu in 2011, it was a defining moment that took the electrifying Ghanaian sound and dance dominating West Africa to the global stage.
The energetic percussion, bouncy synths, and repetitive hook created not only a song, but a movement that would advance Afrobeats internationally, especially in his base in the United Kingdom.
17. Danfo Driver – Danfo Driver (2003)
Ajegunle is both the spiritual and creative capital of Nigerian street music. In 2003, the duo Mountain Black and the late Mad Melon from Ajegunle released their album Danfo Drivers, which had Nigerians singing along to their Galala music.
For their hit track ‘Danfo Driver’, they drew inspiration from their reality as drivers of the famous Lagos state yellow commercial bus, which is a symbol of the City’s hustle and bustle.
16. Shakomo – Remedies (1999)
When the trio of Eedris Abdulkareem, Eddy Montana, and Tony Teitula combined their talents to form the band The Remedies in the late 90s, it was the inception of a new dawn for Nigerian music.
Their hit single ‘Shakomo’ wasn’t just a bold domestication of American rapper MC Lyte’s hit ‘Keep On Keeping On’; it was the sound of Nigerian pop waking up to a new era.
Using Pidgin English, Yoruba, and Hausa, The Remedies brought a fresh swagger to Nigerian music that would win the attention of a new generation of listeners and chart a course for what would become Afrobeats.
15. Ijoya – Weird MC (2006)
Afrobeats foundation is built on hip hop flows, style, and swagger. These influences were on full display on Weird MC’s ‘Ijoya’, where her vibrant Yoruba flows are complemented by Don Jazzy's use of talking drums (Gan Gan) to beckon listeners around the country to the dancefloor.
This hip hop influence on Afrobeats continues to manifest through the constant burst of pop rap flows and fancy jewelry on the necks of the culture’s leading voices.
14. Olufunmi – Styl-Plus (2006)
Nigerian music has always drawn from American influences, including R&B, which shaped the artistry of the era-defining trio Shifi, Zeal, and Tunde, who combined to form Styl Plus. They delivered the ultimate love record with ‘Olufunmi’, where hypnotic melodies, tender verses, and a soaring chorus combined to create an R&B anthem whose crisp guitars, clear vocals, and an arrangement that felt as polished as anything from the U.S. R&B scene.
13. Dem Mama – Timaya (2007)
While Afrobeats offer delightful party starters, it also play a notable role in documenting the times. Timaya stepped into the mainstream as an emerging star passionately clinging to the dreams and aspirations of his people, which was brutally cut short by the sacking of Odi in Bayelsa State by the Nigerian Army.
His hit single ‘Dem Mama’ reminded the nation of this tale of sorrow, tears, and blood, even as the Dancehall-driven production and catchy lyrics helped the record to dominate speakers nationwide.
12. Bumper to Bumper – Wande Coal (2009)
“Bumper to Bumper” is the phrase that captures the adrenaline-filled experience of driving in Lagos, which is Nigeria’s most populated city and the heartbeat of Afrobeats.
Wande Coal’s street anthem offers similar adrenaline as his effortless pop rap flow, catchy call and response hook, and burst of melodies announced him as the genre-bending, seminal star who will steer Nigerian pop music in a new direction.
11. Mr President – African China (2006)
African China spoke truth to power with his smash hit record 'Mr President', which challenges Nigeria's political elite.
The Ajegunle-born star united Nigerians at home and abroad who joined their voices to demand socioeconomic change. Nearly three decades later, the song continues to be reflective of the nation's reality, where citizens continue to demand that "Mr President, lead us well".
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