5 Nigerian Artists to Watch In 2021 (Photos)

Photo: DMW First Lady Liya. Source: Content101

By Khisa CJ

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2020 has been a year that the Nigerian music industry witnessed a number of new faces, in terms of musicians.

Some of them were already building their brands, while others were still considered little known but have since made their presence felt and intent to break the barriers known.

We take a look at some of the artists – in Nigeria – that you need to watch out for in 2021.

Liya

Until she was unveiled at the Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) label, most of the Naija Music lovers did not know Liya that well. Fast forward two or three months later and her name has been put onto the Nigerian music industry – all thanks to her debut single as a signed artist at DMW titled ‘ Melo ’.

While unveiling ‘ Melo ’ ealier in December 2020, the Davido’s label revealed that Liya will be dropping an album in 2021 – a project many will eagerly be waiting.

Bella Shmurda

It has been a good year for Bella Shmurda , a budding Nigerian independent artist that burst into the limelight in 2019.

For 2020, Bella Shmurda managed to release several singles, but a standout one was the still buzzing ‘Cash App’ in which he featured Lincoln and Zanku master Zlatan Ibile as well as a feature on Olamide’s 11 th studio album ‘Carpe Diem’ in the single ‘ Triumphant ’.

Judging by what he has done this year, every music lover would hope 2021 will be better for Bella Shmurda .

Tems

Music lovers, especially in Nigerian are starting to accept and embrace the alt-R&B sound that Tems focuses on.

The 25-year-old Lagos born singer rose to prominence in 2018 with the release of the hit single ‘Mr Rebel’ and has been steadily growing her fanbase .

In 2020, Tems dropped an impressive debut EP ‘For Broken Ears’ that houses the hit single ‘Damages’ and was nominated for the Next Rated category at the Headies 2020 edition.

Omah Lay

With two EPs to his name – all released in 2020, Omah Lay is definitely an artist to watch in 2021. His debut EP ‘Get Layd ’ has been a major success and a follow-up ‘What Have We Done’ is equally looking good with one of the singles ‘Godly’ performing well.

Omah Lay got a number of nominations this year and he is hoping to win The Headies Next Rated Award as we all await and see what he has in store for his fans in 2021.

Joeboy

Joeboy is now a household name not only in Nigeria and Africa but also globally. Many would not expect him to be among this list of artists to watch – because he is already a brand of his own.

However, considering that Joeboy is expected to drop his debut album in 2021, that project is worth watching out for as he has already released two singles from it – ‘Lonely’ and ‘Celebration’.