Joey's Monday MusingsPoverty has dried up new Nigerian stars in 2016

 In 2016, the stars have dried up. There has been no Kiss Daniel, Patoranking, Cynthia Morgan, nor Korede Bello making the movement to the limelight.

Last year was awesome for Nigerian music industry in terms of new entrants into mainstream music holding their own.

In January 2015, Kiss Daniel was already putting daylight between himself and the underground with the success of his ‘Woju’ single. He would later go on to cement the year, certified as a hit-making machine, and a beast of a talent. Last year also saw the elevation of Korede Bello from a wide-eyed Mavin Records hopeful, to a star. ‘Godwin’ made him win in his career.

play Kiss Daniel
(Lavomine)

Then there was Cynthia Morgan who is yet to make a wack song. Although she failed to churn out more general pop hits, she found some joy in genre specificity. Her songs ‘German Juice’, and ‘Simati Niya’, were cool singles within the dancehall community. The former went one better and picked up an award at the Headies 2015, for its brilliance.

But in 2016, the stars have dried up. There has been no Kiss Daniel, Patoranking, Cynthia Morgan, nor Korede Bello making the movement to the limelight. There has been no one.

play Patoranking in 'Make am' video

A quick look through the underground scene will through up some good candidates which I will name later, but for now, they have been unable to make that happen.

A number of factors are responsible for this huge slump in new stars. The talent pool in Nigeria is huge. I have been to a number of underground events scouting fine talent, and by heaven, there’s just an avalanche of them hitting me.

The problem lies in promotion. In music, Promotion is the most expensive and crucial part of the music business. A good song can get made, and released, but without getting people to listen to it on a large scale, and repeatedly, the single underperforms, leaving it a waste of good effort.

This promotion at its best levels is extremely expensive. Media in Nigeria has blown up across all channels of it. Online, TV, radio and other facets have exploded in the last decade, resulting in more access to information and connectivity for everyone. But what has been a blessing to the populace, is a bit of a curse to promoters and their talents.

play Korede Bello, first Youth ambassador for the Police Force in Nigeria

Previously, you just had to worry about SoundCity TV and Nigezie for video releases. Right now, you have to consider Trace TV, MTV Base, HipTV, and many more. Each station has its payola to cover, resulting in more expenses. The same can be said of the digital space, and the radio scene.

Recently, former Chocolate City artiste, Kahli Abdu chronicled his frustrations in the Nigerian music scene via twitter, but the height of it lay in the request of a promoter, who billed him N800, 000 (about $3,700) for the promotion of his new single ‘Festival’.

 

That’s the sad reality on ground. The price of promotion in this country continues to hit the roof, with a select few being able to afford it. I have read promotion plans and put together some myself, and trust me, nothing goes below the N600k and N800k mark. That’s how capital intensive, the market has become.

Nobody rocks with talent anymore. Everybody wants money. New acts can’t afford to pay that cash, hence, they get relegated.

That being said, here are five people who are on the brink of exploding.

LK Kuddy

play LK Kuddy, Wizkid, Yung6ix star in 'With you' (remix) video shoot

 

The singer has been in the industry for a number of years, with each year bringing him closer to pop brilliance. His latest single ‘With you’ (remix) featuring Wizkid and Yung6ix might just do it for him.

Maire

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Hitting the scene in 2013, the Next Level Entertainment graduate has been unrelenting in her quest for breaking out. Her 2015 single ‘In your heart’, placed her in good stead. Right now, she has ‘Alhaji’, a jam with Iceberg Slim.

Humblesmith

play Davido, Humblesmith star in 'Osinachi' remix

 

The singer was a bit of an underground success last year with his Gospel-leaning song ‘Osinachi’ making the rounds. This year, Davido has blessed the jam with his star-dust and melody, and he is looking to rise on the back of that.

Johnny Drille

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The Benin City native is a master of percussion, instrumentation, and the best of lyrics. From his viral ‘Aww’ cover, to his now trending ‘Wait for me’, the singer leads the new generation of folk, rock and Afro fusion sounds. He is next in line.

Zoro

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With Eastern Nigeria calling his name. Here’s one rapper who can rival Phyno for his wordplay, energy and branding. He is on the brink of something heavy when he decides to export his craft. Listen to his new single.