As 2013 draws to a close, it is time to take stock of events and
artistes that shaped the year. Indeed, it was an eventful year, a year
full of surprises as it witnessed many upsets and of course, new
revelations. The Entertainer brings you the prime events and musicians
who dominated 2013.
KCEE’s moment
KCEE has finally broken the jinx and found his footing. His track,
Limpopo could get nominated for the award for Song of the Year. It
received millions of downloads online and completed the successful
transformation of KC of KC Presh to KCEE.
With the release of his album, Pull Over, the lead track has seized the
airwaves and there’s no doubt that this is KCEE’s moment! He has
successfully given us back to back two straight hits.
For this effort, most music fans may tip KCEE for The Music Man of The Year Award.
Sean Tizzle, Revelation of The Year
The year will go down as one when hip-hop singer, Sean Tizzle (Seun
Morihanfen) established himself as a force to reckon with in the music
industry. From nowhere, the act shot into the limelight following the
success of his runaway single, Sho Lee. He also performed on the biggest
platforms including Julius Agwu’s Crack Ya Ribs. As 2014 rolls in, Sean
Tizzle is definitely one of the acts to watch out for.
Rise and rise of new generation stars
2013 remains a remarkable year for new generation singers. Wizkid,
Olamide and Davido all gave a good account of themselves in the year
under review. Wizkid set night clubs and parties bubbling with his hit
track, Back To The Matter, Carol and Jaiye Jaiye, featuring Femi Kuti,
while Davido ruled with Skelewu and Phyno made an impact with Ghost
Mode, featuring Wizkid. Olamide’s new album, Yahoo Boy No Laptop
featuring the hit song, Duro So Ke, also made huge impact and as 2014
beckons, these acts are on top of the watch list.
However, one musician we cannot ignore is Burna Boy whose latest album, LIFE, an Afrofusion has been a resounding success.
Year of Skelewu
It was definitely a good year for hip hop singer, Davido. He started a
new thing in music when he dropped his latest track, Skelewu, which came
with its own dance steps. The track could have been just one of those
tracks of 2013, but the act made so much noise about it and there was
talk of his shooting several videos which cost millions. Before one
could say Jackie Robinson, Skelewu was everywhere. Davido is definitely
going places in the New Year.
Iyanya’s year of endorsements
Until Tuface’s N20 million-endorsement deal with Guinness Nigeria Plc in
2004, endorsements were rarely heard of as far as Nigerian music was
concerned. However, all that has changed. And now, Iyanya would not
forget this year in a hurry as far as endorsement is concerned. The
artiste raked in a whopping N130 million from endorsements in the year
under review.
Iyanya hit pay dirt when he closed a deal with Solo Mobile worth N35
million. A while later, he got a N40 million ambassadorship deal with
MTN, and before anyone knew what was happening, he had inked another
endorsement deal worth N65 million with Zinox Technologies Limited.
As 2014 beckons, Iyanya has no excuse but to take his game to the next level.
Goldie’s shocking exit
It was with shock that Nigerians on February 14 woke up to receive the
news of the passing away of Susan Harvey popularly known as Goldie. What
made her sudden exit so painful was that the singer died just when her
career was beginning to blossom on Valentine’s Day after she returned
from the Grammy Awards.
Reports later revealed that Goldie succumbed to hypertension, and as the
week rolled by, she became the source of even more controversy as her
husband, Andrew Harvey, whom she successfully hid from the media popped
out of the blues. The Briton declared that he was the singer’s only
legal husband amid reports that she was having an affair with BBA’s
Prezzo, even as there was talk of marriage between the two housemates.
Tuface finally marries Annie Macaulay
-As P-Square’s Peter says ‘I do’ to Lola Omotayo
It’s definitely the biggest celebrity wedding of the year! With the
controversies trailing the boy from Otukpo regarding his harem of ‘baby
mamas’, fans had expected that Tuface would keep to his promise and
never get married in order to keep the mothers of his six children from
going to war.
However, as Nigerians were benumbed by the news of Goldie’s death, they
were consoled by the news of Tuface who had sensationally proposed to an
astonished Annie Macaulay at a celebrity hang out in Lagos. This
culminated into a traditional wedding that attracted the crème de la
crème of Nigeria to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and climaxed with a white
wedding in far away Dubai.
Just like Tuface, P-Square’s Peter also took to the aisle his ‘baby
mama’, pretty Lola Omotayo. It was also a wedding that will not be
forgotten in a hurry as it oozed glamour, panache and razzmatazz.
Tiwa Savage ties the knot
Tiwa Savage finally tied the knot with her live in lover and manager,
Tunji Balogun (Tee Billz) in November, in a society wedding that
attracted the crème of Nigerian entertainment. The marriage came after
months of denial that they were having an affair.
And Efere Ozakor passes on
It was a tragedy that made headlines on April 18 when renowned
entertainment lawyer, Efere Ozako, succumbed to the cold hands of death
after a trip from South Africa. It was indeed tragic as Ozako was just
45-years-old. Reports claimed that he died of cardiac arrest.
Until his death, Ozako was a foremost entertainment lawyer, who
contributed in no small measure to the growth of the industry. He was
post-humoursly honoured by the organizers of Abuja International Film
Festival when the experimental category was named after him. He is
survived by three kids and a wife.
Saka ports to MTN
One word that came into the Pidgin lexicon in April was ‘port’ which was
made popular by comedian, Saka (Afeez Ayetoro). Saka had dumped
Etisalat for MTN as the telecoms industry kicked-off its number
portability campaign, and he became a household name overnight.
“I don port o, I don port go MTN. I don upgrade to MTN,” Saka sings in
Pidgin as he dances in the commercial that went viral on the Internet.
Sources say he ‘ported’ for a whopping N20 million.
Glo X Factor raises the bar
It was the most talked about show of 2013. In a surprise move that sent
ripples through the entire industry, telecoms giant, Glo unveiled the
biggest music reality TV show, X Factor amid pomp and glamour.
A franchise of American X Factor owned by Simon Cowell, the maiden
edition of the show was won by DJ Switch (Obianuju Catherine Udeh) who
pocketed a whopping N24 million. Already, DJ Switch has begun work on
her debut album and is definitely one of the acts that will make wave
next year.
Four Grammy nominations for Femi Kuti
Nigeria’s flag will be flying at next year’s edition of the Grammy
Awards courtesy of Femi Kuti’s latest nomination, which proved that he
is indeed the King of Afrobeat.
The musician got the nomination through his latest album entitled, No Place For My Dreams.
Femi was nominated in the World Music category alongside the likes of
Gipsy Kings, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ravi Shankar. The Grammy Awards
holds in the United States on January 26, 2014. Prior to his
nomination, however, the singer had dominated the contemporary music
scene with his duet with Wizkid entitled, Jaiye Jaiye.
When the old meets the new generation
Indeed, it was an exciting year for Nigerian music as the new school met
the old school in various duets. Beginning with Victor Olaiya and
Tuface who did a remix of Baby Jowo, which became a run away hit, other
acts were inspired to do collabos as well and this became the new trend.
Other collaborations that made impact in 2013 are Jaiye Jaiye by Wizkid
featuring Femi Kuti and Omoge remix featuring Omawunmi. MI also featured
J. Martins in a song made popular by Ebenezer Obey.
Wande Cole dumps Mavin Records
Despite the release of Sola Plexus, which features the likes of Tiwa
Savage, D’Prince, Wande Coal and Dr. Sid, the deconstruction of Don
Jazzy’s music empire continues this year when a major pillar on the
platform, Wande Coal, called it quits barely a year after D’banj parted
ways with Mo’Hits.
Now the future of Mavin Records, Don Jazzy’s creation is shaky as we
move into 2014. The question on every one’s lips is: ‘Will Mavin Records
survive this ‘Armageddon’? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, Wande Coal
has joined the league of Glo Ambassadors, as he was appointed one
recently.
OJB Jezreel survives kidney transplant
Music producer and singer, OJB Jezreel made newspaper headlines after he
cried out to Nigerians for help following his diagnosis with kidney
failure. Indeed, it was a touching image of OJB that Nigerians saw on
TV, newspapers and online publications.
However, this could have gone without drama but for Ghanaian actress,
Juliet Ibrahim, who raised questions about the authenticity of OJB’s
health bill which ran into N16 million, and this stirred a lot of
controversy.
However, both OJB and Ibrahim later kissed and made up on Rose Peter
Graham’s TV show, Sugar N Spice, but by that time a lot of water had
gone under bridge. But then, it was Rivers State Governor, Rotimi
Amaechi that donated $100, 000 for the singer’s surgery in India. He’s
currently back in the country.
Fada U-Turn succumbs to kidney disease
Death made the headlines again when Okokomaiko act, Fada U-Turn (Olufemi
Mayomi), died at the unripe age of 36 on November 17, after battling
kidney disease for years.
Known for his hit, Yetunde, the Ultima Records’ sign-on was one of the
acts that popularized galala, a brand of music that originated from the
ghetto of Ajegunle, Lagos, and which was popularsied by the likes of
Baba Fryo and Daddy Fresh.
Sources say friends and well meaning Nigerians could have come to his
aid like they did for OJB Jezreel after he came down with kidney
failure. However, Fada U-Turn kept his illness to himself because he was
not ready to beg anybody for a lifeline.
By Nonye Nkwocha
