29th August, 2020
By Preye Campbell
Even with 2020 and its full dose of crisis, Nigerian artistes have continued to wow the continent and the world with their prowess in creating chart-topping albums.
Albums released in 2020 so far have seen a blend of talent and quality in producing songs that are accepted by all. The year has witnessed the musical prowess of the likes of Burna Boy, Brymo, Fireboy DML, and their albums have continued to fill the airwaves.
With that, we take a look at six of the top albums/ EP in 2020 so far.
Twice As Tall – Burna Boy
Burna Boy continues to tell us one thing; he is the A-list star. The Grammy-nominated African Giant album is still gaining massive airplay accross the world but Damini Ogulu aka Burna Boy has taken his game to another level with Twice As Tall. Just as the album title, Burna is twice as tall this time around, with the album having the biggest opening weekend ever for an African artist album on Apple Music globally and gaining massive airplay since its release on August 14. Twice As Tall sees Burna Boy continue his mission as Africa’s spokesperson as he continues to address some of the ills that have become consistent in the black continent. The album was executive produced by American rapper Sean Combs aka Diddy. So far, Twice As Tall has enjoyed the number one spot in about 40 countries. The album features Stormzy, Chris Martin, Naughty By Nature and Yossou N’dour.
Apollo – Fireboy DML
Fireboy’s Laughter, Tears and Gossebumps album is still very much the talk of the town and a lot of people are contemplating whether it is the best ever debut studio album by an artiste in Nigeria. With the YBNL act though, we have more reason to enjoy his talents with his second studio album Apollo now leading top albums in 2020. Apollo was released on August 20 and contains a 17-track album which includes songs like ‘Eli’, ‘Tattoo’ and ‘New York City Girl’. Fireboy recently said that the album ”is about evolution, growth, love and pain”, and surely we can’t argue further.
The album features appearances from Wande Coal and Olamidde.
Yellow – Brymo
No one qualifies ‘underrated’ like vocalist Olawale Ashimi aka Brymo. The former Chocolate City act came through on April 1 with his long-awaited Yellow album. Yellow is the award-winning vocalist’s seventh studio album and his 15-track bodywork mirrors life, love and the society the artiste belongs. The album is still receiving positive reviews, with a lot of people believing this is Brymo’s best work yet.
Get Layd EP – Omah Lay
Fast-rising act, Stanley Omah Didia, popularly known as Omah Lay announced himself to the entertainment industry with his debut EP Get Layd released in May. the 5-track EP is still serving hot in terms of airwaves and features the much adored ‘Bad Influence’ track. The heart-warming project joins the train of top works in 2020 and Omah Lay has sure made his mark on this one.
Boo Of The Booless – Chike
2020 keeps getting better for the new artistes, and that includes Chike-Ezekpeazu Osebuka or simply Chike. Chike had been in and out of talent shows like Project Fame West Africa and The Voice before he finally made his mark on Valentine’s Day with the heart-warming Boo Of The Booless album. The 14-track album is still the album of the year for some and rightly so if you are inspired by the peculiar details of love. The debut album features appearances from M.I Abaga and Ric Hassani.
Oxygene EP – Oxlade
Another new artist. Another smashing project. Ikuforiji Olaitan aka Oxlade came through with six groovy harmonies to make up his debut EP Oxygene on March 27. The fast-rising talented act turned attention to himself with this buzzing EP that featured the hit single, ‘Away’. A commending EP means that more awesomeness is expected from Oxlade in the not too distant future.