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Paul "Play" Dairo is a Nigerian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his songs "Angel Of My Life," "Forever," and "You and Me." In 1999, under the music label Kennis Music, he produced a remix of the song "Mo So Rire." [1] [2] [3] [4] Dairo has won several music awards, including The Headies' Artist of The Year award. [5] [6]
Dairo is the son of the late Nigerian singer I.K. Dairo. .
Studio albums
Singles
Awards
Michael Ugochukwu Stephens, known professionally as Ruggedman, is a Nigerian rapper from Ohafia, Abia State.
P-Square is a Nigerian Music duo, consisting of the twin brothers Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye, who co-write and co-produce much of their records. Noted for their artistic reinvention, musical versatility, and visual presentation, they are widely regarded as one of the most influential African Acts of all time and one of the most successful African Music Group internationally. They were integral to the evolution of the 2000s and 2010s African popular music. The duo was launched into the mainstream recognition following the release of the song “Senorita” in 2003, and later gain much wider recognition after the release of their sophomore album “Get Squared” in 2005. The success of the album earned them a nomination at the MTV EMA Best African Act in 2006. A prominent figure in the Africa popular culture of the 21st Century, P-Square was awarded the honorary "artistes of the decade," for their cultural impacts in the music industry between 2005-2015, at the MTV Africa Music Award 2015.
Chibuzor Oji, better known by his stage name Faze, is a Nigerian musician and actor. He was a member of the defunct Nigerian hip hop group Plantashun Boiz, along with BlackFace Naija and 2face Idibia. The group split up in 2004 and each member of the group has gone on to launch solo careers.
Alexander Abolore Adegbola Akande, better known as 9ice, is a Nigerian musician, songwriter and dancer. He is known for his powerful use of the Yoruba language in his music as well as his proverbial lyrics and unique style of delivery.
Dare Art Alade, popularly known as Darey, is a Nigerian multi-platinum Afro R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, humanitarian and entrepreneur. He is also the son of the African jazz musician and entertainer Art Alade and the creative director of Livespot360.
Olamide Gbenga Adedeji is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. One of the most influential artists in Africa, he has been pivotal to the creative and commercial success of several Afrobeats music stars, and is consistently praised for his role in elevating Street Pop to mainstream recognition as a distinct music genre. He records in Yoruba and English. In 2011, he released his debut studio album Rapsodi while signed to Coded Tunes. YBNL, his follow-up album, was released under his label imprint "Yahoo Boy No Laptop," aka YBNL Nation. The album was supported by the singles "First of All," "Voice of the Street," "Stupid Love," and "Ilefo Illuminati." On 7 November 2013, he released his third studio album Baddest Guy Ever Liveth. The album's singles include "Durosoke" and "Yemi My Lover." On 17 July 2013, Olamide became the first Nigerian to sign an endorsement deal with Cîroc. In November 2023, Olamide received his first nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Award for the song "Amapiano" alongside his signee Asake, becoming the first Nigerian hip hop act in history to achieve this feat.
Oyenike Laoye, known professionally as Nikki Laoye, is a Nigerian recording artist, singer, humanitarian, songwriter, dancer and occasional actress, renowned for her musical expressions and stage performances. As a recording artist, Laoye's music has earned her several awards including The Headies Award in 2013 for Best Female Vocal Performance and the All African Music Awards (AFRIMA) in 2014 for Best Female Artiste in African Inspirational Music. She is also well known for the 2006 hit song Never felt this Way before, the 2013 dance single "1-2-3", the soulful ballad "Only You", which she remixed in 2016 featuring Seyi Shay and the love song Onyeuwaoma featuring Banky W.
The Headies is a music awards show established in 2006 by the Hip Hop World Magazine of Nigeria to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry. The annual ceremony features performances by established and promising artists. It is broadcast live on HipTV to viewers across Nigeria. The first and second editions of The Headies were held at the Muson Center in Onikan, Lagos State. Between 2010 and 2012, the awards were held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos. Several media personalities in Nigeria have hosted the annual ceremony, including Darey Art Alade, D'banj, Dakore Egbuson, Banky W., Rita Dominic, M.I, Tiwa Savage and Dr SID.
Douglas Jack Agu, better known by his stage name Runtown, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer.
Harrison Tare Okiri, better known by his stage name Harrysong, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and instrumentalist who rose to fame after his tribute song to Nelson Mandela won the "Most Downloaded Callertune Award" at The Headies 2013. Harrysong was born in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria to Ijaw parents but moved to Lagos in 2007 after spending some of his early life in Port Harcourt. Prior to signing to QuestionMark Entertainment, Harrysong used to perform at night clubs until he met Kcee who introduced him to top music personalities. In 2014, Harrysong was nominated in the "Best Pop/R&B Artist of the Year" category at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards after the release of his chart-topping song "Beta Pikin".
Oludemilade Martin Alejo, known professionally as Ycee, is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. He gained popularity after his single "Condo", which features vocals by Patoranking, earned him two nominations at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. He was also nominated for Best Artist in African Pop at the 2015 All Africa Music Awards and for Next Rated at The Headies 2016. Ycee signed a record deal with Sony Music in October 2016, but terminated his contract with the label in February 2018.
Phillip Kayode Moses, better known as Pheelz, is a Nigerian record producer, singer and songwriter who has worked with several artists and musicians, such as Davido, Usher, Olamide, Wizkid, Fireboy DML, Teni and Tiwa Savage. Pheelz is credited to have produced all but one song on Olamide's Baddest Guy Ever Liveth album. In 2022, he had a hit with his song "Finesse", a collaboration with Bnxn.
Simisola Bolatito Kosoko, better known by her stage name Simi, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and actress. She started her career as a gospel singer, releasing her debut studio album in 2008, titled Ogaju. She also played as one of the top judges in season 7 of the Nigerian idol TV show in 2022. She gained public recognition in 2014 after releasing "Tiff", a song that was nominated for Best Alternative Song at The Headies 2015. Simi signed a record deal with X3M Music in 2014, but left the label in May 2019 following the expiration of her contract. She released her second studio album Simisola on September 8, 2017. Her third studio album Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1 was released to coincide with her thirty-first birthday on April 19, 2019. She launched her record label Studio Brat in June 2019.
Babatunde Okungbowa, popularly known by his stage name OJB Jezreel or OJB, was a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He died on June 14, 2016, of kidney disease.
Oluwajuwonlo Iledare, professionally known as Jaywon, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, performer, producer and actor. Following his departure from Kennis Music, he founded the Next World Music record label in 2013. In 2009, the Nigerian Music Video Awards presented Jaywon with the Best New Artist award. He also won the award for Best Recording at The Headies 2013 and the Tush Awards for 'This Year song.
Sodiq Abubakar Yusuf, popularly known by his stage name CDQ, is a Nigerian indigenous hip-hop rapper and songwriter best known for his single "Nowo E Soke" featuring Wizkid and Masterkraft's Indomie where he was featured alongside Olamide. While the former is instrumental for launching his career into the Nigerian music industry, the later won him his first career award at the 2016 Nigerian Music Video Awards. Signed to his label No Struggle No Success Entertainment, CDQ's repertoire of music includes rapping in Yoruba language with addition of ad-libs such as the popular "Woss Wobi" which he invented.
John Ighodaro, professionally known as Johnny Drille, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. His career came into the spotlight when he released a cover of "Awww" by Di'Ja. He is currently signed to Mavin Records.
The Headies 2019 was the 13th edition of The Headies. It was held on October 19, 2019, at the Eko Convention Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos. Themed "Power of a Dream", the ceremony was hosted by Nigerian rapper Reminisce and actress/media personality Nancy Isime. After shortlisting thousands of entries submitted between January 2018 and June 2019, the organizers of the ceremony announced the nominees on 1 October 2019. Burna Boy set a record for the most nominations in one night with 10 nominations. Teni followed with 6 and Wizkid with 5. The ceremony featured performances from a number of artists, including Styl-Plus, Sunny Neji, Duncan Mighty, Teni and Victor AD. Teni won the most awards with 4. Rema won the Next Rated award, beating Fireboy DML, Joeboy, Lyta, Victor AD and Zlatan.
Boo of the Booless is the debut album of Nigerian singer Chike. It was released on February 14, 2020. Chike enlisted Ogaga Sakpaide to A&R the album.
Ahmed Ololade, known professionally as Asake, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is signed to YBNL Nation and Empire Distribution. His stage name "Asake" is his mother's name.