All the breakout stars from each year this decade
From Wizkid in 2010 to Rema in 2019
The way we consume music has changed significantly over the decade, and this shift in the culture is mainly due to the immense talent we’ve seen over the years. In the 2000s, we saw the emergence of some of the most revered artists today from D’banj and Wande Coal to Psquare and M.I, and as a strong follow up, we’ve seen a younger crop of artists having their time in the limelight.
Throughout the decade, they’ve risen right to the top of the ranks, from Wizkid charming us with his boyish swag in the beginning of the decade to becoming one of the biggest African artist ever by the end of the decade.
In addition to the clear and immense talent, social media culture has also contributed to these artists’ reach, and they are now able to breakout into international markets as well in a way their predecessors couldn’t quite. Burna Boy is currently on his first global run, Wizkid is recognised all around the world and 2019’s golden child, Rema is on an international tour within the first few months of his breakout.
So as the decade draws to an end, we’ve put together a list of all the breakout stars from this decade.
2010 – Wizkid
Breakout song: Holla At Your Boy
Notable Hits: “Don’t Dull”, “Ojuelegba”, “Soco”, “Baba Nla”, “Come Closer”, “Nowo”
https://youtu.be/Aw6IUBu5DBw
It took no time for Wizkid to become the massive star he is today, and that’s all thanks to his breakout song from 2010, “Holla At Your Boy”. When the song dropped, there was no real young artist filling the teenage heartthrob void in the Nigerian music scene, and this instantly made the chantable track a hit amongst young Nigerians, sparking the trend of colourful skinny jeans and plaid shirts we suffered for years.
By the time he dropped his follow-up single, “Don’t Dull”, it was too late for anyone to dispute his talent, and his star has been burning brightly since. Over the past decade, he continued to build on the success by starting his own record label, working with the biggest superstars in the world from Drake to Beyoncé and even rising to the top of the coveted Billboard Hot 100 chart with his feature on Drake’s “One Dance”.
2011 – Davido
Breakout Song: “Back When”
Notable Hits: Dami Duro, If, Aye, Fall, Fia, Skelewu, Assurance
Not very many people can pull off releasing only one studio album over the span of 8 years, but leave it to Davido to do this and still give us all the bangers nearly every year. When he first made his entry into the scene with the Naeto C-assisted “Back When”, the party starter established him as an artist to look out for.
While the song gained steady traction, it was his follow up single, “Dami Duro” that cemented his status as a hitmaker, and he hasn’t dropped the ball since. Every year since then, he has given us a hit that causes the same raucous on the dancefloor “Dami Duro” would almost a decade after release. In our Issue 002 cover, we spoke about his return back to basics, which has led to the global success he’s currently enjoying, with his album, ‘A Good Time’ already enjoying airplay after only a week of release.
2012 – Burna Boy
Breakout Song: “Like To Party”
Notable Hits: Soke, Ye, Dangote, Killing Dem, Anybody,
Burna Boy’s “Like to Party” had all the makings of a classic from the moment it was released, and the reception serves as a foreshadowing of Burna’s trajectory. When he first broke out, his self-assuredness was misconstrued for cockiness, and gave him a bit of a bad rap, however, he remained relevant by doling out a steady string of quality songs with staying power.
We witnessed him over the years testing out all the different genres as he built his signature sound and identity into what we know him to be today. His cover story on our birth issue tells the story about how Burna Boy took charge of his narrative in 2017, just before releasing ‘Outside’, the fuel to the fire of his current global acclaim.
2013 – Sean Tizzle
Breakout Song: “Sho Lee”
Notable Hits: “Perfect Gentleman”, “Loke Loke”, “Pempe”, “Kpro Kpro”
2014 – Lil Kesh
Breakout Song: “Shoki”
Notable Hits: “No Fake Love”, “Is It Because I Love You” “Lyrically”
YBNL unleashed Lil Kesh with a dance-themed single, “Shoki”, that saw him rise to mainstream acclaim with the remix, featuring Olamide and Davido. The song’s nasty lyrics were marketed to a specific audience that has blossomed to be known as the street, a set of fans still being served by artists like Naira Marley today.
The shock effect of Lil Kesh’s brash lyrics has worn off over the years, however, his reputation remains intact with singles like “Logo Benz” sustaining his crude and raunchy image. For extra measure, he has made sure to feature artists with similarly risqué lyric books like Zlatan and Naira Marley.
2015 – Ycee
Breakout Song: “Jagaban”
Notable Hits: “Juice”, “Omo Alhaji”, “Dakun”
Before he became the pop star he is today, Ycee started out as a rapper and earned fans’ respect with “Jagaban”, which became a popular slang after he released the song in 2015. He proved the song’s success wasn’t a fluke through his follow up single, “Omo Alhaji”, another well-accepted hit that confirmed rap fans of his penmanship and built on his reputation as a rapper. His versatile stint was initially perceived as a cute gimmick that allowed him to sing his own catchy hooks without needing a guest feature, but that was quickly rectified when he dropped “Juice” and took the industry by storm with the viral success the song enjoyed around the globe.
Though parting ways with his former label under unpleasant circumstance put Ycee in an awkward position with fans who had watched him grow into acclaim under the label, he has continued to dominate the music scene on his own terms. He just released his first project as an independent artist, ‘Ycce Vs Zaheer’, and his star power is maintained through the hit song from the new project, “Dakun”.
2016 – Mr Eazi
Breakout Song: “Skin Tight”
Notable Hits: “Legover”, “Pour Me Water”, “Surrender”
It’s hard to believe that it has only been 3 years since Mr Eazi’s breakout single, “Skintight”, took over the radio and created the foundation for what is now one of the biggest music careers in Africa today. The lightweight highlife melodies of his ‘banku music’ is groovy enough to serve dance floor audiences but also sultry enough to make him a fan favourite despite the initial backlash from Nigerian fans when he showed his preference for his Ghanaian influences in 2017. Two successful projects and world tours later, Mr Eazi has become the toast of the whole continent by taking charge of the tools streaming platforms provide and redefined how Nigerian music is distributed globally through his impressive streaming numbers around the world.
He has also earned the goodwill of fans by using the pull of his platform, Empawa to help promote other upcoming artists like Joeboy who’s currently having a good breakout year of his own.
2017 – Niniola
Breakout song: “Maradona”
Notable Hits: “Sicker”, “Bana”, Boda Sodiq”
Niniola charmed the pop world with “Maradona”. The afrohouse song satisfied Nigerians’ thirst for party music but also established Niniola’s confident personality through the lyrics that embodied her sexuality with careless abandon. Delivering sex-positive messages through Yoruba lyrics wasn’t something people generally associated with women in the Nigerian music scene but she broke the boundaries and has since continued to release sensually charged songs to keep dance floors steamy and sticky.
Her debut album, ‘This is Me’, showed her diverse range of influences from R&B to Reggae, but she has shown that she understands what fans want and followed the project with the more afrohouse tunes that make her a regular feature on DJ turntables at parties and on the lineup of big stage concerts.
2018 – Teni
Breakout Song: “Fargin”
Notable Hits: “Case”, “Askamaya”, “Billionaire”
It’s understandable to see how some would say Teni the Entertainer won over the music industry with the strength of her personality. Her charming sense of humour is reflected in everything she does like her cover story feature on issue 003 of our NATIVE magazine. But while her playful lyrics are catchy and relatable, her vocals are also quite impressive with standout performances on “Obe” and “Billionaire”.
Her fan base has continued to grow at a rapid pace and she took the initiative to go on a world tour earlier this year, where she performed in 3 continents, 9 countries and 20 cities before she had even released her first project. The tour seems to have helped her hone her craft so her music is taken more seriously as her latest single, “Billionaire”, shows immerse growth and maturity that establishes her staying power as a pop star.
2019 – Rema
Breakout Song: “Dumebi”
Notable Hits: “Boulevard”, “Lady”, “Spiderman”
Rema has proven that it doesn’t take long to leave your mark on the music world, particularly with all the social media tools of engagement available to us today. He was discovered through his freestyle videos on Instagram before he got signed to Mavins and scored the biggest hit of 2019, “Dumebi”. Releasing 3 EPs within the space of the year was already an impressive feat, but topping charts with each one shows the 19-year-old’s dominance as he continues to grow into a household name.
His sophomore tape, ‘Rema Freestyle’ has proven that he can create music that’s much more intricate and well-produced than the sultry Afropop hit that spun him into fame and earned him a spot on Barack Obama’s list of favourite songs from 2019. The angst-filled trap songs on the tape made him a staple for sad high-schoolers and provides a convenient bridge to appeal to American audiences and explore Nigerian music’s international allure as he embarks on a US tour that has been met with positive feedback.
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Best New Music: Ayra Starr Turns Youthful Swagger Into Sensual Elegance On “Hot Body”
On “Hot Body,” Ayra Starr sings with the relaxed certitude of a woman in command of her sexuality and...
All year, Ayra Starr’s music, visual aesthetic, and social media presence have shown us a new version of her. She seems to be outgrowing the teenager we met in 2021, and molding her grown woman identity right in our presence. In the video for “Gimme Dat,” her second single of the year, featuring Wizkid, we see the red convertible that featured on the cover for her 2024 album, ‘TYIT21,’ and extensively across music videos from that era being blown up into a crisp. It seemingly symbolised the end of one era and the birth of “Hot Body” and everything it represents.
When Ayra was introduced, her music explored themes tied to youth and the emotional fragility that comes with navigating that period of your life. The ‘19 and Dangerous’ era showed us a self-confident teenager who was sure of who she wanted to be. However, “Hot Body” signals something entirely different. Produced by Ragee with additional input from The Elements, it’s crystal clear from the first listen that Ayra is owning her allure and agency.
Employing a rhythm that feels retro-made for a cross between GRWM prep with the girls and sweaty dancefloor shifts, her vocal delivery feels almost like an incantation. It’s seductive. She’s fully in control of your gaze and even dictates what you do with it. On “Hot Body,” Ayra Starr sings with the relaxed certitude of a woman in command of her sexuality and space.
Her performance here is rife with context. Having graduated from teenage histrionics on ‘19 & Dangerous’ to the introspective, emotional maturity of her 2024 sophomore album, ‘The Year I Turned 21,’ Ayra Starr has grown not only in voice, but in message and presence. ‘The Year I Turned 21’ charted at No. 1 across DSPs in Nigeria and cracked the US Billboard 200, making her the first Nigerian female artist to enter that chart. This is a clear marker of her ascension into adulthood, and we can hear it in the music and see it in its visual accompaniment.
“Hot Body” feels like the logical next step after ‘The Year I Turned 21.’ Where that record explored vulnerability, grief, ambition, and identity, “Hot Body” distills the confidence born from that journey into a potent, sensual exhale. She’s no longer defining herself against the world; instead, she’s defining how the world should perceive her.
Lyrically, “Hot Body” is playful but bold, with just enough suggestion to feel grown and sexy without losing the thrill of young self‑discovery. Sonically, it’s sleek and minimalist, yet it’s brimming with the palpable charm of some of the best music of the 2000s–think Beyoncé and Sean Paul’s “Baby Boy” or Rihanna’s “Rehab.”
The rollout for the song matched its effortless energy. A snippet on TikTok and Instagram teased an accompanying dance to the song, and fans responded instantly, turning the anticipation into instant engagement. Capped at two minutes, it’s a release primed for our era of bite‑size virality: short, immediate, and boasting insane replay value.
Yet, what distinguishes “Hot Body” from many viral tracks is the assuredness of Ayra’s journey. She stormed charts with “Rush,” became the youngest Nigerian woman to surpass 100 million YouTube views, and earned a Grammy nomination for it–a badge of early achievement and youthful potential.
That youth is now transfigured. On “Hot Body,” Ayra embodies her new identity. What once sounded like a prophecy has become her reality: global collaborations, awards, stadium stages, modeling runways, and a major film role all fit into a broader canvas that her early self prayed for. “Hot Body” sits at the convergence of Ayra’s journey. It’s youthful swagger that has mutated into deliberate elegance; curious vulnerability solidified into mastery; and ambition shaped into ownership.
“Hot Body” is made for the dancefloor, but when you’re alone, it’s the perfect backdrop for the walk of recognition in a well-lit room as you give yourself flowers. Ayra tells us in this song that she knows who she is, what she looks like, and that’s enough.
Listen to “Hot Body” here.
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uNder: Best New Artists (July, 2025)
Our July edition features Danpapa GTA, Luwa.Mp4, BrotherKupa, and Andi K.
The conversations that keep coming up during our daily newsroom more often than not revolve around platforming the music we love and the communities that surround its wider culture. Very regularly, the music that excites our team reflects The NATIVE’s vision of being a bastion of music from parts of Africa and the Black diaspora. There are exciting acts from the ever-evolving Nigerian music underground, rappers experimenting with Dance Music and Hip-Hop from South Africa, as well as emotive singers whose work blurs the boundary between Hip-Hop and R&B.
Discovering these acts, being blown away by their skills, and sharing our community about them continues to excite us more than three years after we conceived this column as a platform to spotlight talents that represent all that’s exciting about African music. In a world where marketing budgets, ad spends, and PR placements continue to reshape the music landscape, uNder is still our way of raging against the system and spotlighting deserving acts whose works are vital to sustaining the creative spirit that makes African music indispensable. For our July entry, we have Danpapa GTA, Luwa.Mp4, BrotherKupa, and Andi K, a cohort that is united by a thrilling sense of freewheeling experimentation that is sure to serve them well as their career progresses. We hope you enjoy discovering them half as much as we enjoyed listening to their music and writing about them.
Luwa.Mp4
For Fans Of: Odunsi (The Engine), Naeto C, and Odd Future.
In many respects, Punk Rock and Hip-Hop share similarities. They are defiant artistic responses to being misunderstood or marginalized by wider society. They can be loud and abrasive, and center their creators’ angst or disquiet to the max. Fused, Punk Rock and Hip-Hop presents a whole new proposition, delivering a heightened sensory experience that shocks, jolts, and instantly demands attention. The most recent music by rapper and singer, Luwa.Mp4, channels the livewire edge of that fusion in his music, musing on topics from seeking freedom and peace as well as celebrating financial success while revealing a fascinating contradiction between the thunderous sonics of his music and the subtler thematic references he works with.
It’s all part of a process that has been in the work since the start of his career. Some of his earliest works, like the three-pack, “iLuwa,” with songs like “Goku” and “Revenge,” present a cyber abstraction of his music that is at once riotous and thrilling in its embrace of the macabre. Almost as though he’s aware of the trade-off between satisfying a diverse audience, the trap-influenced “Left-Right,” is an earnest anthem that reveals a layer of sensitivity to the singer born Ayooluwa Akindeji-Oladeji. That eternal struggle between his dystopian vision and the grounding human impulses has continued to influence and colour the margins of Luwa.Mp4’s work. He brought a twinge of acuity to 2022’s “Rage Anthem” with Jeremy Cartier, SportVVS, and Danielscoffin, showing that raging is a function of feeling first and foremost.
As prolific as he is genre-nonconformist, Luwa.Mp4 has experimented with Pop, Soft Rock, and Afropop across his career, displaying a preternatural ability for deconstructing sounds and reinterpreting them in his image. 2024’s “Don Gorgon,” a searing yearner’s anthem, set the stage for “Cython +,” a futuristic two-pack take on Afropop and Rock. Later that year, he released his debut album, ‘Trial & Error,’ referencing the frenzied nature of his releases and the genre-hopping that he has made a calling card. Still, ‘Trial & Error’ is not a random collection of loosies or B-side releases. Across 10 songs and 22 minutes, we are immersed in his life, his motivations, and the fits that catch his fancy. ”Imma show you what it really means for me to live like this,” he sings on “H OR H.” He has kept up his prolific streak in 2025, releasing two new extended plays, ‘lore skool’ and ‘lore skool; xtra crediT,’ that find new ways to memorialise his lifestyle while opening new lanes of expression for Luwa.Mp4. – W.O
Andi K
For fans of: Tyla, Elaine, and Tinashe
Andi K always wants you to move. Even with only a handful of singles released, it’s pretty obvious that the Atlanta-based, Congolese singer and dancer’s musical sensibilities are largely rooted in R&B, but it’s her choice of production that’s usually tailored for the dancefloor or, at the very least, suited for hip gyration. While her honeyed voice, smooth like silk, gives her music a lustrous feel, it’s the way she wields it across different dance-inspired beats that truly sets her apart.
On “All Night,” her first official release from early in 2020, she interpolates the famous melodies from Kevin Lyttle’s 2003 hit single “Turn Me On” over a groovy Dancehall-inspired beat. Her next appearance on a record wouldn’t come until two years later, when she collaborated with super producer Shizzi and WurlD on a single titled “Forever.” Even with only one single under her belt before this collab, she displayed a convincing proficiency alongside two seasoned acts that belied her limited experience. A few months later, she linked up with Atlanta-based producer Quantum Flash for “Ignite,” a House-inspired number that excels thanks to its minimalist groove and Andi K’s sweet harmonies.
Between 2023 and 2024, the singer released two solo singles: the Amapiano-influenced “Kiss” and “Don’t Let Me Go,” a slinky joint that consolidates elements of Afropop and R&B with seamless ease. This year, the singer has released two extra singles. “Ceilings,” which came out in early January, is arguably her most experimental release yet. It centres her rich Congolese heritage as she mixes the percussive Coupé-décalé with R&B and Afropop, making sure she keeps her listeners on their feet. Her latest single, “Amour,” is a tranquil addition to her catalogue. It’s also the closest she’s come to making a traditional R&B song, proving she’s just as proficient making bulletproof bops as she is delivering slow jams. – B.A
BrotherKupa
For Fans Of: Internet Girl, Blxckie, and Playboi Carti
It’s almost a given that new monarchs will rise with frequency in South African Hip-Hop. In the country that gave the continent rap stars like Cassper Nyovest, Nasty C, and A-Reece, Hip-Hop continues to co-exist with its dance variants. In rising star, BrotherKupa, the Rainbow Country has a new Hip-Hop hero who’s demanding attention for his exciting lyricism, tight-knit worldbuilding, and spastic flow. Taking inspiration directly from his experiences, the circumstances of his come-up, and how he navigates the unpredictable nature of life, BrotherKupa’s songs sound lived-in, boasting an interiority that’s informed by stuff he’s seen and heard of without being overburdened by the tough times.
He first emerged with a series of loosies and freestyles on SoundCloud around 2020. “SWGBCK” and “GOIN’ 2 HARD” laid bare the motivation for his grind: he just wanted to elevate himself and his family while looking fly. Those early dispatches were built of rattling percussions and fluid snares that platformed BrotherKupa’s voice as he worked his way to some sort of emotional catharsis on these songs. The singer started to come into his own on 2023’s “Motion in pain,” a shapeshifting thesis on pain that was bookended by ‘Worstfeelineva’ and ‘Worstfeelineva2.’ He experienced mainstream breakthrough with the release of 2024’s ‘Teen Revolution,’ a groundbreaking release for the singer who incorporated elements of spoken words, trap, and trance music into a coming-of-age arc that was packed with his thoughts on family, love, and working his way to the top of South African music.
He showcased his comfort with South African dance music on experimental releases like “GQOM FREESTYLE” and “Limpopo Freestyle,” setting the stage for the May release of “BEFORE THE WORST,” an eight-track release that picked up where ‘Teen Revolution’ stopped. It’s a freewheeling journey through the singer’s mind, motifs, and traumas, with specific highlights on “Today is a good day” and “Cups and Feels.” With back-to-back well-received projects, BrotherKupa is on an upward trajectory that shows no sign of stopping as he continues to excavate the minutiae details of his life for inspiration for a new generation hanging on his every word. – W.O
Danpapa GTA
For Fans of: July Drama, Minz, and Seyi Vibez
Describing Danpapa GTA’s music is no easy task. While many of the young singer and producer’s songs draw inspiration from Afropop, it’s the multitude of other influences he manages to infuse into his records that make them both unique and sometimes hard to pin down. Take “Oja” for example, the opener from his latest three-pack EP ‘Balenciaga kuti.’ The song opens up with these blaring horn arrangements that sound like it was put together by a brass band ensemble, before transitioning into a bouncy Afropop number with a slight psychedelic twist. “Vanity,” the project’s closing track, is also similar in its eccentricity. Think of those quick-fire flows that acts like Asake and Seyi Vibez popularised, over the sort of immersive and experimental production that the likes of Cruel Santino or Odunsi The Engine might favour.
Taking the reins of his music production, Danpapa GTA, born Akinlemibola Omotoyosi, has been able to craft tracks that are almost singular in their creation. Listening to his lean discography, which currently comprises two EPs and a few singles, is like watching a flower bloom in real time. After releasing a handful of loosies on his Soundcloud page, some of which feature prevalent samples from artists like Tems and anonymous American singer-songwriter Shiloh Dynasty, Danpapa GTA made his first official release in early 2024 with a five-track EP titled ‘Chanel.’ The project is defined by a slightly muted sound and the sort of eclecticism he only showed in bits on his earlier releases. Cuts like the title track, “Demonic,” which features Pilzee and “High Fashion Love” all excel thanks to GTA’s innovative singing and production.
Following the official release of his debut, Danpapa GTA put his foot on the gas, releasing a handful of other singles like “4G” and the short but extremely catchy “Pressure,” while also teasing multiple unreleased songs across his different social media accounts. In that timeframe, he also featured on a couple of tracks from similarly upcoming acts, broadening his oeuvre while also solidifying his reputation as a uniquely gifted act to keep an eye on. His recent three-pack, ‘Balenciaga kuti,’ continues his left-field sonic experimentation, as he looks to establish himself as one of the leading figures of this new wave of talented underground artists striving to leave their mark. – B.A
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Tiwa Savage Teams Up With Skepta For “On The Low”
The queen of Afrobeats’ latest single finally arrives with an elegant guest verse from British rapper and...
Tiwa Savage has released a new single titled “On The Low.” After teasing a snippet of her new release a couple of weeks ago, the queen of Afrobeats’ latest single finally arrives with an elegant guest verse from British rapper and producer Skepta, and it’s set to appear on ‘This One Is Personal,’ her fourth studio album, which is reportedly set for release on August 29, 2025.
The iconic singer has been promoting her forthcoming album for a few months now after first announcing it in April with a trailer video that saw Savage admiring nostalgic footage that cuts across her extensive career. She confirmed in press releases that this new project was about her reconnecting with her first love, stating that ‘I’m a ’90s R&B girl at heart.’
The album announcement was accompanied by the release of its lead single “You4Me,” a soulful ballad that cleverly works a snippet of Tamia’s 1998 classic “So Into You” into its orbit. “On The Low” continues Savage’s promise to return to the soulful R&B style that initially formed the bedrock of her sound. The two legends dovetail nicely over Rymez’s smooth production, as the UK MC’s typically sturdy and enunciated verses bookend a heartfelt performance from the award-winning singer.
‘This One Is Personal’ is set to arrive as Savage’s first album in almost five years. In the period since her last album and this upcoming one, she’s released a handful of singles like “Pick Up,” “100 Million,” and she’s also featured on standout tracks like “Toma Toma,” and “Awolowo (Remix).” Last year, she also released a soundtrack album for her debut motion picture ‘Water & Garri.’
Listen to “On The Low” here.
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