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10 hottest rappers of the year

Pulse Music puts together the hottest artistes from the genre in this calendar year, with huge emphasis on buzz, power moves, music, relevance and endorsements.

 

2015 has been the year of rappers domination, with Olamide leading the charts, Phyno flying the Eastern flag, and Falz emerging into a strong force to reckon with.

There have also been projects, albums, mixtapes, videos, and engaging conversations from Hip-hop, and the landscape of rap music shifting significantly to commercialisation.

Check on it below.

1. Olamide

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Olamide’s consistent hard work has been the underlying reason for his success. With 5 solo albums in 5 years and a joint-album with Phyno, the YBNL boss has kept his brand relevant as ever. The singles from the album have given him some of the biggest songs with ‘Bobo’, ‘Melo melo’, and ‘Lagos Boys’ dominating.

Also, Olamide has had a good run in label management, helping his protégés Lil Kesh and Adekunle Gold hit the ground running. This year has also seen him carry out major work for the brands Guinness and Etisalat. Olamide also signed up a new deal with sports gambling brand Surebet 24/7.

Concerts for Olamide has been sold out with a highly lucrative tour of the UK and other venues. To wrap up the year, he is planning the second edition of his conceptual concert ‘Olamide Live In Concert’.

No Nigerian rapper born of a woman has carried out this rapper’s feat after his studio album “Eyan Mayweather” was released. This has been a long time coming for Olamide. It all started in 2011 with his raw and unpolished debut album ''. The following year the kid from the slums of Bariga snatched rap music from the established Hip Hop kings with his dazzling street oriented sophomore '' in 2012.

In 2013, he slaughtered pretenders to his throne with his third album ''. In his tradition of dropping an album every year, Olamide released '' in 2014 where he flaunted the strength of his YBNL Empire.

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In April 2015 he solidified his alliance with the King of the East Phyno with the history making collaborative LP . The album was no , and even though a few cracks appeared it was enough to allow Olamide have the rap game in the chokehold.

Through sweat, hard work, tenacity and ambition, Olamide has been at the summit of the Nigerian rap game since 2012. Largely responsible for the explosion of indigenous rap, Olamide’s street raps delivered in Yoruba has made him unrivalled.

2. Phyno

The King of the East is in here with his profile maintained by hard work. 2015 had the singer releasing a joint studio album with Olamide his Western counterpart.

Also he dropped the visuals for ‘Oringo’, ‘Asai’, and ‘Nnunu’, before wrapping up in style with ‘Connect’, which has shaped up to become one of the hottest songs to round-off the year.

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Phyno kept up his end of the Guiness brand endorsement deal, and added a major scoop with the telco Airtel.

3. Falz

With comedy forming a strong part of his artistry, Falz has been able to utilise his teeming fan base eagerly consuming his music.

The rapper has had a number of good songs, with ‘Karashika’ forming an integral part of his sophomore album “ Stories That Touch” which is receiving credit as a solid conceptual work.

Endorsements have also come for the man, with online brands Cheki, and WebMall, signing him up to lucrative deals.

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4. Ice Prince

Ice Prince began the year with the release of an EP titled “Trash Can EP”. The songs contained a number of hot singles which rocked the airwaves. The 6-track EP contains a number of songs with commercial appeal, produced by TMXO, Monstar, Drey Beatz, and T-Sleek. Notable tracks include ‘Mutumina’, ‘Elegushi’ and ‘Marry you’.

With the project out of the way, Ice Prince settled into life, with star collaborations on all fronts, before releasing his hit single ‘Boss’, which has gotten every club ancing.

It was a good day for Nigerian music when the iconic photo of Rap mogul Jay Z, and Chocolate City’s Ice Prince made its way to the internet.

Here was a man who 10 years ago, was in the throes of poverty in Jos, right next to one of the greatest rappers ever and CEO of Roc Nation in New York. Ice Prince had stopped by to have meetings on partnering with streaming service TIDAL. The fruits of this meeting came in when the rapper became the first African to premiere his video ‘Boss’, on the platform. Ice Prince later stopped by the world’s biggest Hip-hop show ‘Breakfast Club, on Power 105.1.

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Also, Ice Prince became a Vice President of Chocolate City in 2015, after the departure of Audu Maikori, and the promotion of M.I abaga.

5. Reminisce

The Edge Records rapper came good this year with the release of his third studio album “Baba Hafusa.”

Containing decent tracks including ‘Skilashi’, ‘Baba Hafusa’ and others the rapper showed a lyrical consistency in keeping with the indigenous sector.

Reminisce was also responsible for one of the most heated conversations on Nigerian Hip-hop, when he appeared to pitch traditional English-spitting rappers against the indigenous folks with the single ‘Local Rappers’, featuring Olamide and Phyno.

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Endorsements this year for the man has been rewarding, with a roll-over of his Samsung deal, and the addition of fresh income via signing a deal with alcoholic beverage Orijin.

6. Vector

Vector had a comeback year in 2014 which saw him release one of the hottest Hip-hop records of the year, ‘King Kong’.

Such was the rapper’s growth and industry, that he was signed up by classy cognac brand Hennessy, as one of the headliners of their yearly music fiesta, Hennessy Artistry.

The rapper has further consolidated his success with the buzzing singles ‘Kanawa Dabo’, and ‘8’. A failure to drop an album this year might have blighted his story, but he came good on a personal merchandising level, by launching the clothe brand Inoki Republic.

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7. M.I Abaga

M.I carried into the year promoting his acclaimed “Chairman” album. But his year took a new turn with the merger of his personal record label, Loopy Music, with his parent imprint, Chocolate City.

M.I was made CEO of the new Chocolate City, where he was instrumental in the release of the best album of 2015, “The Indestructible Choc Boi Nation.”

On the endorsement front, the rapper was signed up by liquor brand, Martell.

8. Lil Kesh

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There has to be credit given to Lil Kesh, who maintained his momentum from 2014 into this year. He has kept up the faith placed in him by YBNL boss Olamide, by delivering on many fronts. His singles, ‘Gbese’, and ‘Efejoku’, made a quick transition into hits.

Also Lil Kehs’s efforts at collaborating is exemplary, as he had a hand in certain good songs of 2015 including Iyanya’s ‘Okamfo’, and the controversial ‘Ladi’ single.

9. Illbliss

Boss of the Ludus, Illbliss has had a good year with the release of his third studio album “#Powerful,” which has been rated as one of the best albums of 2015 by Pulse Music.

The project spun good singles including the celebrated jams ‘Chukwu Agozigo gi’, ‘WTF’, and ‘Many men’ with Wizkid.

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10.Naeto C

Rapper Naeto C had been written out of the music game for a while now after a string of unimpressive singles. It seemed the man known as Super C was gently bowing out of the game.

On August 14, the rapper dropped a surprise body of work (which he now calls an mixtape). The album which boasts of 12 tracks sees Naeto C reset his style and re-introduce his cool flow of rap that made many people love him in the beginning.

With a concise and encouraging 12-tracks (skit inclusive), “Day 1” sees Naeto C return to the basics of his art. Way before he experienced the disruptive influences of Nigerian pop sounds, and commercial African drum patterns. This is Naeto C, celebrating his primary skills as an MC.

Also he rapper went one better with the release of another studio album “Festival”, which had all the good vibes to go with it.

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A year of comeback, is also a hot year for Super C.

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