Top 10 zanku songs featuring Wizkid Burna Boy, Zlatan, Danny S, Niniola and Olamide

They were still in the ‘street dance school’ at owanbe parties or at clubs trying to get schooled for shaku shaku when we started begging the self-acclaimed proponent of another movement, ‘Zlatan Abeg Nor Kill Us,’ which apparently became the meaning behind the supposed acronym that is ‘ZANKU,’ the Agege-born viral craze that keeps sweeping through Nigeria like a hurricane. GBESE!

As the dance gains more notoriety, it is then important to commend the songs that are soundtracks to this movement. For this purpose, Pulse had curated a list of 10 songs that perfectly celebrate this viral dance trend from when it started, but are still relevant now and they are;

Brainee featuring Zlatan Ibile, Chinko Ekun & DJ Spinall – Gbese

An infectious tune that is slowly but surely finding its way into the hearts of culture-inclined Nigerians and zanku aficionados. Its original version was good, but its remix looks set to catapult it into the realms Brainee probably dreams of.

Danny S – Oh My God

After the success of ‘Ege,’ Danny S returned with a crazier jam with a crazier hook like his burgeoning underground reputation represents.

For radio stations, clean versions of songs like this are a hit, but with street DJs, they are even bigger.

Flex B – Umbele

An underground madness for the culture of zanku and Mainland, Lagos. Although released a short while before zanku began its authoritative run, and enjoyed some of that shaku shaku, the earlier days of zanku did this song some real good things.

Niniola featuring Sarz – Designer

It’s not quite certain that Niniola and Sarz intended this song for the zanku trend when it was released, but with zanku being the only dance Nigerians can perform at the moment and the song being dope like a plate of ofada rice with blended stew heavy on remnants of boiled fish, ponmo and the insides of a cow or goat, that was the inevitable result.

The beat is a textbook-Sarz vibe laced with some akuba drums.

DJ Tunez – Turn Up featuring Wizkid and Reekado Banks

Another song destined not destined for zanku per se, but ended up being the result. While it is slightly slower than the textbook zanku songs, the song is will make you shake every last muscle in your body like you caught an electric wave.

Zlatan featuring Lil Kesh – Jogor

The first major zanku showcase to the mainstream – at least, relatively. The beat ran mad with a fresh production and the celebration of lewdness on a double from Lil Kesh’s verse and zanku that was not more than a subculture or inner-city culture at the time.

Zlatan - Zanku (Legwork)

Stand Up! The zanku anthem the world over, with a video that conveys some of its originality – at least as a reserved part of a now mainstream culture.

The power of the song can be felt from the first line off it. The major power on this song though was the second layer/adlib/hypeman behind every rhythmic chant of ‘zanku.’

Although, it has since given way to other songs, but its status remains unshaken in the industry.

Olamide - Woske

Killertunes had a stellar 2018 run, but his blend of electronic music, slight hints of EDM (from its strings) and shepeteri reps was initially met with some sort of skepticism outside intimate circles of Badoo’s core fanbase – it was a new move and people did not know how to react.

They also criticized the white suit and choreography scenes of the video. Fast forward, February 2019 happened, Nigerians remembered they’d always loved the song and the rest has since been history. After the song that heads off this list, it has to be the second most ‘zankufied’ song of 2018.

Burna Boy featuring Zlatan - Killin’ Dem

This one simple had to happen. Burna had the best run of 2018 and Zlatan had the second strongest run during the final quarter of 2018. The first time we saw Burna and Zlatan doing this ‘zanku ting’ in what looked like a hotel room, we knew we had another problem.

The noise started rumbling and the wait couldn’t be longer until the song finally dropped one midnight in the final week of December 2018.

There and then, the story was sealed as it had representation from both sides of the spectrum equally represented on one song - bridging a gap. Of course, Zlatan had helped Burna Boy reach some power in his Zanku hustle.

To cut the long story short, Burna performed the song on the Coachella stage in the early parts of Monday, April 15, 2019 and he did the ‘Zanku moonwalk’ of which Poko Lee would be proud.

Chinko Ekun featuring Lil Kesh and Zlatan - Able God

A soundtrack. An anthem that didn’t need representation from any side to appeal to people across borders. In fact, all it ever needed was its very catchy hook, “Able God shower your blessing, we want this money…” and the rest has since been history.

While this song did not have a long reign, it was soundtrack to the entire festive period in Nigeria - a peak of zanku appeal where everyone wanted to learn it or ‘carry last’ concerts.