Pulse Selection: Here are the 20 best contemporary Nigerian love songs
While the October 1 takes the cake in the land of performative occasions, February 14 is a close second.
Pulse Selection: Here are the 10 best contemporary Nigerian love songs. (Pulse Nigeria)
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The day to make mega love statements and convince that your lover/partner to forget the times you forgot to pick up the dry cleaning. More importantly, it's the day for nostalgia while we pretend to love each other in a country torn by tribal, political and religious divides. While the October 1 takes the cake in the land of performative occasions, February 14 is a close second.
While some have been showing off on social media, some are stuck in the belly of wishful thinking, wondering why they turned that guy down or broke up with that girl. For that, some are blaming their village people while others will drown their loneliness in alcohol as the day pulls to a close. Nonetheless, Pulse got you - whatever the divide you fall into.
We will offer music to soundtrack amorous excursions and distract the loneliness of some. Mostly, the songs are nostalgic and might remind of an experience. While a lot of people will enjoy this music, others will curse Pulse for giving them music that trigger love-filled memories in their lonely states - that's fine too. We will be your punching bag for the culture.
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As this writer tries to forget the possibility of getting cursed by the people he seeks to help, let's just get to the songs;
20) Banky W - Strong Ting
Look, call it sentiment or whatever, but this song was both amazing and transcendent. Although it came at a time that was more friendly to sounds like it, that production hit a chord with the Nigerian mainstream. The language of delivery didn't really matter and the song went nuclear. That recorder... Lord.
19) MI Abaga - One Naira
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On his 2010 magnus opus, MI2: The Movie, MI Abaga morphed into the prime loverboy, spitting raw, amorous bars with the 'wash' of a Yoruba demon. And they say Lagos doesn't influence people...
18) Davido - IF
At the 2018 Headies, this song was named the song of the year. What's funny about it is that, despite its success, most people don't realize it's a love song - well, it is. It also birthed a culture moment that now typifies existential riches, '30 Billion' or '30 BG.'N
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17) Odunsi (The Enginer) featuring Tay Iwar and Funbi - Desire
Wait first, why was this song not nominated at the 2018 Headies? Even though it was majorly popular amongst the elitist group called alté, anybody who listened felt the magic at first listen. It also interpolates a classic Baba Dee song. This was an important moment in Nigerian pop culture.
16) Wizkid - On To Your Matter
Again an like 'IF,' a lot of people didn't realize this song was a love song - yes, even with its wedding-themed video. Pop sounds blurs things, bro. I really don't blame them. But then, during a slightly tough period, it carried Wizkid. Asides that, the song also became an entrance theme for Nigerian weddings.
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15) Olamide - Melo Melo
Olamide is not one of the greatest Nigerian artists ever for naught - the man transcends the rap game. He is like the Nigerian version of Drake - he makes music across genres and gets acclaim across board. When he released Eyan Mayweather, nobody expected Olamide to make a rock song. However, he made it, it banged and the mother of his children was happy.
14) Faze - Need Somebody
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During a time which Nigeria was going through a sonic disruption to find its 'pop' sound, Faze was a feature. His first two solo albums, Faze Alone and Independent were commercially successful and critically acclaimed. However Independent - his sophomore album - was that moment. One of its hits was a Reggae-based love song titled, 'Need Somebody.'
What a moment.
13) Reminisce - Ponmile
While some might argue this song as 'not a love song,' it is a love song. Its mode of expression just happens to be heartbreak or the possibility of it. It was at this moment that Reminisce sealed his place as an artist that transcends genres. This is an R&B record - simple.
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12) Sean Tizzle - Jalolo
Produced by Blaq Jerzee, it will forever be baffling how this song failed to relaunch Sean Tizzle's career. It was so beautiful and resonant. More so, its hook is something that's very popular in Yorubaland and Lagos. But that beat, which sounds like something that accompanies a human sacrifice in cold Ekiti State, is amazing.
11) Wande Coal - Ololufe
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While this was released on Curriculum Vitae, the only collaborative album on the now defunct Mo'Hits Records, it was also added to Wande Coal's classic debut album, Mushin To Mo'Hits.
Again, it was never a hit - in the strict sense of a hit, but it outlived all the hits on both albums in relevance and spins. It also found a place with couples who wanted to be cool at their weddings.
10) Flavour - Ada Ada
In 2013, Flavour had gained a reputation as an electric stage performer. But you see, this song took his reps to another level entirely. He found the bridge between patriarchal admiration and attractive softness that women cherish.
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If you remember, there was a video on social media around the same time where a couple made the entrance to their wedding reception to the song. It made everyone gush and feel their heartbeats pump. However, the hard guys remained hard.
9) P Square - More Than A Friend
On their 2008 album, Game Over , P Square took the game to another level. At the time, what stood out to people was the quality of its video and choreography performed in the video. But over time, one realizes that this songwriting on this song was peerless.
8) Simi - Joromi
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Simi is like your girl next door with the voice of your girl next door. When she makes a catchy and resonant song from the perspective of a smitten yet shy teen, something was bound to happen. While Simi had been threatening to break down the doors for a minute, this was a moment. And boy, did she own it?
This was the first moment on a award-winning album, Simisola.
7) P Square - Onyinye
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When this song was released, P Square was starting to reduced in reputation and virality. Nonetheless, a prince will always have his royalty. 'Onyinye' was a moment in pop culture for carrying a Rick Ross verse, but the streets know 'Onyinye' was a dedication to the average African woman.
Its beat was something P Square found a way to own. At a time that 'Yoruba demon' became a description for philandering Yoruba boys, P Square promised marriage and the game changed - well, not really.
6) Lagbaja - Nothing For You
When Ego was Lagbaja's partner in crime, incredible things happened. The greatest moment of their collaboration was 'Konko Below,' but something else happened during that period. When Lagbaja released We and Me Part II in 2000, Lagbaja disrupted the love-based music market with the anthem of a 'Sugar Daddy.'
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On the one hand, it seemed like the tales of an aristo, but on the other hand, it seems like socio-political chatter told from the perspective of a mature, love-sprung man. He refused to take no for an answer, and at the end of the day, he got the positive result his persistent deserved. What a song.
5) Styl Plus - Olufunmi
In 2018, Lucid Lemons hosted Lemon Curd at Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island, Lagos. The headlining acts were Styl Plus. While the show ran into 3:00 am in the morning and people were already tired, when Styl Plus were announced, everyone got up to their feet and rocked to their classic tunes. Chief of which was, 'Olufunmi.'
In December 2019, Zlatan held his first headlining show at Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Styl Plus were his final guest acts. The result was the same when they performed, 'Olufunmi.' People in the VIP section left their belongings and got on their seats - it was a wildness.
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But that's about the virality and resonance of 'Olufunmi.' Let's get to its quality - built on a fast-paced pop beat, the song features a man leaving his 'masculinity' behind while he bore his heart on his sleeve to speak his heart. On the hook, the man asked the woman to never leave him - it doesn't get wilder than that.
4) Sunny Neji - Oruka
What makes this song special is that, it was so good, it gave Sunny Neji his second moon at a time Nigerian pop started to come into its own. It was a wedding reception entrance theme song before wedding reception entrance theme song. In its video, it also portrayed black men as faithful - So remember, black men don't cheat.
3) Paul Play - Angel of My Life
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When legendary producer, Paul Play who inspired Ruggedman to start using resonant and relatable language in Hip-Hop took on making R&B records, nobody saw this coming. On his 2007 LP, Hitsville he created a viral moment that permeated the reaches of Nigerian music. While the beat had a bop, it wasn't really stuff of dance floors or club nights - but it became just that.
Asides that, the song became a common feature of Alaba DJ Mixes and 'selection' CDs. As such, the reps of Paul Play crossed over into our time from the early days. On the song, Paul Play immortalizes a woman on sounds and in words. If this song was released today, people would have added it to their 'sex playlists.'
2) D'Banj - Fall in Love
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When legendary music producer, Don Jazzy visited Loose Talk Podcast for an interview in 2019, he told the hosts what led to this song. Apparently, P Square were friends with their Mo'Hits counterparts. In Nigeria, they were both theoretically 'big.' D'Banj was also very international and he had won an MTV European Music Award at the time.
However, in Africa, P Square would go on tout to African countries and sell-out stadia and make girls faint. When Don Jazzy asked how they were doing it, they confessed that they discovered the power and use of resonant love songs. For that reason, Don Jazzy made D'Banj record love songs. What became the result was resonance with African markets - everything changed.
When its video starred Nollywood star whom Piers Morgan called, 'The Julia Roberts of Africa,' everything wen nuclear. But the best part of the song wasn't just its kwaito-based beat, it was the songwriting and the vocal experimentation by Wande Coal and Don Jazzy at the end of the song.
1) 2Face - African Queen
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Argue or don't, that's your problem. However, this is the first genuine hit of the Nigerian contemporary pop era. In 2004, Nigerian pop was coming off heavy influence and dominance by Hip-Hop-based records. But what followed was an era of disruption as Nigeria attempted to find its pop sound.
Reggae was experimented with and even R&B records became hits. While Hip-Hop still made a comeback in the late 2000s, the disruption ended when the pop sound was found in 2006. In 2003, 2Face was coming off he back of a broken group and began his solo career under Kennis Music. His former bandmate, Blackface - an accomplished songwriter - penned the song.
What followed was the most important R&B record of Nigerian contemporary times. 2Face didn't just kill the record with lyrical dabbles by poetic deliveries, he bore his heart and used words to conjure the power of Eros. The song then transcended the shores of Nigeria into a bonafide urban moment.
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