Here are the 18 most anticipated Nigerian albums of 2021

Nigerian music saw releases from all the A-listers in 2020. By 2021, the A-listers didn’t release any albums, barring Olamide and Tiwa Savage. 

With the break in 2021, 2022 promises to be packed and loaded with releases. With the country back to being an album market, as streaming means that artists stand to make more money with more tracks, we are likely to see some interesting movements. 

Here are the most anticipated Nigerian albums of 2022;

Kizz Daniel

Title: Afro Classic

Possible release: Q2

Released under: Flyboy/EMPIRE

In 2021, Daniel released his fourth body of work with Barnabas. He might have sailed under the radar, but he had a strong year. 

Despite its bogus title, ‘Afro Classic,’ Daniel has never dropped an average body of work. Word on the street says this one is going to be a madness. Already, he’s been spotted with Buju and Wande Coal in recent days. 

Wande Coal

Title: Not at liberty to share

Possible release: Q2 [Possibly]

Released under: Black Diamond/Empire

This album has been ready since 2021, but ‘Come My Way’ dropped instead. Timing is the only probable reason why it hasn’t dropped. In Coal’s career, he’s released two albums and one EP, Realms - which was a disaster. However, this album has some impressive cuts and it has range. 

Marlian Group Album

Title: Unknown

Possible release: Unknown

Released under: Unknown

File this under the ‘probable’ section. Nobody knows if it’s going to happen, neither do we know that it’s even a possibility. However, Naira Marley and his boys move like a crew and they’ve done everything right until this moment. In the life of crews, it’s important to drop a group album to cement the moment. YBNL missed its moment, but Marlian is unlikely to miss its own. 

Naira Marley

Title: Unknown

Possible release: Unknown

Released under: Marlian Music

Naira Marley is a superstar of Nigerian music, who charges upper eight figures per show. He also has the catalogue to hold a show. While he released Lord of Lamba in 2019, an album is still missing from his catalogue. He needs to move fast and seal his moment. A legacy without quality bodies of work is incomplete. 

Chike 

Title: Brother’s Keeper

Possible release: Q1

Released under: TBD

Ladies and gentlemen, Chike has been Nigeria’s surprise package; an outlier who became a star and started making millions every weekend. Boo of The Booless has finally peaked as an album, and its follow-up is done and dusted. 

Trust me when I tell you that it’s another quality album. 

Buju

Title: TBD

Possible release: Q3

Released under: TBD

Buju was Nigeria’s MVP in 2021. He could have had a Wande Coal-esque 2009 moment. All he had to do was release a potential classic. But he didn’t. 

While Sorry I’m Late is top quality, close associates say that his real bangers are reserved for his next album. It’s unlikely to drop before Q3, but the album might be needed. 

Simi

Title: TBD

Possible release: Q3

Released under: Studio Brat/Platoon

Simi’s last album was 2019’s Omo Charlie Champagne. It was a follow-up to the classic Simisola. In 2020, she released the amazing conceptual victory, Restless II. 

2021 was not her greatest year, after ‘Woman’ and ‘So Bad’ didn’t make the grade. Ordinarily, one would expect SImi to release an album or EP this year. It’s almost a no-brainer. The key problem is how she adapts to a change in sound. 

Asa

Title: TBD

Possible release: Q3

Released under: TBD

Asa’s last album was 2019’s LUCID. It wasn’t a bad album, but it wasn’t great either. It felt regular and even expected. This predicated an argument that Asa needs something different. She’s been working on it. 

She recently released a single with The Cavemen. Clues point to a 2022 album. 

Omah Lay

Title: TBD

Possible release: Q1

Released under: KeyQaad/Warner

In Omah Lay’s short career, he has released two EPs. In 2021, there was talk of an Omah Lay album, possibly featuring Wizkid. 

But he instead released two singles, including ‘Understand.’ Earlier on January 11, 2022, Valo, the CEO of KeyQaad, to which Omah Lay is signed, posted on his Instagram page, that he was working on two projects to be released in Q1. 

It aligns with the argument that Omah Lay’s could be one of them, while the other belongs to Kaestyle, a singer and producer, whom the label signed in 2021. 

Fireboy

Title: TBD

Possible release: Q1

Released under: KeyQaad/Warner

In Fireboy’s young career, he has released two impressive albums - one of which will go down as a certified classic. Still, he’s been relentless. Throughout 2021, he made several announcements about the completion of the album. He even described the album as the completion of his trifecta and teased an Asa collaboration. 

In 2021, he released ‘Peru,’ which is currently the buzzing record for Afrobeats in the diaspora, aided by its Ed Sheeran co-sign. 

Tems 

Title: TBD

Possible release: Q3

Released under: RCA

In Tems’ short career, she has blazed trails and achieved unprecedented feats. She has also released two EPs. But during a Q&A in 2021, she revealed that she has a Wizkid feature on her forthcoming debut album. 

Her last EP seemed like an experiment, but the album needs to sound like a maturation, which might put its release in doubt. However, a hit single could totally change everything. 

Adekunle Gold

Title: Afro Pop Vol. 2

Possible release: Q1 

Released under: Platoon

Adekunle Gold’s transition into a pop star has been nothing short of remarkable. The father of one already released Afro Pop Vol. 1, which will be his 808s and Heartbreaks. But Vol. 2 is even better. 

You want to wait for this one. 

Yemi Alade

Title: TBD

Possible release: Unknown

Released under: Effyzie

Queendoncom was a better offering and ‘Fire’ was an amazing record, but it wasn’t enough. Yemi Alade desperately needs a paradigm shift in sound and approach, and echoes from her camp suggest that she knows it. This album is definitely one to anticipate. 

She did a madness with an R&B track on Sess’s EP. 

Tiwa Savage

Title: TBD

Possible release: Unknown

Released under: Motown South Africa

Ms. Savage’s last EP was an amazing switch into her graceful years. Records like ‘Tales By Moonlight’ and ‘Ade Ori’ and ‘Work Fada’ are particularly impressive records. 

But going forward, Ms. Savage could want to continue on the same path, which has worked fantastically. 

Whatever it is, you can trust this writer that it’s going to be a madness. She has been working on some amazing records. 

Davido

Title: TBD

Possible release: Unknown

Released under: Columbia UK

A lot of people think Davido struggled in 2021, but numbers suggest otherwise. For one, he featured on two hits and one big record. But Davido is at his most efficient when he has a point to prove, and he does have a point to prove. 

Word on the street says that he might have a Drake feature on his new album. 

Burna Boy 

Title: OUTSIDER

Possible release: Unknown

Released under: Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic

In 2021, many suggested that Burna Boy didn’t release a new album because his friend and brother, Wizkid was due a run at the Grammys. While that’s plausible, his three singles didn’t hit the mark for whatever reason. 

Nonetheless, the Grammy winner looks to be coming in 2022. 

Wizkid

Title: More Love, Less Ego

Possible release: Q2 

Released under: Starboy/RCA UK

The EP title is a thumbs up to his current motto. Word on the street even suggests that he’s now cool with Davido. But whatever the case is, we anticipate this album. 

Made In Lagos is a classic. 

Rema 

Title: Raves and Roses

Possible release: Unknown

Released under: Jonzing/MAVIN

Despite releasing three EPs within his first eight months as an artist, Rema has been pretty quiet on the project front for two years. In 2021, his singles didn’t exactly hit the mark, even though they were far from under the radar. 

But in his generation, he probably needs an album more than anybody. And the album has to be top quality, because he established the standards.