10 best Nigerian Mixtapes and EPs of the year

Not everyone can release an album to express the full spectrum of their creativity. But Extended Plays and Mixtapes can capture it.

Often heralded as the true soul of a country’s music, Nigerian artiste kept it pure and nonconformist in 2016 as they flooded our spaces with projects which capture their artistry and musical essence.

Falz & Simi – “Chemistry”

Falz and Simi marks this era with a project that will linger through time as a work inspired by creativity and passion, rather than the pressures of business. There’s no classic, stop-everything track to grab to you by the heartstrings. Then again, ‘Chemistry’ (comes close enough – which is closer than anyone else is likely to come before the year is up).

This EP is a celebration of a working relationship that people spend a lifetime trying to find and hold on to. It’s a fulfilling win for Falz, Simi, and everyone who played a role in making this happen. It’s more than lightening striking twice on the same spot. It is happiness, friendship and emotion delivered as art.

M.I Abaga – “Illegal Music 3”

This is the final work on the Illegal Music series, and M.I Abaga went for morose reflection. In eight years M.I has either led the pace or been one of the strong forces of the Nigerian rap movement. In some corners, he is said to be a legend.

IM3 confirms what everyone knows about M.I. Stripped of commercialism and conformist tendencies, he is Africa’s most talented rapper. Through this brilliance in poetry and wordplay, he creates a record of depressing instrospection, desperate egotistical reassurance, and fairly altruistic sermons (when you can strip it of all the rampant paranoia).

IM3 by M.I is best described as that most brilliant kid in class, sadly complaining that on the playground, he is not accorded enough recognition for what happens in the classroom.

Seun Kuti – “Struggle Sounds EP”

Seun Kuti who is sufficiently vocal about the Nigerian government on social media and every other platform is really popular for his affiliation with conscious music – A genre that was pioneered by his father, Fela Anikulakpo Kuti.

The Afrobeat torchbearer releases this conscious effort backed by Egypt 80, the band he took over from his father, Fela, that has stayed loyal to him. The new EP was co-produced by Robert Glasper, who also did production work for Seun’s last album “A Long Way To The Beginning.”

Sonically warm and immersive, “Struggle Sounds” EP marks another high point for a band that keeps up its role as our society’s conscience, the mouthpiece of the African struggle, and in many ways God’s very voice on earth.

Davido – “Son Of Mercy” EP

Davido is lacking a single home anymore. The Nigerian superstar singer in the past year has seen his music business expand to include HKN Music, Davido Music Worldwide, Sony Music Entertainment, and RCA Records.

A huge part of “Son Of Mercy” was recorded in the US studio that Shizzi have relocated to, and it is from that place that they have had countless sessions to produce music reflecting Davido’s current stage in his career.

And they have done a good job, really, as the inspiration for the project appears balanced: somewhere between experimental and familiar, but weirdly satisfying. Perhaps they should’ve called it “Son Of Transition”.

Ozzy B (Santi) – Suzie’s Funeral EP

Ozzy B finally and fully embraces Santi in the highly anticipated project "Suzie’s funeral". Santi takes us on a musical journey as he blends and fuses different genres to create his own sound. Santi is a well-known artist amongst the younger generation of Nigerians and has dropped two projects in the past.

“Suzie’s funeral” shows Santi’s versatility as he fuses his unique sound with different and various genres of music. The project also maintains its Monster Boy roots as the Monster Boy collective did most of the production, a group consisting of Santi, Bankyondabeatz, GMK and Genio Bambino. The beauty about this project is the pure fact that it represents a strong statement about the next generation of artist coming from Nigeria.

Milli – “Don’t Ask Me What Happened” EP

From Surulere in Lagos, we have a man whose music is being created to be bigger than himself, larger than instant gratuity, and speaking for more than the need to be true to oneself. Milli speaks for art, bleeds for it, cries for it and f*ucks it hard. That’s why the past two years of his life has been a steady rush from base level to his well-chronicled discontent.

M.I Abaga’s executive objections about Milli’s sound might still resonate in some quarters, but by staking everything on his new movement, Milli is fighting a war that is bigger than his story; he wants to prove that these sounds can be accepted, enjoyed and made pop. Art should express and be embraced, not adulterated and fettered. Milli’s art leads the way for this fight, and “Don’t Ask Me What Happened” is both the battle cry, and the first blow.

Moelogo – “Ireti” EP

“Íréti” comes in 2016 as a fitting opener to his year. Moelogo, who possesses a rich flexible versatile voice, starts off with some refreshing synth and kicks where he croons about giving love to his love interest. Some stimulating horn arrangements launch ‘’ which swiftly becomes a prayer and thanksgiving. There’s a shrewd fusion of joyful percussion fused over claps, and drum patterns. That gives a cool vibe, on a topic that many will embrace.

The project gets its title from the Yoruba word for "hope"—a sentiment that serenades all over the final song ‘Ireti’ a triumphant power ballad which would sit at home in Nigeria. That’s the point of the EP, as Moelogo himself says to American publication The Fader magazine: "This Ìréti EP is all about hope—having faith, not believing in failure and just having a positive outlook on life, despite whatever reality you're faced with," Moelogo explained.

Eclipse – “City Of Dreams”

Getting mainstream attention is a dream of every rapper, and Eclipse is no different. That’s how the man would find fulfilment in his lifeblood which is currently tied to Aboriginal Records. With a number of singles and collaborations, competition victories and recordings, the rapper who began his journey into Hip-hop 10 years ago drops “City of Dreams”.

If ever there was one right way to make an EP, Eclipse has that secret formula. He digs into the right syllabus, reached deep into his very essence and came out with a project worth more than he even imagines it is. This good music through and through. And a great win for Hip-hop.

D-Truce – “Eden” EP

“I was barely thirteen and my mom and Dad had just split…” reveals D-Truce on ‘1 Day’. In his debut EP – “Eden” – the rapper, singer, songwriter, and part time tech-head makes it easy for us to walk through his mind and capture the various ways in which it changes, and the events that led up to that change. Aside from making music to satiate the hunger for expression he carries, this is an invitation to see the world from his eyes, walk in his shoes, and engage his music from a personal perspective.

It’s not just the deepest and sincerest feelings that D-Truce touches. ‘Lagos Funk’ has tinges of House music in its blustering hedonism, complete with wild drumming and basic lyrics. The production, too, is largely crisp and glimmering, adding a high-tempo gild to a debut that breathes life using imagery and personal stories.

Bella - "2.0: Lucid Dreaming"

Bella comes through with the EP titled "Lucid Dreaming 2.0" following her debut self-titled EP "Bella".

The 'Revolutionary' rapper drops this project having released two impressive warm-up tracks 'Alhaji money', a braggadocious tune and 'Myself' a reflective sober track where she expresses her challenges coming up as a rapper.