(Top 10) We`ve wrapped up 2020 and we are still bringing back memories of the amazing times in the Nigerian music industry, Every year we are entertained with wonderful music from our Artistes, The newbies and heavyweights and 2020 was no different despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Out of these artistes, a few stand out and in this article, Tooxclusive would be highlighting Top 10 Nigerian Artistes of 2020 in descending order. Peep the hot sauce below!!

Top 10 Nigerian Artistes Of 2020

10. Bella Shmurda

Fine boy Bella had everyone screaming the track “Vision 2020” on the top of their lungs and in 2020, he gave fans more anthems to chant. The singer opened up the year with the iconic debut EP, “High Tension” which houses a couple of hits like “Sho Mo Mi,” “Ginger Me” and “Omnipotent”. The body of work received race reviews as Bella gave listeners a soulful representation of his harsh reality from struggling with adulthood, pressure from family and friends, and the reality of adulting.

The singer went on to release “Dangbana Orisa” before working with Davido & Olamide on the tracks “Fade” and “Triumphant” off their albums respectively. Towards the end of the year, the singer released the mega hit tune, “Cash App” which features Zlatan and Lincoln. His achievements in the year 2020 made him a household hold name and also a nomination for the Next Rated award alongside other new wave of artistes.

9. Tiwa Savage

After singing with one of the biggest record labels in the world in 2019, Tiwa Savage released her debut single, “49-99” which rocked the music space even till now. To further document her name as on the greatest Nigerian acts ever, the singer released her first single of the year 2020 “Dangerous Love” alongside captivating visuals that documents the true beauty of the African woman and also a ”˜relationship` with a guy that really doesn`t deserve her time or attention. She knows that he is toxic for her but she gambles with her heart anyway.

The next single released from this sensational diva is “Koroba” which is arguably one of the biggest hits of 2020. Its catchy lyrics, stunning visuals, and of course, Tiwa`s voice did the magic for listeners. Just like Burna Boy linked up with British singer, Sam Smith, Tiwa did the same for “Temptation” which is the third single off her album “Celia”

Named after her mother, the album which features the likes of Davido, Hamzaa, Sam Smith, Stefflon Don, Dice Ailes, and Naira Marley snagged the number one spot on charts before its release. It was also named as one of Time`s best albums of 2020 and charted in several countries upon release. The singer collaborated with the likes of L.A.X, Reminisce, Reekado Banks, Davido and others for their respective albums.

8. Adekunle Gold

It brings joy to know that your fave is constantly evolving and rebranding upon every song/project release without losing their identity and Adekunle Gold falls into this category. The singer had been giving hints since 2019 with tracks like “Kelegebe Megbe” and “Before You Wake Up” but in 2020, he switched things up.

He kicked off the year with “Something Different” which as the title suggests was completely different from the kind of content Adekunle Gold dishes out. He then followed up with “AG Baby” before dropping his critically acclaimed album “Afro Pop Volume 1” which features the likes of Nailah Blackman, Patoranking, Olayinka, and Tekno. The singer was highly praised for his confident metamorphosis and fans got to see him make magic again the DJ Tunez owned track “PAMI ” alongside Wizkid and Omah Lay.

7. Rema

Remmy boy is still blowing hot and in 2020, he retained his ability to drop smashing hits. Rema dropped hits back to back this year like “Beamer,” “Rainbow,” Ginger Me,” “Alien,” “Woman,” and “Peace Of Mind. ”

The singer got more recognition after Canadian rapper, Drake revealed that he had heard about the musical prodigy and also has a track with him. Rema was also nominated for several awards which include MTV Europe Music Awards For Best African Act, BET Award for Best International Act, and The Future Awards Africa Music Award.

6. Omah Lay

How Omah Lay crept into the hearts of millions of Nigerians and fans from all over Africa remains a mystery. The singer released his iconic body of work “Get Layd” which houses all the hits “Lo Lo,” “You,” “Damn,” “Ye Ye Ye” and “Bad Influence.” All tracks snagged the top 5 for months and even when industry heavyweights dropped big tunes, the tracks still crept their way back to their original spot. This EP broke records and has over 200 million stress on all digital platforms.

The singer went on to work with DJ Tunez for “Pami” alongside Wikzid and Adekunle Gold and also the smash hit “Infinity” off Olamide`s “Carpe Diem” album. Omah Lay ended the year on a good note with his sophomore EP “What Have We Done.”

5. Wizkid

Starboy Wizkid had a tremendous year and it’s all due to the highly anticipated, critically acclaimed album “Made In Lagos.” Just when the Wizkid FC thought he wasn’t really going to come through with the album after teasing them for over three years, the singer surprised everyone.

Prior to the release, he released “Smile” which features Grammy Award-winning singer, H.E.R alongside a heartwarming video that shows people of color from various forms of life smiling with no worries, his adorable sons, Bolu, Ayo, and Zion, his mentors Banky W and Tunde Demuren, and of course his most cherished African delicacies; Amala and Suya.

Shortly after, he followed up with visuals for the chart-topping “No Stress” and then “Ginger” which features Burna Boy. Wizkid bagged home a lot of awards and certifications. The singer won an ASCAP award for the second time for his feature on “Brown Skin Girl,” a BET H.E.R award for the same song, and also a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video.

His album broke records and till now, at the time this article was compiled, the album is charting in 7 countries and even beat Ariana Grande`s album to remain in the top 5 on the UK charts. He also made it to Obama’s playlist with his track Essence. Writing about his achievements alone in 2020 is another article itself but know one thing, Wizkid`s album is regarded as one of the best albums of 2020.

4. Olamide

Who has the effrontery to release two music projects in just one year? Olamide!! There’s Taylor Swift who released two albums in 2020 because she couldn’t just stop writing but she’s not running the charts in the Nigerian music scene. After signing a deal with Empire distribution, the singer started the year with the “999.” “999” EP houses 9 tracks with guest artistes; Snow, Phyno, Cheque, JackMillz, and Rhatti among others. The rapper also featured his son Batifeori aka Milly on this 9th body of work.

Olamide then went on to release one of the biggest albums of 2020 “Carpe Diem” which means “Seize The Day” The Latin phrase is used to express the idea that one should enjoy life while one can. Olamide features an impressive lineup of artistes which includes: Bella Shmurda, Omah Lay, Phyno, Peruzzi, Bad Boy Timz, and his signee, Fireboy DML. It houses the hit tracks “Infinity,” “Triumphant,” “Eru,” “Greenlight,” and “Loading”

3. Davido

Earlier in the year, Davido shocked everyone when he said he was taking a break from music to focus on himself and spend quality time with his family. The singer went off social media for months and he came back with FEM, a big tune that created a brand new movement for the 30 BG. The singer then released So Crazy which features American Rapper, Lil baby.

Finally, after teasing fans enough, he released A Better Time Album which features Nas, Young Thug, Bella Shmurda, Ckay, Lil Baby, Hit-Boy, Tiwa Savage, Nicki Minaj, among others. The album which serves as a follow up to his sophomore album, A Good Time accumulated massive streams at the time of its release. Davido was also featured on Obama`s 2020 Summer Playlist and on the deluxe edition of the late Pop Smoke`s posthumous album Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon.

2. Mayorkun

DMW act, Mayorkun had a fantastic 2020 from start to finish. The singer’s first single of the year, Geng caused chaos in a positive way. The lover boy singer switched up to become a rapper and he delivered well. Geng did so well on streaming platforms, social media platforms and even git an EP dedicated to it. It had so much buzz that various singers/rappers jumped on the Geng challenge to spit their own bars.

As if that wasn’t enough, he teased fans with another track that Tik Tokers absolutely love Of Lagos. Prior to its release, the track already had recognition and after the full track was released, you know what happened next. Mayorkun featured in so many tracks and he killed all of them. From Chike’s If You No Love Me to Jamopyper’s If No Be You, Dremo’s E Be Things to DJ Kaywise’s What Type Of Dance Is This, and others, Mayorkun spread his magical touch everywhere.

His singles Betty Butter, and Your Body are also hit tracks that topped charts for a long time and still buzzing out there.

1. Burna Boy

Burna Boy wasn’t going to let 2020 be just a regular year after the successful release of his 2019 album African Giant. The singer promised to come back Twice as tall and he stayed true to his word. Losing out the Grammys to singer, Angelique Kidjo wasn’t easy but that gave him the motivation to do better. Burna started the year with Wonderful and thanks to this track, we all know how rich Adebayo Ogunlesi is. Then he released ‘Twice As Tall‘ album, the biggest music project of 2020.

Next was the visuals for Monsters You Made and Real Life which features UK rapper, Stormzy. Burna Boy was in his full glory in 2020 and of course, he broke records and these achievements earned him another Grammy nomination for Best World Album and it is hoped he would become the first Nigerian artiste to win the award. Burna Boy’s achievements are endless and that’s what makes him the artiste of the year after all.