Top 10 Nigerian Artists Who Failed In 2014

Here are the losers of 2014! (In no particular order)..

1. May D

May D seem to be the architect of his own misfortune. Since releasing his debut album, the self acclaimed Sure Boy has been a very lazy artiste, choosing not to put out records every now and then. When he does, he seem to put out decent records. If he does this constantly, he would have released a hit record in the music year but he was only able to release one single all year, titled Ibadi. The video for the record came out only few weeks ago. If the likes of Davido, Wizkid can be releasing songs almost every month, May D has no excuse for his laziness. He had a fantastic 2013 though.

2. Wande Coal

One of the biggest losers this year is Wande Coal. His work ethic also can be questioned. He was able to put out smash singles out in the year with Baby Hello, My Way and Plan B all dropping in 2014 but somehow, Wande Coal failed to match his previous height. The 29 year old still hasn’t released any album project since 2009. That is almost 6 years now.

3. D’banj

D’banj has struggled to achieve musical success since parting ways with his former business partner, Don Jazzy. Business wise, D’Banj did well for himself though, with his recent deal being the one he signed with Beats by Dre, however he failed on musical grounds having released more than 4 singles in 2014, Koko Master doesn’t headline any show these days

4. HKN GANG (B-red, Sina Rambo, Deekay, Danagog)

Davido might have achieved musical success for himself however his role as a record label chief has to be questioned. Despite all the cash he has, connect, fame etc, the 22 year old music sensation doesn’t look like he will ever sign a music artiste that can make it in Nigeria’s music scene. All his 4 artistes have released at least 2 singles each in 2014, with all of them featuring him on a song aside Deekay. However, none of the 4 released a radio/club friendly single in 2014. They all released at least 1 video each. Total failure.

5. Modenine

Popularly crowned as Nigeria’s best rapper of all time, Modenine failed in 2014. No show, no endorsement, no hit single, nothing! He even released an album tagged ‘Above Ground Level’ in July featuring artistes like Ice Prince, Don Jazzy, Reminisce, 9ice. Modenine still didn’t achieve musical success in the year, no wonder he was snubbed at the Headies 2014. The rapper himself admitted music has given him fame and not money in a recent interview.

6. Ruggedman

According to Ruggedman, he kickstarted Nigeria’s music revolution, but he has never been part of the revolution. The rapper also rolled out singles in 2014 with the most successful featuring another artiste who made this list Wande Coal on Agidi (Bad combination). The rapper isn’t getting gigs and awards however. Ruggedybaba is making money from his clothing line though.

7. Vector

Vector swore he is going to make a comeback with his 2014 mixtape, #A7. #A7 was released in September 1st and till date none of the records on the tape has gone viral. He recently released a video for one of the songs, Shiga. Business wise, Vector did cash out though, he was able to sign a deal with Vitafoam according to reports.

8. Kayswitch

Kayswitch: Another year another disappointment from Kayswitch. Widely believed to be more talented than his brother D’Banj, Kayswitch still hasn’t made a name for himself in Nigeria’s music scene since Mo’Hits era.

9. Tonto Dikeh

It appears Tonto Dikeh has given up on her quest to be a music star. The 29 year old signed into D’Banj’s DB records label in 2014. She released a single under DB Records imprint but ever since, her momentum and passion seem to have vanished. Poko Baby has since returned to her first love acting. Her label boss D’Banj also; made this list.

10. Samklef

Producer Samklef couldn’t get his music career going in 2014. Despite picking fights with Wizkid for publicity reasons, the former hitmaker had a negligible music year. He released an album, dropped 5 singles, 3 music videos. Still his music year was nothing to write home about.

Worthy mentions: Duncan Mighty, Waconzy, D’Prince, 9ice