The Nigerian Music Landscape Is Changing – These Are The Women Artists Shaping Its Direction
The release of Tems’ debut album, Born In The Wild, in June this year was received with an overwhelmingly positive reaction on social media – not least from celebrities such as Wizkid, who expressed his support by sharing a stream link for the album.
Tems, whose music fuses elements of alternative R&B, neo-soul, Afrobeats and hip-hop, consistently drives conversations with every new move. So, it wasn’t surprising when her record-breaking release achieved the highest number of streams in a day for a Nigerian female artist on Spotify (more than 8 million).
Tems’ album isn’t the only one having its moment in the sun. Ayra Starr, who navigates effortlessly through alté, Afropop and R&B, released The Year I Turned 21 to glowing reviews in May 2024. It was hailed for a maturity many sophomore albums fail to achieve, thanks to well-executed collaborations (with the likes of Coco Jones and Anitta) and her pure songwriting talent.
These are signs of massive change in the Nigerian music landscape. In the early 2010s, the scene was largely dominated by male artists, with just a few women breaking into the mainstream – Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade and Omawumi among them.
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Fast forward to the 2020s, and women artists are no longer relegated to the sidelines. They are fighting their way to the forefront, shaping its direction and helping to bring Nigerian music to a global audience. Take Tems’ critically acclaimed collaboration with Wizkid on Essence, for example. The song was nominated for a Best Global Music Performance Grammy in 2022, and picked up accolades at the BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards and the NAACP Image Awards.
Excel Joab, A&R and artist development manager at global recording business AWAL, attributes the rise of women voices in Nigerian music to bolstered confidence within the industry, due to the commercial successes and international recognition they’ve achieved. “More people are now confident in investing and taking chances on female artists compared to before, thanks to people such as Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade and Simi, who broke barriers in the industry,” he says.
Tiwa Savage, known as the ‘Queen of Afrobeats’, has further amplified her international appeal through big-name collaborations with the likes of Sam Smith and Brandy, and her appearance on Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift in 2019. Meanwhile, Yemi Alade – dubbed ‘Mama Africa’ – received a 2022 Grammy nomination for Dignity, a song with Angélique Kidjo. She was the first female Nigerian artist to hit 100 million views for a single video on YouTube.
But despite all this progress made by women Nigerian artists, they still face huge challenges. Women are expected to invest as much effort in being attractive or sexually appealing as they do in creating quality music. Meanwhile, male artists don’t share the same pressures – record labels don’t have to spend so much time and money on creating a brand for them, so they can focus more on the music. That is why male artists are often seen as ‘safer bets’ for label executives, most of whom are also men.
This is clear from the small number of women artists signed to major record labels. Since its inception in 2012, Mavins Records – one of Nigeria’s leading labels – has signed just four women, in contrast to the 10 men on its roster. Though Ayra Starr is signed to Mavin Records, other up-and-coming women artists such as SGaWD, Kold AF are largely independent and dependent on social media to build their fanbases.
Joab believes that creating a more equal playing field in the industry requires an intentional approach. “We need more representation of women behind the scenes – not just female artists,” he says. “More women in production, engineering, A&R, management and other key areas… This is crucial to ensure that both men and women are growing together at a great pace.”
Qing Madi is a Nigerian singer-songwriter who became well-known after her 2022 single See Finish went viral on TikTok, followed by 2023 hit Ole. She describes her sound as “Afro R&B” – a fusion of R&B, pop, soul and Afrobeats and signed a deal with Jton Music and BuVision Entertainment/Columbia Records in 2023.
The artist, who recently dropped the self-titled Qing Madi Deluxe EP, believes in staying true to herself as an artist, refusing to bow to industry pressures to conform. “I do not follow a trend if I am not feeling the wave,” she says. “Songs that I like or artists that I draw inspiration from help me not to lose track of my purpose for music. When I watch and listen to their music, I’m always reminded of my message.”
Qing Madi says that the challenges she faces as an artist is largely due to her artistic persona, and how she’s expected to look. “Many people have a theory for what a female should sing and be like. And I don’t fit that description. [People] tend to wonder, ‘You don’t wear skirts or dresses,’ or ‘You don’t sing about this stuff.’”
Motolani Alake, label and marketing manager at Virgin Music Nigeria, agrees that Nigerian society can be conservative and this influences the way people consume music. “However, there is a shift,” he adds, “as the younger generation are becoming more receptive. They are not just judging female artists based on how they look but on the content of their music.”
The body of work created by Nigerian women artists so far this year no doubt shows that this new generation of artists are tapping into this generation shift – establishing their presence and broadening their influence.
Aside from Tems and Ayra Starr, Tiwa Savage’s big release Water & Garri, which soundtracked her film of the same name, while Simi dropped her fifth studio album, Lost And Found. There’s been Candy Bleakz’s second EP, Better Days, Bloody Civilian’s new single Head Start and Fave’s latest hit Controlla – among many others. A recurring theme is the authenticity in their personal artistic visions – a breath of fresh air in an industry traditionally driven by whatever is hot and popping.
Qing Madi envisions a bright future, where women artists continue to dominate and help to open Nigerian music fans up to different genres of music, beyond Afrobeats: “Some of them would be incredible jazz singers, some would be pop artists, while others would love making a different genre of music.”
The Playlist: 5 Songs To Stream Now By Women Nigerian Artists
- Last Heartbreak Song by Ayra Starr
- You Believe in Love by Qing Madi
- Love Me Jeje by Tems
- Mad Apology by Bloody Civilian
- Belong To You by Fave
Torinmo Salau is a freelance writer and journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria. She has written for publications including Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, World Politics Review and the Guardian
