Nigerian Female Artists are Taking Over 2024 — and Beyond

Past biases against Nigerian female musicians

In Nigerian music, it’s not a frequent occurrence that women are primarily judged on the merits of the music they make. There’s always something else to focus on, whether it’s their looks or how they’ve chosen to promote their music or their fashion style, and several other concerns that lessen the critical value of the music. The bias to ascribe more importance than necessary to these extras is implicit, evident in the plain fact that it doesn’t apply to male artists to nearly the same degree.

It affects even the biggest Nigerian female artists, sometimes in what should’ve been a big moment. When Tiwa Savage released her most personal and arguably best album with 2020’s Celia, all many people wanted to talk about was that the promotions for the album were mishandled. For some people, the album didn’t spark show-stopping conversations, and that meant it didn’t deserve their ears. This for an artist who had dropped dozens of hits and several formidable albums in the decade prior.

“Women are burdened with the unequal expectation of branding - this idea that their presentation has to be perfectly patterned before their sound can be legible,” says culture journalist Blossom Maduafokwa in an interview with OkayAfrica. “But I think women are using this expectation to tell really elaborate stories with their craft.”

Recently, Savage delivered her most ambitious project yet, the film Water & Garri, along with an attendant soundtrack. While the film itself hasn’t been greeted with favorable audience reviews, the music clearly comprises some of the singer’s most inspired work. There are hit-ready songs like the Ayra Starr-featuring “Gara” and “Commona” with Olamide, as well as unique cuts like the glitzy folk-pop of “Lost Times,” the rustic charm on the soulful Asa collab, “Emotions,” and the title track is a humorous rendition of popular childish chant.

The soundtrack for Water & Garri, while not drawing raucous acclaim, is a marquee release for Tiwa Savage in how it combines moments of general appeal and those that indulge her artistic autonomy. In a wider context, it’s representative of how female artists in Nigerian music are operating these days. From Ayra Starr and Tems to Bloody Civilian and Qing Madi, women are clearly prioritizing their individual artistic visions.

“What I love is that we're seeing these women of Afrobeats scrap the game in its entirety, and play by their own rules. And clearly, they're winning,” Maduafokwa says.

Women are defining Nigerian music in 2024

If you’ve been observing, even if only casually, Nigerian music in 2024 is shaping up to be a year largely defined by women. Almost midway through the year, the level of activity by Nigerian women has been extensive and consistently excellent. Obviously, it didn’t just start happening. In fact, it’s been brewing for a few years at least, and this fertile period is even more conspicuous for the time it took.

In addition to Ayra Starr and Tiwa Savage, Tems’ debut album is a few days away and Simi’s fifth LP is in a fortnight — both have dropped singles to that effect. Qing Madi and Bloody Civilian have each followed up their well-received debut EPs from last year with new singles, the former dropping a remix of the silky single, “Vision,” with American R&B star Chloë, and the latter shouting down her enemies on the delightfully screeching “Head Start.”

Alté stalwart Lady Donli recently put out a pack of electronic/dance remixes to songs from last year’s sophomore album, Pan African Rockstar, shortly after wrapping up a North American tour as an indie artist. Versatile rap artist SGaWD recently dropped her second EP, Tha Gawd - Side A, a sterling collection of confident, slick bangers that underline why her base of listeners is growing.

Compared to the mid-2010s, where it felt like the situation was one-woman-at-a-time, multiple female artists are in the mainstream’s spotlight, while more are carving out their own spaces and expanding their reach.

In the fairly recent past, there was only space for one “queen” amongst the many male superstars. That allocation, for lack of a better word, meant that female artists were constantly placed in deleterious competition with each other. For male artists, competition is the sort of spectacle that can even boost popularity; for female artists, it was about supremacy for who could hang with the men. Thankfully, that has given way to a multiplicity of artists, which in turn represents a myriad of personas and perspectives that reflect the experiences of Nigerian women.

As entertainment business executive, Oyinkansola "foza" Fawehinmi, puts it in an X post, "The women are active! No toxic energy, just good music and grinding! Days I dreamed about! Multiple Women leading their lanes and no useless one spot comparison."

No photocopies

A common thread that’s evident through increasing female representation, and subtle domination even, is authenticity. There’s clear distinctions between the artistic candor of the dozens of Nigerian female artists, from the mainstream to the niche, soon-to-breakout corners. There are no photocopies anywhere, which is not something that can be confidently said for Nigerian male artists who notoriously hop on trends.

“I think everything I make is 100 percent authentic whether I’m rapping or singing because it’s a sound or feeling that I’m trying to capture and bring to life,” SGaWD tells OkayAfrica. “I don’t feel pressured to conform at all. Music and trends move so fast now that if you’re trying to follow whatever’s ‘hot’ you’re going to end up looking dumb. I’m trying to make music that is going to stand the test of time and sound good if you’re playing it now or in 20 years.”

The quest to standout gives each artist their own artist identity, but it also culminates in a wide variety of musical choices and thematic concerns. Where an artist like Bloody Civilian sings of self-determination by deploying angst with masterful tact, Kold AF does the same with an aspirational outlook that works in the fear of being young and trying to figure it out.

“In almost everything I do, I’m being myself,” Kold, who collaborated with singer Aema on a two-song release earlier this year, tells OkayAfrica. “In terms of style, how I speak, sound and so many other aspects, I’m being true to who I am, what I like and what I’m also trying to be, not anyone’s vision for me.”

Two of Kold’s biggest performances yet were at Femme Fest and Hertitude, two Lagos-based, annual festivals that center and champion women by, amongst other things, putting together an all-women’s lineup for their live shows. While Femme Fest welcomes everyone to attend but primarily caters to women, Hertitude is strictly for women alone. These are two in a growing line of events where inclusivity is fostered for women and conformity is deemphasized.

Steps that still need to be taken

Amidst the importance of more female artists taking up space, strides still need to be taken to ensure an equal playing field. An easy example is record labels signing women as token “first ladies” amidst a roster packed with guys, mainly due to the widely accepted narrative that female artists are more expensive to usher into mainstream success.

Perhaps it would be less expensive if the general listening audience becomes even more receptive to Nigerian female artists than it already is, and the industry weeds out the cursory lack of respect women are often afforded. “The industry is quite cut-throat and understandably so, as it’s a business to many,” Kold says, adding that the support of a small team is important to her resilience as an independent artist with limited resources.

“When I first started, people told me that rapping wouldn’t work, or that I should stick to singing and Afrobeats,” SGaWD tells OkayAfrica. “I’m grateful that I had a few people that did believe in me and what I was trying to do. I’m 100 percent independent with a very small team and that’s challenging in Nigeria just because of how the industry operates, but I’ve also been able to learn a lot, make strides, get my name out there and develop a genuine fanbase that connects with the music I make.”