10 Nigerian music album series to spice up your playlist

If you love a sequel or a series, these are 10 Nigerian albums you will enjoy.

If you are a lover of the diverse sounds that exist in the Nigerian music sphere, you have at one point or another listened to one of these albums. If you haven't, consider this a late introduction. The best thing about music is that it's never too late to discover new and good music.

1. Show Dem Camp - Palmwine Music 1,2,3 (2017, 2018, 2022)

The rap duo Show Dem Camp, first experimented with the sound on this album series with their 2013 single, Feel Alright featuring BOJ. It embodied the spirit of the new generation listening to music at that time and to feed their audience, they dropped the first of the Palmwine Music albums in 2017. The success of that album allowed them to further experiment with the sound and drop two more albums in 2018 and the most recent one in the series in 2022.

They feature several of our favourite faces, like BOj, Tems, Oxlade, and several more. The lyric mastery of Show Dem Camp as well as their epic storytelling makes their music loveable and memorable.

2. Mr Eazi - Life is Eazi 1,2 (2017, 2018)

Mr Eazi’s Afropop with dancehall-influenced music shines especially on the absolute number of classics that exist in the span of these two albums. Nigerian youth of a certain age can attest to the fact that some of the songs found on these albums like Leg Over or Skintight are undoubtedly in the timeless music category.

3. Starboy - Soundman Vol. 1 (2019)

This is Wizkid’s experimental Afrobeats album. Big Wiz is unafraid of experimenting with his sound seeing the audience's reception to see where to go with his music. This project came out before his global sensation Made In Lagos and is a clear embodiment of Wizkid’s ability to weave his own take on Afrobeats sound. We hope we get another instalment of Soundman from Wizkid in the coming years.

4. Adekunle Gold - Afropop Vol. 1 (2020)

The Adekunle Gold that dropped this amazing album is very different from the one that dropped Orente a  couple of years back. Adekunle Gold has mastered the art of rebranding his musical persona almost like no other Nigerian artist. He told Apple Music, “I didn’t want you to see what’s coming—that’s the essence of this album," and let me tell you, we did not. Hit songs like ‘Okay’ are a testament to the talent and musical diversity of Adekunle Gold.

5. Boj - Gbagada Express 1,2 (2022, 2023)

BOJ has been in the Nigerian music scene for quite some time, exciting fans with his amazing appearances on features and popular tracks. His album series Gbagada Express embodies his experiences living in Nigeria and the UK to create sexy, romantic album series. The albums in late fashion are not afraid to fuse genres together to make sonic magic and with BPJ’s skill level, we can anticipate a third instalment that is just as enjoyable as the two he has given us.

6. Jaytime - Sweet Vibes Vol. 1 (2023)

Jaytime who has been described as obsessed with making music dropped his debut EP late in January this year. The six songs on the EP explore several sides of his personality; the facet of his that wants to party like In The Mood or his self-motivating song, Help Myself. His delightful blend of Afrobeats with RnB influences makes us anticipate the next instalment in this series

7. Choplife Soundsystem - Chop Life (Mzansi Chronicles) Vol. 1 (2023)

Early this year, Mr Eazi announced the formation of a new pan-African music group, ChopLife SoundSystem. In their first offering to the music community, we have them shown a seamless mix of amapiano beats and soulful afro-house influences. The musical prowess of both Mr Eazi and DJ Edu working together brings to life an album that embodied the spirit of chopping life. The album takes a deep dive into the deep of South African music style to deliver a body of work that is both fun and familiar. 

8. WeTalkSound- LOFN 1-4 (2018,2019,2020,2021)

Nigeria's biggest creative community WeTalkSound rallied its members who made music or wanted to make music into creating this amazing collaborative album called LOFN. The album is a collection of songs about love and love stories. It is usually released to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

9. Show Dem Camp- Clone Wars Vol 1-5 (2010,2012,2016,2019,2020)

Show Dem Camp began their Clone Wars album series as a way to use rap to interrogate the political and societal landscape of the country they live in. In these albums, the first dropping in 2010, the subject matter is inspired by the happenings going on at that time. For instance, Clone Wars III: The Recession was inspired by the start of the recession under former President Buhari’s government.

10. MI Abaga- Illegal Music (2009, 2012,2016)

Last but definitely not least is the ineffable MI Abaga. The Nigerian rap kingpin can weave a story like no one else and Ade's music is so good it should be legal. His 2009 project, Illegal Music is the first of his album series. On these albums he takes instrumentals that sampled other popular tracks by other artists ad made those songs his own. The amazing reception the first album got made MI push the margin even further with the other two albums in the series. He features artists like Ice Prince, Phenom, Djinee and many more.