As we get into the sixth month of the year and the world begins to open up following the Covid-19-induced lockdown that swept the world, things in the entertainment industry continue to pick up. Here’s a rundown of some notable events that took place in the Nigerian music industry in the month of May.
ALSO READ: April Wrap-up: Here’s a List of Some Notable Events that Happened in the Nigerian Music Industry
1. Kizz Daniel becomes a father
On the 1st of May which also doubles as the birthday of Oluwatobiloba Daniel or Kizz Daniel as he’s popularly known, the singer celebrated the gift of life in a different way as he became a father and welcomed a set of twin boys, Jelani and Jalil.
ALSO READ: Singer, Kizz Daniel Welcomes A Set Of Twins On His 27th Birthday
2. Chidinma Ekile becomes a gospel singer
The Kedike crooner, Chidinma Ekile, debuted as a gospel singer on her 30th birthday on the 2nd of May. This became public knowledge when the singer released a single titled Jehovah Over Do and shared on a faith via an Instagram video with the caption “MY NAME IS MINISTER CHIDINMA EKILE.”
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D’banj later on also declared his status as a born-again Christian in a church at Abuja.
ALSO READ: Chidinma Ekile Makes A U-turn From Secular To Gospel Music As She Turns 30
3. Burna Boy Ye sets new Nigerian record
On the 4th of May, Burna Boy’s Ye unlocked a new level as it became the fastest Nigerian song to certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
ALSO READ: Burna Boy's 'Ye'Now Gold Certified In The US, Sets New Nigerian Record
4. Davido’s ‘E choke’ Gets a Twitter Emoji
“Even Jack know say #echoke” was Davido’s tweet on the evening of the 5th of May to let us in on the fact that his ‘e choke’ slang had gotten an emoji which would promptly pop up whenever it was used as a hashtag. The emoji was launched in commemoration of the singer’s 10 year anniversary in the music scene.
ALSO READ: “Even Jack Know Say #echoke” - Davido Reacts To New Twitter Emoji
5. Tony Elumelu Drops Afrobeats Playlist
CEO of UBA, Tony Elumelu showed that he balls just as hard as he works on the 7th of May when he drooped an Afrobeats playlist featuring music from Wizkid, Davido, Phyno, Ke-star, Teni, Blaqbonez among others.
ALSO READ: Tony Elumelu Drops Afrobeats Playlist Featuring Davido, Wizkid , Others
6. Burna Boy Hints at new album
The singer who is known for his Twitter rants, had similarly blown some steam off on the 7th of May. Here, he made it known that in his next album, he would capture his pain which was one of an outsider and had written the word ‘Outsider’ in capital letters, giving rise to the suspicions that the album would be named thus.
ALSO READ: Here’s What We Know About Burna Boy’s Upcoming Album
7. Fireboy and Rema Bag brand ambassadorship deal with Monster Energy
After racking up much hype on social media about a possible collaboration, Rema and Fireboy on the 7th of May, unveiled their ambassadorship deal with Monster Energy drink.
ALSO READ: Fireboy and Rema Join The Monster Energy ‘Geng’ | Nigeria’s New Brand Ambassadors
8. Fela Kuti gets snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The 12th of May wasn’t a very pleasing one of the Nigerian music community as the latest inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced with Fela Kuti, who was the nominee with the second highest votes, left out from the list.
ALSO READ: Femi Kuti and Other Nigerians React to Fela Kuti's Hall of Fame Snub
9. Rumours circulate about Sound Sultan having throat cancer
That same day, rumours about Sound Sultan being diagnosed with throat cancer started to make the rounds. The singer however came made an Instagram post the very next day where despite not outrightly debunking the rumours, he’d looked healthy and happy and thanked everyone for their concern.
ALSO READ: Sound Sultan Speaks Following Throat Cancer News
10.
Nigerian Music in May: Victony shows signs of speedy recovery
Victony who has been in the thoughts and prayers of Nigerians begun to show signs of speedy recovery as he tweeted for the first time since his accident and also made an Instagram live through which he addressed his fans while discussing the accident.
ALSO READ: Victony Addresses Fans on Instagram Live Since Accident
11. Tems gets a billboard in 5 cities round the world
Tems' manager, Muyiwa Awoniyi, on the 14th of May took to his Twitter to thank God as Tems was spotted on 5 billboards in LA, New York, Atlanta, Miami and Lagos. Some days after, the singer also broke new barriers by becoming Billboard’s Next Big Sound.
ALSO READ: Tems Goes Global as Her Face Covers Billboards in 5 Cities
12. Fireboy performs live for YouTube Black Africa Month
The performance which was done on the 16th of May saw the singer perform his songs like Champion, Tattoo and others for a duration of 14 minutes with his live band casting a jazz feel on his sound.
ALSO READ: Watch Fireboy DML Perform Live For YouTube Black Africa Month Celebration
13. Tekno gets recognised by RIAA for If
On the 17th of May, Tekno received a plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America for producing and writing Davido’s Gold-certified smash hit, If.
ALSO READ: Tekno Receives Plaque from RIAA for Davido's 'If'
14. Wizkid signals new album in the offing
Famous for being a big tease, the megastar had dropped hints on his Instarstory on the 18th when he uploaded an image showing him in front of a blank board with a question mark on it, flanked by his previous projects in a way that looked like the Apple music callback.
ALSO READ: See Wizkid's Way of Confirming His New Album on the Way
15. Show Dem Camp spot impostors
The rap duo Show Dem Camp, issued a memo warning against a show, Palwime Festival, parading as their annual show with a lineup of Nigerian acts who aren’t associated with the palmwine music brand.
ALSO READ: Show Dem Camp Issues Memo to Warn Against Imposter Palmwine Festival
16. Burna Boy unlocks new milestone on Spotify
Self-named African Giant, Burna Boy recently became the first African artiste to have three albums-- Outside, African Giant and Twice as Tall, with at least a 100million streams on Spotify.
ALSO READ: Burna Boy Becomes First African Artiste to Hit 100 Million Spotify Streams on 3 Albums
17. Shatta Wale disses Davido
Nigerian megastar Davido, had recently bought himself a Rolls Royce to celebrate his 10th year anniversary in the music game but Ghanaian singer, Shatta Wale had not been having any of it and called him out for showing off his father’s wealth.
ALSO READ: "I Don't Use My Father's Money for Hype" - Shatta Wale Drops Cryptic Snapchat Rant
18. Nigerian music Tiwa Savage hits the stage for the first time in a while
The African Bad Gyal who gave word that her EP Water and Garri is almost done hit the stage for the first time in 2021 on the 21st of May. Not many details were given but it was obvious she had a good time doing what she does best.
ALSO READ: Tiwa Savage Is Back on Stage for the First Time in 2021
19. Rema makes a declaration about his sound
Rema who also belongs to the group chat of musicians who go on Twitter rants, made a declaration on the 22nd of last month that his sound is to be called Afrorave and promised to cement it with an album.
ALSO READ: "From this day my sound will be called Afrorave" - Rema Declares Music Genre
20.
Nigerian Music in May: Timaya chops off dreadlocks
If there’s one thing the Egberi Papa One of Bayelsa has become synonymous with, it’s his dreadlocks. The singer has however let go of that look for a lowcut which he posted on his Instagram.
ALSO READ: See Timaya's New Look as He Chops Off His Locks... Again
21. Ayo Jay’s Your Number gets doubly certified
Your Number by Ayo Jay which was a hit song in 2013 and popularly known as the first Nigerian song to chart on Billboard without a feature has gotten a Gold certification in the US and silver in the UK.
ALSO READ:Ayo Jay Receives Gold & Silver Certifications for 'Your Number', Set to Drop New Music
22. Badboy Timz falls out with record label
Following what has been a messy back and forth, Badboy Timz parted ways with his record label company, Anonymous Music and on the 24th of May stated that the next stage of his career will be with his self-owned label, Shock Absorbers Music.
ALSO READ: Bad Boy Timz Terminates Contract With Record Label, Demands 200M for Libel
23. Notjustok hosts Africa’s Next Radio Mode by Pandora Music
Launched on the 24th of May to celebrate Africa Day, Pandora advanced their Afrobeats station with a brand new mode called Africa’s Next to be hosted by Notjustok. It is to spotlight acts such as Fireboy DML, Sha Sha, Gyakie, Blaqbonez, Omah Lay and others.
ALSO READ: Pandora Launches 'Africa’s Next' Radio Mode Hosted By Notjustok
24. Audiomack kicks off virtual concert series
Debuting on the 25th of May, the Audiomack Hometown Heroes Nigeria Virtual Concert is a series of concert which so far has given platform to stars such as Zanku master, Zlatan, Ladipoe, Omah Lay and Tems.
26. Mo’Hits stars reunite at Ikechukwu’s wedding
It was a live concert at rapper, Ikechukwu’s wedding as Wande Coal, D’banj and Don Jazzy showed up and showed out at his wedding and turned things up a performance of Iskaba and Whine Am Well among others.
ALSO READ: It Was Mo’hits Reunion At Ikechukwu's Wedding as Don Jazzy, D'banj & Wande Coal Perform Live!
27.
Nigerian music in May: Charly Boy involved in accident
The Nigerian veteran musician shared photos of his bruised-up face on the 27th of the last month, adding that he’d gotten into an accident while on his scooter and prayed for his well-wishers.
ALSO READ: Charly Boy Badly Bruised After Scooter Accident
28. Davido and Focalistic go platinum in South Africa
The two artistes we collaborated on the Ke-Star remix received plaques after the song got Platinum-certified 3x in South Africa.
ALSO READ: Davido and Focalistic Receive Certification Plaque for 'Ke Star'| Watch
29. Simi and Adekunle Gold celebrate their daughter with a single
Superstar mom and dad, Simi and Adekunle Gold not only celebrated their daughter, Adejare’s one-year-old birthday with cute birthday photos but also released a single with proceeds set up to go to her trust fund.
ALSO READ: Simi and Adekunle Gold Wish Deja 'Happy Birthday' With New Single | Listen Now
30. Notable tours starting soon
Wizkid, Rema, Asa and Burna Boy have all began talks of going on tour with Burna Boy set to headline a show at London's 02 Arena.
