The 10 Hottest Artists In Nigeria #TheList2016: #3

The 10 Hottest Artists in Nigeria #TheList2016 takes into account the hottest names in Nigerian music from the tail-end of 2015 till date. For the rest of the week, we’ll systematically reveal all 10 names on #TheList2016.

Be sure to continue refreshing your NJO homepage to see who’s next.

....and we're into the Big 3!

The 10 Hottest Artists In Nigeria #TheList2016: #3 – Olamide

3. Olamide

Baddo has taken Indigenous Hip-Hop in Nigeria to such a high level, it's now almost insulting to call him an Indigenous Rapper. A quick glance at Olamide's last 5 singles shows you how much he has evolved in recent years to become the complete artist that he is today; there's hip-hop, Afrobeat, Fuji, Afro Pop, all done the Baddo way. And that's why he's the only artist who's been able to fill up Eko Hotel, Lagos for 2 consecutive years with his #OLIC Concert.

One of the early hits of 2016 is Olamide's "Don't Stop", off the Eyan Mayweather album released in November 2015. Baddo's first release of 2016 proper was the patriotic tune "I Love Lagos", a song which was seen, at the time, as the new Lagos anthem. However, his biggest song of 2016 came when he vibed with Shizzi in Atlanta, freestyled over one of his beats and playfully tagged it "Who U Epp?" In a matter of hours... not days... not weeks... hours... we got a remix from Phyno... then the next day, some more came in. It was like a virus.

Notjustok.com partnered with Olamide to present the "Who U Epp Competition" which produced over 2,000 more remixes. Eventually, highly rated acts home and abroad dropped their own remixes. The names include Wande Coal, Lil Kesh, Reminisce, Ruggedman, Stanley Enow, Parker Ighile, Poe, Chinko Ekun, Yung L, Sinzu, J. Gunn, Ceeza, Iceberg Slim, VJ Adams, Clay, Ckay, Pryse, Teeklef and soooo many more!

For the first time in about 6 years, we may not get an Olamide album in 2016, due to his numerous commitments. This year alone, Olamide has toured the UK (selling out the Apollo in record numbers), the US, Canada, and many other countries, with shows coming in left, right and center in Nigeria. However, that hasn't stopped him from releasing a few singles and videos in the process. Even though Olamide slightly dropped from #1 on #TheList in 2015 to #3 on #TheList2016, we fully expect more hits from the YBNL head honcho in 2017.