Koffi Olomide, Lucky Dube, Awilo and other non-Nigerians that took the Nigerian music industry by storm
Ghanian artist Shatta Wale recently took to social media to call out Nigerian artists and Nigerians for not supporting other African artists the way the others have done for the country.
Shatta Wale may have his reasons for this but calling out the Nigerian entertainment industry and fans for not being supportive of others is a big surprise as there are some artists with popular songs in Nigerian who many Nigerians don’t even know are not Nigerians.
So long it has a good content flow and a dancing beat, Nigerians would vibe to it even if the don’t understand the lyrics.
This can be seen in the way Nigerians accepted Congolese music legend Awilo Longomba; even though numerous Nigerians didn’t understand the lyrics of his songs, many danced and sang it like their lives depended on it.
On this note, we have come with a list of popular singers who reigned in the Nigerian music industry despite not being Nigerians.
1. Koffi Olomide
Koffi Olomide, whose real name is Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba, is a Congolese Soukous singer, dancer, producer, and composer. He was one of the music veterans that reigned in the Nigerian music industry in the mid 1990s. Many Nigerians would grew up in that era still wish they could go back in time to listen to those great flows again.
2. Lucky Dube
Ask many Nigerians which country the late reggae music star was, and many would tell you he was from Nigeria while in truth Lucky Dube was from South Africa. This tells you the love Nigerians had for Lucky Dube and his songs.
Some of Lucky Dube’s songs like One Love, Different Colours One People, Slave, Back To My Roots, among others are comsidered ever green songs in Nigeria.
3. Awilo Longomba
It took a long time for many Nigerians to know Awilo Longomba was not a Nigerian but a Congolese soukous musician. Awilo made the Makossa best famous in Nigeria to the extent Churches had to form their lyrics to the dance best which remains relevant in Nigeria to date.
4. Ramatoulaye
Despite the fact that Nigerians didn’t understand a word except for Alhaji in his song Decale Alhaji released around 2011, it was one of the most popular songs at that time because of the beat it came with.
5. Patapaa
Justice Amoa, better known by his stage name Patapaa is an African hiplife musician and a songwriter from Ghana. His song One Corner was one of the most popular in the country as at the time it was released, and it went on to become a popular slang in the country.
6. Master KG
Kgaogelo Moagi, popularly known professionally as Master KG, is a South African musician and record producer who is popular in Nigeria. His song Jerusalama was a complete hit in Nigeria and across the world. The song was so good, Nigerian Grammy winner Burna Boy jumped on the remix.
