Nigerian music is at a stage whereby if you
cannot swim with the tide you would be washed
away so quickly that recovering would be hard
to swim back up to the surface. This illustration
tells the tales of some very outstanding and
talented Nigerian musicians who were once the
creme de la creme of the Nigerian music
industry but their glory days have been cut
short due to some circumstances that is way
beyond them.

During their A days they had it all, the ladies,
fans, media, attention, fame and fortune but
they also gave us very good music that is very
hard to fathom why their gift for making such
good music had waned. But notwithstanding
they haven’t faded completely as they are still
very much in the music industry and their
impact is still felt but even with all the effort
they have put into making a comeback to their
good old days, it seems not to be working for
them. Below are 5 good Nigerian artistes who
have tried but could not get back those vibes
their fans knew them for.

Wande Coal

Wande Coal once referred to as the man with
the golden voice who could make a grown man
cry just by hearing him sing hasn’t been the
same since he parted ways Marvin Records
boss and producer, Don Jazzy . Wande Coal
career took a nose dive when he began to have
problem with Don Jazzy but we all thought
been a talented musician that he is was going
to bounce back and continue to give us those
good music he is know for, but he never really
did make the comeback we were expecting.
Although he usually drops a single or two every
year and he also released his much anticipated
second album “Wanted” which failed to live up
to our expectation. Wande Coal is still very
much relevant in the industry and he is revered
for his strong soprano voice and good song
writing skill but he hasn’t really been the
Wande Coal we once used to know.

9ice

Everyone who knew the days of Gongo Aso can
attest to the fact that 9ice was a big deal then
and he was one of the biggest African artiste at
the time that he was called up to perform at
Mandela’s birthday with other top international
musicians. Those days 9ice was on fire and he
released hits upon hits back to back with his
three albums going platinum. But he couldn’t
keep up with the form he started with and all of
a sudden his career which was affected by his
marital affair with his first wife made him take a
break from music and by the time he returned
back to the scene he struggled to give his fans
those music that they loved. He never quit
instead he kept working on improving on his
craft to become better with every every song
and album he released. 9ice is still relevant but
those Gongo Aso days are gone but we still
love him though.

Faze

Everybody loves Faze. He was that guy you just
have to love because he he has that voice you
can only dream of. Yes that is Faze for you, the
ladies man. He was the man of the moment
when he released his second studio album
“ Independent ” in 2006 with hits like “Kpo kpo di
kpo”, “Letter to my Brother”, “Tatoo Girls”,
“Need Somebody”, “Kolomental” and many
others. His third studio album”Originality”
released in 2008 was also very big with hit
songs like “Tatoo Girl (Remix)”, “ Originality “,
“Am in Love”, Story of my Life” and others. Faze
was so big then that after that period he failed
to keep up with what he started and he
struggled afterward by releasing one song
sometimes non in a year. I’m sure he still has
a lot to offer and his fans can’t wait to hear
from him.

Naeto C

Who remembers the only rapper with a MSc?
Yes I know many of you will remember that line
used by Naeto C in his hit song “Ten Over Ten”.
Naeto C was so big way back in 2008 when he
released his first hit single “U Know My P”,
“Kini Big Deal”. “Ten Over Ten”, “5 & 6” and
“Tony Montana” featuring D’banj. Ever since
then he hasn’t been able to give us those kind
of hit songs. He took a break after he got
married to his long time girlfriend and he tried
to make a comeback with the releases of some
singles and an album which didn’t really make
a mark like he had expected.

D’banj

The name D’banj commands respect for those
who really know who the Koko Master is and
his achievement as an artiste in Nigerian who
took Afrobeat to the global market. He
practically paved the way for the new act we
have now to be heard all over the world. D’banj
was once Africa’s biggest and marketable
artiste for several years. You can’t even begin
to count the number of hit songs he’s got
because if you do I can assure you that you
would loose count of them because they are a
lot. There are very few artiste who can come
close to his achievements both in the local in
international scene. D’banj music career kicked
off when he joined forces with his friend and
business partner Don Jazzy and together they
formed Mohit Records . He released debut
“Tongolo” single and “Why Me” which
catapulted him to the mainstream and he never
looked back combining Afrobeat with Afropop
with the help of Don Jazzy to become the most
sort after artiste in Africa. His career took a
downward slide when he parted ways with his
long time friend and producer, Don Jazzy and
ever since his music career has never been the
same again. Though he kept dropping new
singles occasionally, he never really found his
feet back.