The year 2022 birthed a lot of music projects from gospel music artist in Nigeria. From the numerous AfroGospel Albums & extended play (EP) projects that were released in the course of 2022, you may have come across many Projects from Christian music creatives from Nigeria. I have carefully picked six (6) Albums/EP for review which you may have skipped. (NB: The listing below is in no particular order.)
“HIGHER LIFE” by Rehmahz
Coming from a year where he was regarded as arguably the artiste of the year just behind Limoblaze for his running streak, Remmi Boi, as fondly called, decided to release his debut album. Prior to this year’s release of his own project, he has been on several individual and joint EPs. His new project, Higher Life, further cemented his place as one of the finest afrogospel artiste in Africa.
His Higher Life Album which was released in August sees Rehmahz playing with several genres related to the ancient afro sound, from Afrobeats to RnB. In tracks like “Easy”, Rehmahz allows his vocals and melodies to be distinctively dominant while in some others he lets his lyrics do the work. Easy, the lead single of the Higher Life project, has so far amassed thousands of streams across digital stores.
One further thing that beautifies the debut project of the singer is the collaboration with several other A-list artistes including award winning UK Afrogospel female singer Asha Elia, Called Out Music, Sarah Natalie, Bridge Music, Angeloh, T Babaz, Sal ly, Henrisoul and Kingdmusic. The project has garnered hundreds of thousands streams across digital stores with several of the singles listed among many playlists on streaming platforms. Stream the “Higher Life” album:
“VIBERATION” by Dabo Williams
After several years of dropping back to back street hit singles, Dabo Williams decided to break his jinx of not having a single body of work by dropping Viberation, a project which he said he was using to test the waters.
The project ended up making a deep splash as expected of any of Dabo Williams previous singles with groovy and energetic dancehall singles which helped the project to meet up with its title.
Viberation is an energetic body of work which features the amazing Oba Reengy, a long time contemporary of Dabo who added his indigenous bars to make “Emi Mimo Is Here” and “Buga” amazing. If there is anything you will love about the project, it is the relatable hooks and high tempo production done by 7th The Kingmaker and Kana, which literally will take any person off their seat.
Joekay and Lekan Salami rounded off as collaborators on the 17 minutes 34 seconds debut project. It might have been a debut project for Dabo Williams but more than that, it came to also be a revelation of the dexterity and beauty of the artiste by virtue of his personality and sound. Stream “Viberation” below:
“AWARE” by Obareengy
While many rappers are switching to the trending Afrobeats sound, Oba Reengy remains one of the few who are trying to find a balance. Armed with a soothing melodious voice which qualifies him as a good singer and energy filled punchlines with flows which attest to his good rapping skill, ‘Jiggy’ delivered an album which has the ability to stand the test of time and can literally compete with any project out there in terms of the production delivery and song performance.
Oba Reengy might have showed how good his vocals can be on some singles prior to the release of this project, but the release of Aware further exhibited his singing prowess and cemented him as one of the most versatile creative in Africa. The fact that Oba Reengy did 9 out of the 11 tracks without a collaboration shows how good the “Ibije Jesu” crooner can be with the Afrobeats sound. The 11 track Aware is a project which reveals our identity and who we are as believers. The start of the project sees Oba Reengy reminiscing about his salvation during which he spoke about where he was brought from.
Looking at Reengy’s class of music, we will easily know the Jiggy man had quite a rough start and the transformation since meeting Jesus is evident as further shared on the track. His Own was personal, Phenomenal was phenomenon and Relief was indeed a relief with Oyije adding her beautiful vocals.
In Eru, Oba Reengy shares a mid tempo groove which expresses his confidence and identification of the person living within. Overall, the project was indeed a masterpiece. Stream “Aware” below:
“JOY” by Festizie
If you’ve listened to Bigger Everyday, Perfection & Miracle by Moses Bliss the Too Faithful crooner, then the name Festizie would definitely not be strange to your hearing. One of the highlights of the year for the award-winning songwriter, recording artist, and producer who’s currently with The Spotlite (a group headed by Moses Bliss) was the release of the eleven tracks EP titled Joy.
The album has lived up to its title as there’s no way you’ll listen to the eleven track and not feel lively and Joyful if you were in a sorry state. If you listened when joyful then you’re sure to experience a greater dimension of Joy.
With the exception of the first track “So Much To Thank You For”, every other track on the album has the element and is hugely influenced by the afrobeat genre. The album which has a total listening time of almost 38 minutes and 33 minutes with the exception of track one is one of the amazing afrobeat albums to come out of 2022. Stream “Joy” below:
“SON OF GOD” by Maikon West
Released in June 2022, P48 Records music act, Maikon West came hard for the Afrobeat genre with a seven track album spanning a listening time of 19 minutes and 11 seconds. The album, which was heavy on features, has some of the best names in the afrogospel community on each track. The features includes the likes of A Mose, Rehmahz, Nolly, Sokleva, Lekan Salamii and a host of others.
The album with underlying afrobeat sound have songs with different moods, styles and feelings. Not just completely afrobeat, Maikon with the help of these featured artists found a way to fuse in other genres like rap, hip-hop into the tracks on this album.
With a string of successful releases and high-profile performances under his belt, Maikon is working tirelessly and consistently to establish himself as a formidable force in the music industry. The album Son Of God is sure to cement Maikon’s place as a leading artist in the afrogospel community and the music industry at large. Stream “Son Of God” below:
“ZERUBBABEL” by Aigbeh Dgong
With the trending & well received single titled Zerubbabel (featuring Paul Rarity & Sesmo) in April 2022, Dgong would definitely not need a lot of introduction. Fast forward to October 2022, he rolled out the “Zerubabel” album containing eight tracks.
Aigbeh Dgong creates relatable music godly music that show his take on every matter and enjoy God. Whenever you get to hear “Eii God” on a Christian song, you would know it’s Aigbeh Dgong. ‘Zerubbabel‘ is a proper representation of who D’gong is to the music industry. It merges edification, lessons learnt from following the teachings and leadings of Jesus while combining them with soothing local African sounds one can easily relate with.
The songs on this project basically portray his past life and how God’s will has helped him propel through trying times. The songs are a testament of what we can accomplish through Jesus Christ. They also make a reaffirmation of our commitment to God’s will while prophesying The Father’s promises into our lives. It’s a beautiful musical experience worthy of all the hype and accolades. For the new fan and listener, the Zerubbabel album is one project you would definitely really enjoy. Stream below:
AfroGospel in Nigeria is definitely having its moment and I am so here for it. Thanks for coming by to read through. Feel free to drop a comment and share this post too. Much love.
PS: This article you’ve read through had contributions from Nigeria’s foremost Henry Samson (music analyst and PR) and Talent manager, Ayodeji Samson.
