Standout Nigerian Albums Of 2015

1. Falz – Stories That Touch

Release Date: November 16, 2015

At the beginning of 2015, if you mentioned to most critics that Falz would have the best album of the year, you’d probably get strong cold stares. But alas, here we are at the end of the year, and Falz’s Stories That Touch is our official best album of the year. Musically it’s a great album, the production is top notch, it’s entertaining, and lyrically it’s solid in every aspect. Quite honestly, this album put a lot of other hip-hop artists in Nigeria to shame. These peeps have to do some homework now.

Standout tracks: Workaholic, Chardonnay Music, Soft Work

2. The Collectiv3 – The Collectiv3

Release Date: October 2, 2015

The Collectiv3 is arguably the most beautifully composed body of work in Nigeria this year. The team consisting of Kid Konnect, Funbi, Poe, SDC, Temi Dollface, and IKON brought about what they think Nigerian music should sound like. It’s far from the traditional commercial music, but if there’s an evergreen album on this list, this is it. Musically, the album breaks Nigerian musical boundaries, and even if it’s not the big commercial success it’s supposed to be, it’s the sort of album that could win a Grammy if all things were equal.

Standout tracks: Forbidden Fruit, Sexy Bitch, Shey Bai

3. Darey – Naked

Release Date: October 13, 2015

If you haven’t listened to Darey’s latest album, Naked, then you’re really missing out on some really good music. Over the past decade, Darey has matured astronomically in his music, and this album is the epitome of that maturity. From the traditional drum patterns in Asiko Laiye to the more high-life feel or Orekelewa, the album is an album that doesn’t conform to what the industry is most popular for.

Standout tracks: Asiko Laiye, Delilah, Lie To You

4. Naeto C – Day 1

Release Date: August 18, 2015

At the beginning of 2014, a lot of critics had written off Naeto C as a ‘once upon a time’ rapper, but then, he dropped one of ‘dopest’ hip-hop albums of 2015 with Day 1. Is it a mixtape? Is it an album? Do we care? The bottom line is that Day 1 is a super dope hip-hop project, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a much better one in 2015. In a year when a lot of the bigger name rap acts dropped less than impressive projects, Naeto C came in like a thief in the night to deliver this beautiful project filled with dope samples, trap beats, and stinging bars.

Standout tracks: Day 1, Soft, Oluwaloseyi

5. Seyi Shay – Seyi or Shay

Release Date: November 13, 2015

Seyi Shay completely gave a middle finger to all her doubters with this stellar album, Seyi or Shay. The album is arguably the best afro pop album this year, and has everything you’d want in a pop album. The lyrics, arrangement, production, diversity in genres, features are all very well put together, making it an album that will go well in Seyi Shay’s musical history.

Standout tracks: Right Now, The Mic, TINA

6. Runtown – Ghetto University

Release Date: November 23, 2015

Runtown’s debut album, Ghetto University turned out to be a very good one. You might have expected it with the kind of 2014 he had with Galladro, Domot and Baby Answer. The album also reached out to outside shores by featuring DJ Khaled and Walshy Fire on the album, and both features turned out very good. Runtown’s Ghetto University is one of the few albums in Nigeria that you can slot in for a party and jam all day long. The beats, production, composition are all great.

Standout tracks: Bend Down Pause, Tuwo Shinkafa

7. Chocolate City – TICBN

Release Date: April 30, 2015

You can say it was a way for Chocolate City to announce their new and improved squad under new label boss, MI Abaga. The album is a very well put together compilation made up of 15 tracks, and the 13 artists signed to the label. So that came out to be an average of one song per artist, which makes it even a better quality. Every song had a different dimension, and kept the album fresh. Although the album was not really marketed properly, and didn’t get a lot of buzz initially, it’s still a very good album, and one you can still listen to it in the next couple of years.

Standout tracks: 3 Mainland Bridge, Suite 99

8. Reminisce – Baba Hafusa

Release Date: April 30, 2015

Reminisce dropped arguably the most anticipated hip-hop album of the year, and it comes with him being one of the hottest rappers of the year. Maybe the hype was so much that folks expected heaven and earth, and on that front it was a bit disappointing. However, when you let the dust settle, and go back and listen to it once again, it’s still a very good album. Baba Hafusa had some of everything in it. From the street hip-hop to the raunchy, love and gbedu music. Reminisce showed in this album that he can stay consistent, and be a household name in Nigeria music industry for the long haul.

Standout tracks: Local Rappers, Otiya, Grind

9. IllBliss – #Powerful

Release Date: June 12, 2015

Riding on the wave of his 2014 hit singles, WTF and Bank Alert, IllBliss released his third studio album, and made one thing clear, he’s not hear for everybody. Illy has found a way to create his own cult following in the music industry, and for good reasons.#Powerful is everything illBliss is about these days. In a year when there were a lot of rappers spewing a bunch of incomprehensible jargon, Illy did his homework. No need for a calculator or dictionary when listening to #Powerful. It’s clear and to the point.

Standout tracks; WTF, Bank Alert, Idiche, Powerful.

10. Burna Boy – On A Spaceship

Release Date: November 26, 2015

Although the album is barely a few weeks old, it’s still considered by many to be one of the better albums of 2015. Burna stuck to the style that gave him a lot of fame on this project, On A Spaceship. The album has some of everything, and one can really find more than enough party jams on it. Interestingly, some of the singles released this year didn’t make the album, which might not be such a bad thing.

Standout tracks: Single, and On A Very Good Day which features Wande Coal.

Adapted from Leadership.ng.