Ranking the Best Nigerian Hip-Hop Songs of the Last Decade (2008-2018)

Nigerian Hip-Hop Stars / amped illustration

Every once in a while, when there’s a big moment in Nigeria Hip-Hop, the community immediately starts to debate how viable hip-hop is in Nigeria. If Nigerian hip-hop was ever good, if there’s a future for hip-hop in Nigeria. These questions cannot be answered definitively. So rather than giving steaming hot takes created from a poor train of thought, I often go the route of Nigerian hip-hop has been great over the last decade. Hip-Hop peaked this past decade, a lot of the biggest musical acts over the past decade were hip-hop acts.

To celebrate Nigerian Hip-Hop, I decided to make a list of some of the best hip-hop songs of the last decade.

Notable omissions

Wa Wa Alright - Kel, Boys Are Not Smilling- Terry tha Rapman , Jor Ooh - Jahbless , Dreamer - ShowdemCamp, Ghost Mode- Phyno & Olamide, God on the Mic - Jesse Jagz

20. Local Rappers (2015) - Reminisce ft Olamide & Phyno

The rap game had taken a huge step back. Most of the rappers weren’t putting out music or if they were, their music just wasn’t working. The rappers that had the game on lock were the local rappers and on this song they virtually proclaimed it was for the “fresh guy” rappers and that the local rappers ruled now. To be honest they weren’t wrong at all.

19. Meet me at the top (2010) - Laylow ft icebergSlim, CartiAir, Liu T, Terry Tha Rapman, Skales, Vector, Dagrin, Ludu & Gino

At a time when Nigerian rap was soaring and on the rise producer Laylow had the idea of bringing on some of the brightest rap acts in the country, give them a great beat and a catchy hook and just let them rap their best bars.

18. Molowo Noni (2011) - Samklef ft Wizkid, D'prince & Iceprince

This song marked a significant time in Nigerian music history as all the artists on this song where just entering into stardom. This song was a peek into how great Nigerian music could go.

17. Lagimo (2008) - Rooftop MCs ft Cohbams Asuquo

Christian rap duo Rooftop Mcs mixed punk rock with Hip-Hop on this song and it came out so well that the song was accepted by way larger audience than they could have planned for and changed their career trajectory. The song elevated Christian music in the country. Up till today the song Still bangs.

16. E don dey madt (2010) - Sinzu

Now E don dey madt is not Sinzu’s most popular song or his biggest song in the last decade but the impact of the song is undeniable. The song was unlike any of its kind when it first came out. It was basically what started what I like to call "Parody Rap". Jahbless basically ran with the style on his smash hit Joor Ohh. You can also say E don dey madt birth the type of rap music Falz the bad guy makes.

15. Jagaban (2015) - Ycee

The thing about this song is that no one saw it coming, a young rapper comes seemingly out of nowhere and tells us he his Jagaban(a nickname for one of the most powerful politicians in Nigeria). The song blew up and turned Ycee to an instant star and Jagaban to basically a slang.

14. Owo ati swagger remix (2009) - CartiAir ft Gino, Dagrin, Eva & Terry tha Rapman

This was just a braggadocious song that really needs no explanation. CartiAir called on his fellow Nigerian rappers to come on his huge hit and just shit on you and that dey did.

13. Awon Goons Mi (2014)- Olamide

Olamide has the knack of knowing what’s needed from him and how to switch things up. On this song Olamide delivers ferocious and amazing Yoruba rap, reminding us that he’s one of the best to ever do it.

12. Tha Finest (2010) - KnightHouse ft Saucekid and Teeto

Two of the most skilled rappers naija has ever seen. One of the brightest young talents and some of the best Nigerian producers all blend on this track and give us a perfect mix. Few songs have been executed better than this.

11. King Kong remix (2015) - Vector ft Phyno, Reminsce, Classiq & Uzi

Vector tha Viper has been one of the best hip-hop acts in the country and he declares himself king kong and says the jungle is his own that no one can deal with him and the damage he does on the mic. For the remix of the song he brewed a mixture with rappers from all over the country spitting their toughest bars.

10. No be God (2008) - Gino

When I first heard this song I assumed he was talking to me and wanted to uplift my spirit but I was wrong he wasn't talking to only me, this was a powerful song that resonated with a lot of people. It painted Gino’s Nigerian struggle and how he rose up by believing it would all be alright after-all "No be God"?

9. Aiye Po Gan (2009) - illBliss Ft Terry G

At the begging of the decade IllBliss went on a run like no other, with hard delivering rap songs one after the other. The Terry G assisted song highlighted and capped the exceptional run.

8. Nobody Test Me (2010) - Choc Boiz

You know how once you let a dog out of its cage the first thing it does is to go and piss around its environment cause it’s marking its territory. This is what the Choc Boiz did, not worried about hits or anything they just came out with a plan to outrap everybody and clear all doubt and even throw shots at those doubting them (side eye to Kelly Handsome), and they did just that and it was a hit for good measure.

7. Bahd baddo baddest (2016) - Falz ft Olamide & Davido

When one of the most exciting and funny acts in the game features two of the most prolific artistes in the game you know you’re to expect something great, and something somewhat boastful, given the name of the song. We got all that but what we didn’t know was that we going to get one of the greatest rap verses from a pop star. It’s a great song that is aging very well.

6. 123 remix (2010) - Dj Neptune ft M.I, Naeto C & Dagrin

Like it’s name 123, the song had the top 3 rappers at the peak of their powers going at it all spitting some of their raps. People still argue who had the best verse up until this day. This was also one of the last songs the late great Dagrin was on.

5. Safe (2008) - M.I ft Djinee

When M.I dropped Safe it was a moment, it was bigger than just a song. M.I gave the Nigerian industry oxygen it never knew it needed, this song injected new life and fire into all the Nigerian musicians not just rappers and challenged them.

4. Pon Pon Pon (2009) - Dagrin

This was a song for streets that made all appreciate the street. The beat banged, the flow was hard, the video was hard everything about the song was gritty and ugly. Saying this was what the game needed is an understatement, this song breathed new life into Nigerian hip-hop and started a wave of hard hitting indigenous rap.

3. Oleku (2011) - Ice Prince

There has not being a bigger way to announce yourself on the musical scene like the way Ice Prince did with Oleku. The song is laced by an infectious hook by Brymo and Ice Prince with very sharp verses that embodied his swag and his wit. Needless to say the song was also a massive hit!

2. Kini Big deal (2008) - Naeto C

This song is Naeto C’s magnum opus, the song embodies everything that was Naeto C from how hard the beat was to his silky smooth flow. It was truly a display of excellence and he made it all look effortless in a way only he can.

1. Anoti (2008) - M.I

It’s 2008, M.I had just burst onto the scene with his hit single safe, I had no clue how he was going follow up, I was a hater, saying he wasn’t really good, and then his album came out and my friend who wasn’t an M.I believer played it for me. Anoti came on and my mind was blown for a moment. I wanted to stand there and fake hate and pretend like the song wasn’t great but I couldn’t do it. Everything about the song was amazing, the production was unlike anything we had had from Nigerian hip hop up until that time. The rapping on that song was damn near flawless. The technique M.I displayed on that song is still yet to be matched by most of the Nigerian rappers.