As 2016 comes to an end, we at notjustOk.com continue our 4th installment of #TheList series here on notjustOk.com with our in-house selection of The 10 Hottest Producers in Nigeria. The list showcases the geniuses behind the biggest hit songs outta Naija in the last 12-15 months, and celebrates their achievements by outlining their great productions over this period.
Without wasting much time, here are The 10 Hottest Producers In Nigeria 2016, as compiled by the notjustOk Team.
The 10 Hottest Producers In Nigeria | #TheList2016
10. Legendury Beatz
The Starboy duo make their 4th consecutive appearance on Notjustok’s annual Hottest Producers list, albeit at their lowest ranking till date (2013 – 6th, 2014 – 3rd, 2015 – 4th).
The biggest Legendury Beatz production in the past 12 – 15 months has to be Wizkid’s Final (Baba Nla) which came out a year ago, and did some real damage in the first quarter of 2016. In 2016, with Wizkid not releasing any official single, the lads worked with some of the new school names like L.A.X, Ceeza, Ycee & Dremo, while releasing their own singles.
We hope to get some more fire from Mutay and Zee in 2017.
9. Shizzi
Talented hitmaker, Shizzi is another name making his 4th consecutive appearance on #TheList2016 (2013 – 5th, 2014 – 2nd, 2015 – 8th). Shizzi is probably the only producer who has racked up multiple hits for Wizkid AND Davido over the years; if you knew much about the inner circles of the industry, you’d understand how difficult this is.
Shizzi‘s biggest production of 2016 has to be Olamide’s viral single “Who You Epp?” The song, which was aided by a notjustOk-hosted competition with the same title, amassed over 2,000 remixes, eventually earning Olamide the “Best Street Hop” Award at the just-concluded #Headies2016.
Shizzi also produced Davido and Dammy Krane’s popular single “IZZUE“, and did the Lord’s work on Davido’s first official single as a Sony artist, Gbagbe Oshi.
8. Maleek Berry
Lots of times, producers try to make the cross-over from being “just” beatmakers to being full-fledged musicians/singers. Most of them fall flat. However, a few successfully register hits. That’s where Maleek Berry comes in. The Starboy affiliated producer has become a bonafide musician, releasing arguably the best body of work in 2016, Last Daze of Summer (EP), with Kontrol becoming one of the biggest songs of the year, and “Let Me Know” currently a fan favorite.
Maleek Berry is now a major force to be reckoned with. He’s one of the Leaders of the New School.
7. Altims
There’s been talk of Mavin Records in-house producers, Altims and BabyFresh, being overshadowed by Don Jazzy, an issue Don Jazzy addressed when we had an exclusive chat with him. 2016 has been different in that respect. Altims in particular has stepped out of Jazzy’s shadow and scored some major hits.
“Oluwa Ni” by Reekado Banks is one of the candidates for ‘Song of the Year’, while Korede Bello‘s “Do Like That” is currently sitting on top of the PlayData Charts.
It’s not beans to outperform Don Jazzy in any label at any given time. Congratulations, Altims!
6. Sess
If any producer deserves an “A+” for the transformation and elevation of his artist’s sound, it definitely has to be Sess. In the last year or so, young Producer – real name, Salami OluwaSesan Abbas – has becoming Falz‘s in-house producer, lacing the beats on the late 2015 album “Stories That Touch” and the 2016 joint-EP with Simi, “Chemistry“.
Aside Falz‘s two recent projects, Sess is also the brain behind “Bahd Baddo Baddest” by Falz x Olamide x Davido, and Terry Apala‘s breakthrough single, “Champagne Shower“.
5. Krizbeatz
Real name, Chris Alvin Sunday, Krizbeatz is a new name that’s still relatively unrecognizable, but is one of the guys currently spearheading the new wave of Nigerian music. In the last year alone, Krizbeatz already has racked up a heavy list of production credits which include Tekno, Selebobo, Reminisce, Koker, Skales, French Montana and Cassper Nyovest. The biggest, of course, being PANA, a song that’s currently approaching 2 million downloads here on Notjustok.com.
With Tekno‘s debut album set to drop in 2017, we expect Krizbeatz to become even more visible and respected in the music industry.
4. Pheelz
YBNL in-house producer, Pheelz is another regular fixture on our annual Hottest Producers list (2013 – 10th, 2014 – 6th, 2015 – 7th). This year, he earns his highest ranking so far, sitting pretty at #4 primarily for his magnificent work on Adekunle Gold‘s “Gold” album as well as Olamide‘s Award-winning “Eyan Mayweather” album.
Pheelz has joined the list of multi-talented producers crossing over to the singing side of the industry. So far, his releases have been legit. Expect to hear more from Pheelz Mr Artist in 2017!
3. DJ Coublon
Last year’s #1 on #TheList slips down 2 places in 2016 to a still-impressive #3! That’s the one and only DJ Coublon!
Coublon’s production credits in the last year include Tekno‘s “Wash“, Yemi Alade‘s “Ferrari” and Kiss Daniel‘s “Good Time“. In this same period, he’s also produced singles for MC Galaxy, Emma Nyra, 9ice, Faze, among others. The list is quite long.
2. Masterkraft
In my opinion, the biggest competition for Don Jazzy over the last 5 years has to be Masterkraft. His consistency is absolutely insane, producing hit songs year after year, and for a plethora of artists, not just 1 or 2, as we’ve seen with some other producers. Masterkraft brings out the best in every artist he works with.
Masterkraft‘s “Finally” is one of the biggest songs released in the past 12 -15 months. Phyno‘s “Fada Fada” is one of the hottest songs of 2016, and he has Masterkraft to thank for that. Kiss Daniel’s “Jombo” is one of the most downloaded songs of 2016, and he has Masterkraft to thank for that.
The fact is, you stand a better chance of scoring a hit single by working with Masterkraft ahead of majority of his peers.
1. Young Jonn
Congratulations to Young Jonn the wicked producer! He has been chosen by the Notjustok Team as The Hottest Producer in Nigeria for the year 2016! This accolade comes right after he bagged the Producer of the Year award at the just concluded #Headies2016.
In the last 12 – 15 months, Young Jonn has produced hits for YBNL affiliates, Olamide and Lil Kesh, 9ice, Dammy Krane, Kiss Daniel, with Daniel’s single “MAMA” being the biggest of them all, racking up 1.8 million downloads (and counting!)
Considering how close Young Jonn was to topping #TheList in 2015 (he finished at #2), this jump to #1 shows that last year was no fluke! He’s indeed arguably our finest Afropop producer at the moment. Long may it continue!
Worthy Mentions
1. BabyFresh
While BabyFresh narrowly missed out on the main list, it is important to highlight what has been his biggest year thus far. Like Altims, BabyFresh stepped out of Don Jazzy’s very huge shadow in 2016, producing key jams for Tiwa Savage, D’Prince, and totally doing the Lord’s work on Reekado Banks debut album “Spotlight”. The jam “Problem” is currently causing problems on the airwaves.
2. Dr Amir
The “Reggae Blues” producer hasn’t had the same kind of year he had in 2015, but Dr Amir has remained relevant to the Five Star Music artists. He also scored production credits for the likes of Patoranking and Orezi.
3. Kiddominant
Davido and Olamide’s collaboration “The Money” was one of the biggest songs of the first quarter of 2016, thanks to Kiddominant. He also produced DJ Neptune and Mr Eazi’s popular single “Marry” as well as co-producing Danagog and Davido’s “Hookah”.
4. Kezyklef
Kezyklef is the producer spearheading the resurgence of the Igbo/Eastern traditional “Atilogwu” music, scoring the massive hit “Ogene” by Zoro, as well as other bangers like “Achikolo” and “Gbo Gan Gbom“.
5. Sarz
2016 has been a quiet year by Sarz‘s lofty standards. However, when you’re (one of) the producer(s) of the biggest song in the world, Drake‘s “One Dance” featuring Wizkid and Kyla, you certainly get a pass! Big-ups, Sarz!
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