Top 20 hottest musicians in Imo state in 2019; No 4 is a case
When a roll call of music’s finest and best has to be taken, it’s an inevitable feat that some must just be mentioned before others.
Call it competition or whatever you may but as much as these acts keep striving to be notable personalities without motives of outdoing each other, you can’t help but notice the strategies employed that makes them outstanding and ultimately puts only one person at the leading spot.
Imolites are talented. No wonder so many gifted Imo citizens became Nigeria’s most known artists. However, even among the most talented ones are those who overcame the rest in their skills and potential.
In this article and according to the directive of the Record Label scouting association of Nigeria, a secret association that aims at scouting for talented music artists and producers and helping them secure life-changing deals with popular record-labels that are looking for artists.
We were directed to select according to popularity, influence, talent, the top 20 music artists in Imo state right now (2019). How hot are you when you climb the stage?
After we met with music promoters, bloggers, show promoters, Radio OAP’s and a little mindset of the public and Imolites as a whole, we came to understand that these are the top 20 musicians in Imo.
1 Things to Note
- Artists on featured image were chosen at random just to give the image a face and are in no way the chronological order of this list.
- We recognized some veterans in this list who might or might not appear in the future list maybe because the have left the state or have stopped doing music.
- The songs attached under each artists arent the songs used to judge their hotness in that year especially the songs which weren’t released in 2019, but some songs trended from 2018 and continued strongly into 2019. We placed those songs even from years back so you can get the feel of the artists.
- 60% of those on this list were voted in by the public, while we did a final round up.
- THIS IS NOT THE LIST OF THE HOTTEST ARTISTS IN IMO STATE, IT IS OF A SPECIFIC YEAR.
20. Briz Bryan
Born Emezie Bryan Chizim and Signed to Spectrum Entertainment Dynasty, Briz Bryan is not a new name in the entertainment industry.
The FUTO star has refused to step an inch away from Good music – With unique beats, superior voice quality, and dance steps to match. He is considered one of the unique male vocalists in Imo.
His most popular song ‘ Bad Girl ‘ received an encouraging acceptance in the music market and had thousands of downloads.
Listen to his songs
Briz Bryan – Bad Girl
Briz Bryan X Kristal X Pohzitive – Plenty Opor
Briz Bryan – My Place
19. Yung Kriss
You had no doubts he would appear on this list, right? We neither.
Yung Kriss has been a leading singer of Imo state for a long time now.
Not only handsome and charming, but also talented as no other artiste in the state.
The Skull Records lead act keeps working with the leaders of this niche and will definitely impress his fans more soon.
Listen to his songs below;
18. Mayor Mike
Here comes another talent yet to be harnessed, talk about good indigenous music in Imo you talk about MayorMike.
Nobody just does it better than MayorMike .
Mayor of Owerri as he is fondly known by many, possesses a stylish indigenous, cultural and traditional Owerri sounds, his intellect and delivery is yet to be seconded by any.
Even with little promotion MayorMike has come to stay and we haven’t seen enough of him yet.
Listen to his songs below;
17. Splendid B
‘Signed’ to Choplife Republic, Splendid B is one of the two ladies we have on this list and we are proud to have her here.
The queen of Pop and Imo state ‘Simi‘ reportedly has no substitute in Imo as she does well what she does best.
As one of South East’s most well-known artists, Splendid B makes singing look effortless. Her hit song ‘Love Me’ is a testament to the depth of talent she wields.
Constantly making a case for Imo musicians, Splendid B combines absolute skill, and a flawless command of her act, to produce hits one after another.
Listen to her songs below;
Runway ft. Splendid B x MoonBoy – Radio Call
16. Duall
Say this was a chess board, if someone pushes Psquare towards my king, then I will comfortably block with Duall and calmly go to bed, with no worry; Yes you heard right.
Duall (Pronounced Dual) is a Nigerian duo of identical twin brothers based in Imo state who has really shown that two heads in music are really better than one.
Their most popular and recent song ‘Attitude’ received an encouraging acceptance in the music market and had thousands of downloads.
In the previous list, we received lots of entries on their name even in the meeting with show promoters etc. so we had to put an eye out for them.
Listen to their song;
15. Neche
Ah Oga Madam!
This is one Nigerian rapper that has given many the reason to look out more for her. Born Winner Chinecherem, professionally known by her stage name Neche, is an Imo state based TV reality star, rapper- singer-songwriter, recording artist and performer.
Last year she won the Imo state female rapper of the year at Eceleb Awards, earlier same year she was a contestant at the popular reality TV show ‘SCTAGE’ where she made it to the final level, judges like illBliss had to certify her good to go.
Her recent song ‘Faith’ alongside its visuals left an indelible mark in the sands of Imo music.
Popularly known as ‘Keeng Neche’, she was once called Queen of rap in Imo…
Listen to her songs below;
Neche X El Vicker X Real Giz – Kpa Kpa Ngolo
14. Obenna
He broke into the limelight with ‘Remedy’ which currently has thousands of downloads.
Obeena (Pronounced Obinna)aimed at addressing the poor musical contents in the Imo industry, with his song ‘Remedy’ where he maintained he knows what the problem of the industry is and how he is going to remedy it by doing better music which he has stayed true to as he only serves good music.
Obeena , a producer and singer arranges his sound in a way that marvels, from the melodious classical tunes to the beautiful tempo and lets not forget, the pattern he uses to fuse his voice to the intriguing tune.
He is really good, you really need to look out for him! His upcoming EP is titled ‘Book of Owerri’.
Listen to his songs below;
DJ Faraday – holam stand featuring Blazer Q, Patwando, Obeena, and Keony
13. Mel Padrino
Mel Padrino is to Imo state what Maleek Berry is to Nigeria!
He stormed the industry with his break out single ‘Ready’.
Since then, we haven’t looked back or entertained the thought of passing up on Padrino’s possibilities. Having stayed true to his craft, it’s only aptly fitting that he has attained success in building his artiste profile to becoming one of the Imo Ent. industry’s respected acts in the A-list category.
He dished out recently a beautiful tune ‘My Lady’ featuring DMW B-red just after previously waking the street and music lovers from sleep with his melodious jam ‘Ogini’.
Listen to his songs below;
Mel Padrino – Ready
Mel Padrino – One Night
12. Viggo
Viggo is a lone ranger. One who flies on his lane.
Viggo, signed to Castor’s YBE label via his sound is finding success in reducing the tempo of mainstream music.
He operates on a mid-tempo level, infusing razz and multiple percussive influences into his tune.
Viggo delivers good lyrics and has a great vocal prowess, This list is not complete without him on it.
Talk about someone from Imo state to compete with the likes of Joeboy and Crayon, Viggo is your call!
Listen to his songs below;
11. Leeroy
He broke into the limelight with ‘Bishop Court’ which currently has thousands of downloads.
Leeroy is one of the finest rappers in Imo and Nigeria as a whole and is believed to be better than Vector in terms of salutatory flow.
Whenever he steps unto the stage, the IMSU graduate always gets a standing ovation, because he does best what he knows how to do.
His latest release ‘Man No Be God’ featuring Zoro has been certified good to go by the streets.
Listen to his songs below;
Leeroy Afrika Ft. Zoro – Man No Be God
Leeroy – Obodo Oyinbo ft Ok-David
10. Humblelion
You are new to Imo state if HumbleLion doesn’t ring a bell!
The Recording and Perfoming rapper-singer is another fine music breed worthy of export into the international music market.
He used to be a member of the music group “YBACM” until he decided to go on doing music as a solo artiste.
Also into graphics designing as another way of him trying to give back to the industry, and make it easy for his colleagues.
The Humble Records boss keeps working with the leaders of this niche and will definitely impress his fans more soon.
Aside from his first set of musics that broke him into the music scene in Imo, and his recently released ‘Simba, Son of Mufasa’ EP, we just cannot get enough of his recently released ‘Perfect‘.
Listen to his songs;
Humblelion – True love
Humble Lion – Addicted
9. Cajeto
Currently the man of the moment in FUTO, I heard!
Then his songs concurred to why he gets the audience on their feets with his name on their mouths.
Alika, Cajeto de swagga or simply Cajeto is not a new name in the music scene in Imo.
The freestyle king and Runway Entertainment lead act has a unique type of music that is marred by jabs and physical freestyle recognizance.
He stormed the industry with his break out single ‘Alika’.
While his latest release ‘Jeje’ is fast gaining form, we still find ourselves catching some cruise to his previously released track, ‘Perfect Gentleman’ once every other while.
Also, his ‘Alika like Cajeto‘ concert is fast gaining acceptance and form.
Listen to his songs below;
Cajeto Ft. F2 – Perfect Gentle Man
8. Blazer Q
First it was his voice that many fell in love with but Blazer Q has proven over and over again that He is into music and music is into him.
The Madonna University Mass Communication graduate and radio friendly artiste has certainly won our hearts time and time over. Not only did he entrap our senses with his luscious light tenor and high vocal pitch, he’s succeeded in amassing more than just a smash hit in the process.
Aside from his first set of musics that broke him into the music scene in Imo, we just cannot get enough of his recently released ‘Ebelebe‘.
The Bullionville recording and performing artiste late last year released a 5 track EP titled ‘Years with Anna’ and even held a listening party for it.
A track off the EP ‘Local boys’ in which he featured DJ POP has a 5 on 5 rating and thousands of downloads on Nigeria’s number one music site, Tooxclusive.
He also won the next new star at the 2019 edition of Owerri’s prestigious award, Eceleb.
Listen to his songs below;
Blazer Q – “Local Boys” ft. Funky DJ Pop
Blazer Q – LIC” (Life In Club)
7. Uc Flamez
He picked the right opportunity at the right time, and the rest has become history.
He is the only rapper in the east who made it to the top ten on Olamide’s ‘Who You Epp’ competition.
UC Flamez won the Artist of the year at the 2019 Eceleb Awards, he is also the mind behind the biggest rap gathering in Owerri, Owerri Rap League.
While his songs ‘Owerri Anthem‘ and ‘Akwakuma’ are still making waves, we cant still get enough of his recently released ‘Akachukwu’.
He happens to be one of the very few who have held down the typical owerri sound in music.
Listen to his songs below;
UC Flamez – Akwakuma
UC Flamez – Owerri Anthem
OLAMIDE X UC Flamez – WHO YOU EPP
6. Kristal
Kristal sealed his entry into the music scene with a series of breathtaking jams.
From the release of ‘Hurricane’ and the follow-up banger that drew the public attention on him ‘Welcome to Owerri’.
Kristal’s sounds are majorly beastly, lyrically and radically influenced and then they’re married with his comfortable fast rap range, Call him the Eminem of Owerri and you wouldn’t be doubted.
The latest graduate and Engineer in town used to be the number one star in FUTO and is reportedly the fastest rapper in the South East.
He doesn’t stop working or serving us vibes as he recently annonced on social media about his upcoming ‘Shockwave‘ EP, believe me its gonna be the future, ‘Dinero‘ which came off the EP is already a walking jam bomb.
Listen to his Songs below;
Kristal – Hurricane
Kristal – Welcome to Owerri
Kristal – Way Up
Kristal ft Uc Flamez – DINERO
5. Gteck
Real Kings Entertainment duo “G-teck Ugonabu” Zicky and Sparkinz are definitely the number one talented duo in the music scene in Imo.
They secured their place in the music scene after dropping ‘Legit’ and ‘Money Minded’ before finally topping the charts with ‘Nwachinemelu’
Still trying to give back to the music scene, Zicky tried also getting his hands on music covers and artworks design, and since then is arguably one of the biggest graphics designers in Imo.
While we await their ‘Vibes or Nothing’ EP dropping sometime this year we can’t get enough of their Selebobo featured song ‘Steady’.
Zicky handles the rap while Sparkinz takes the chorus, giving us the perfect tune whenever they hit the studio. Also off their ‘Vibes or Nothing’ EP is a beautiful jam ‘On God’.
Listen to their Songs;
Gteck – Nwachinemelu
Gteck – “On God” ft. Jaywillz
G-teck – “Steady” ft. Selebobo
4. Reflex Sound
You know when someone is too good that when you hear he’s still upcoming to others or not fully blown, you shed tears!
Reflex is not only good but good to go! He is so creative that he has always found ways to play around with trending videos online and turn them into something the eyes and ears will appreciate.
The multiple award-winning Pop singer, Music And Radio Producer/Recording Artist/Audio & Sound Engineer/Voice Over Artist is another fine music breed worthy of export into the international music market.
The Radio friendly artiste has certainly won our hearts time and time over. Not only did he entrap our senses with his luscious light tenor and high vocal pitch, but he’s also succeeded in amassing more than just a smash hit in the process. Reflex can make a remix/cover of your song and you would wonder why you didn’t have him on the main song in the first place.
Yes he is that good.
This guy has…Mehn..You really need to listen to this guy! His song ‘Oga shake body’ featuring Duncan Mighty has received huge acceptance nationwide with over 997k streams and his ‘Mikwere‘ is gaining form on Radio.
Remember that number 4 I told you about, that is a case? You are welcome!
Listen to his songs below;
Reflex – “Oga Shake Body” ft. Duncan Mighty
Reflex – “Mikwere”
Reflex Soundz – Amen
Reflex Soundz – Amaka Can Dance ft. Sojay & Sparkle
3. F2
F2 is our number three on this year’s list of the most hottest and talented musicians in Imo.
The Graduate of Prosthesis and Orthopaedic Technology from FUTO sealed his entry when his song ‘Gyration’ received huge attention from the streets and got massive airplay on the radio.
He went ahead to dish out ‘Salute’ before sinking us with an indigenous trap song ‘Hapuchaa’.
Since then the rap maestro hasn’t stopped dishing out hits upon hits.
At an album launch that was graced by the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Imo state, F2’s performance got the Political Juggernaut dancing.
The story further changed for good when he got signed by Kun Khalifa’s owned label ‘7th Republic’ that saw him dish out his recent hit song ‘SHIMA‘ alongside its visuals.
And since then his story has been different! He recently dished out ‘Otito’, after penning down a deal with a new label.
Listen to his songs below;
F2 – Shima
F2 – Hapuchaa
F2 – Salute
F2 – Gyration
F2 – “Otito”
2. Pryme
Signed to Nu Comrades entertainment, Pryme is our number 2 and we are proud to have him here.
He stormed the industry with his break out single ‘Trumpet’.
Since then, we haven’t looked back or entertained the thought of passing up on Pryme’s possibilities. Having stayed true to his craft, it’s only aptly fitting that he has attained success in building his artiste profile to becoming one of the Imo & Nigeria Ent. industry’s respected acts in the A-list category.
As one of South East’s most well-known artists, Pryme makes singing look effortless. His hit songs ‘Kilode’ and ‘Surulere’ is a testament to the depth of talent he wields.
Constantly making a case for Nigerian musicians, Pryme combines absolute skill, and a flawless command of his act, to produce hits one after another.
He featured Davido and Peruzzi on ‘Kilode’, which currently has thousands of downloads.
The IMSU Graduate is, without doubt, one of the finest singers Imo has ever produced.
Listen to his songs below;
Pryme Ft Davido And Peruzzi – Kilode
Pryme – Trumpet
Pryme – Surulere
1. Xbusta
You knew he was gonna headline the list? Lol…
Xbusta is our number one on the list of the most hottest and talented musicians in Imo 2019. (A round of applause please…)
Finally, He returns to his long deserving number one spot having been displaced by the likes of F2 and Kelly Handsome in times past.
The Estate Management graduate from IMSU sealed his entry when his song ‘Chom’ received huge attention from the streets and got massive airplay on the radio.
He went ahead to dish out ‘Badder Than Them’ featuring Splash before sinking us with an indigenous rap song ‘Real Nigga’ featuring Vector.
Since then the rap maestro hasn’t stopped dishing out hits upon hits.
Born Golden Okafor Chinedu, Xbusta grew up in Abuja were the likes of Davido, Wizkid, Olamide and the rest of them had it tough from, Dragun or Daddy Eh as he is fondly called intrigues with a deft rap prowess that has successfully defied social associations and class hierarchies.
What he lacks in physical appeal, he makes up with great lyrical content, perhaps the twisted version of Yung6ix.
Xbusta was signed into E-Money’s owned Five Star Music Group but left in 2018, after his label mates, Skiibi and Harrysong found their ways.
And since then his story has been different!
He has performed on stage with the likes of Kcee, Skiibi, MI, Praize, Olamide, Phyno, Dr Sid, Naeto C and so many others.
And has also worked with Vector, Skiibi, Splash, 2face, Harrysong, Humblesmith, Peruzzi and many other.
His collaboration with Skiibi was produced by 2face.
Xbusta recently dropped a joint EP with duo Playaz titled ‘Friendship’ and a track off the EP ‘God Forbid’ have rceived tremedous downloads and streams online in the last few months.
From his nominations and awards, Xbusta’s net worth is estimated to be at around $100,000 (According to infoguideafrica).
Xbusta has won a lot of competitions for himself in the entertainment industry. Some of them include:
✓ Winner of the Amstel Malta show time, in Enugu, 2011
✓ Winner of the king of the mic in Owerri, 2012
✓ Winner of the freestyle king in Imo State, 2012
✓ Winner of the lyrical lords, 2013
✓ Winner of the Imo carnival best artiste, 2014
✓ Winner of the luxury city/ sugar land 1 million Naira competition, 2015 and many others
Just so you don’t get tired of reading because I’m barely exhausted with the points to write about Xbusta, I’ll stop here ‘cos it’s obvious at this juncture why he’s number one.
Yet, it doesn’t look like he’s about to slow down because there’s been fresh reports about a collaboration with an A-list musician, He doesn’t just stop working!
Listen to his songs below;
Xbusta x Peruzzi – “Somebody Crush”
Xbusta – “Ogologo” Ft. Harrysong
Xbusta x Skiibii – Proud Of My Woman
Xbusta – God Forbid
Xbusta Ft Humblesmith – Somebody
Just because we mentioned 20 doesn’t mean its all we’ve got! We have talents crawling over the eastern heartland, here are more artistes you should look out for in 2020, Dtwinz, UGEE, Mezz, Janex Mara, Mk Utibe, Jayphil, Mr Icon, Wonder Ihieri, Mega C, AJ Stailes, Lagboski, Kashkay, Mobrek, Blair Sings, Amaka Gift and Thunderboy Muse.
Who did we miss? Tell us in the comment box below…
Special Recognition:
‘A recognition given to people who have proven times and times again to be the major supporters of music and artistes in Imo state in 2019′
Yungroc, Luke Nathans, Mc Tboy, Certified Camille, Leo saint, Nwacheat, Blex B, Esure & Acharaman.
Reviewed by the Panel of 9 and to be submitted to Record labels on 12th of June as directed by Record Labels Scouts of Nigeria(RLSN).
Supported by
TNR Media, Boom Naija, SMD Graphix, SweetNaija Music, Blizz TV, Bossgist.com, Jety Media, Metrolife.ng, Adamazi Blog, Quingist, Elitism6.com.ng, Certified Camille, Darling FM, Weforce Digital, Uncle Mark, Screengist.com, Orjisblog Media, Amiboisland, Otowngist.
Compiled by Drift King (Add him On Facebook) || Brought to you by Otownloaded.