In a streaming age where the algorithm often flattens musical curiosity into cookie-cutter playlists, discovering fresh, boundary-pushing Nigerian talent has become both a luxury and a revolution.
Upper Entertainment’s Upper Quintet is back again ( after a lengthy hiatus), spotlighting weekly, five of the most compelling voices currently reimagining sound, style, and storytelling from the fringes of the mainstream. They’re not just next up—they’re right now, carving out soundscapes with bold penmanship, spiritual undertones, emotional precision, and a heavy lean toward soul-stirring honesty. These five rising artists aren’t waiting to be crowned; they’re building their own thrones.
Fimí: The Fire That Writes in Yoruba
Fimí is a bar-for-bar bruiser with the elegance of a griot. Blending Yoruba poetic forms like ewi with contemporary flows, the Osogbo-born rapper brings a culturally rooted fury to Nigeria’s rap ecosystem. Her verses don’t chase virality—they build cathedrals of meaning. Fimí is not here to ride waves; she’s here to build her own ocean.
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3rty: Soul with a Therapist’s Pen
3rty’s music feels like therapy with reverb. His confessional, often melancholic tone rests at the intersection of R&B and alt-hip-hop, but his real power lies in his self-awareness. On tracks like “Red Velvet, Sneaky Link, The Lonely ” and latest track ‘Say Na Lie’,” he explores sensuality, wit, retrospective, and the quiet horror of healing.
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Edenojie: The Pilgrim of Emotion
Few artists today combine gospel roots, pop sensibility, and soulful restraint quite like Edenojie. With tracks like “See You Again,” a tender ode to his late brother, the Nigerian-Dubai-based singer channels pain into sonic balm. His performances, from church pews to Expo 2020 stages, are meditative and textured. In an industry obsessed with hooks, Edenojie still values the hug in harmony.
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Aussie Maze: The Alchemist of Nostalgia
If your feelings had a bedroom, Aussie Maze would be the interior designer. The Lagos-based artist crafts alt-pop ballads laced with vintage synths, diary-entry lyrics, and a deep embrace of vulnerability. His work, from “Retro 1981s” to “How I Met Your Mother,” distills heartbreak and hope into echoes that haunt gently. Aussie Maze is building a soft universe where men can cry, and melodies can heal.
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Tsuni: The Pop Contrarian We Didn’t Know We Needed
Tsuni is that rare kind of pop artist—unpolished on purpose, her voice weathered like vinyl, her songwriting both cinematic and brutally honest. With a style that merges soul, pop, and a touch of alt-folk melancholy, she writes songs that feel like polaroids of late-night conversations. In a world of overproduction and synthetic hooks, Tsuni offers rawness as a rebellion. And it’s working.
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