The year is 2023 and Afrobeats music is gradually taking over the globe. Nigerian songs are being played on heavy rotation beyond the shores of the country.
Behind some of these phenomenal records are the music producers who cook up the beats. Right from the days of OJB Jezreel until now, Nigerian music producers have been very fundamental for the upliftment of Afrobeats.
In this article, we would highlight some Nigerian music producers who have done immensely well over the past 16 months. They have produced some of the biggest records that have gone platinum or gotten loads of international clout.
We would be revealing the music producers behind some of the biggest Afrobeats songs in the past year like “Calm Down”, “Last Last“, “Organise“, “Buga”, “Bandana“, “Cough (Odo)” and many other lofty tunes produced in the past 16 months. If you’re a musician and you want to make a hit song, we would most likely recommend the Nigerian music producers on this list.
In no particular order, we present the list of the hottest Nigerian music producers in 2023.
Blaisebeatz
Blaisebeatz, born Marcel Larry Akunwata is a Nigerian music producer who has become a favourite name among colleagues and Nigerian recording artistes. Blaisebeatz has moved up real quick to a top 5 music producer in the past two years. He is prolific and his work speaks for him.
The music producer has worked with musicians like Adekunle Gold, Kizz Daniel, Simi, Fireboy DML, Rema and many more. He holds production credit for tunes like “Cough (Odo)“, “No Wahala“, “Call Me Everyday“, “Holiday“, “Buga“, “Sinner“, among others.
He has also bagged a Grammy nomination for producing a tune on Chris Brown’s album “Breezy (Deluxe)“. We are pretty sure he has other bangers lined up for 2023 as the year continues to roll out.
Magicsticks
Asake had an incredible run last year, dropping back-to-back hits. A large part of his stellar performance can be traced to his music producer, Kareem Olasunkanmi Temitayo, better known as Magicsticks. The music producer produced the entirety of Asake’s “Mr Money With The Vibe” album and 3/4 of tracks from the earlier released “Ololade” EP all in 2022.
You definitely know it is a hit when you hear, “tune in to the king of sounds and blues” followed by “Ololade mi Asake”. The combo of Magicsticks and Asake was phenomenal as they created chart-topping tunes like “Sungba Remix“, “Terminator“, “Organise”, “PBUY“, etc.
We expect some wicked tunes from Magicsticks and his partner in crime Asake this year.
Tempoe
Another amazing music producer on our list is Michael Chigozie Alagwu, better known as Tempoe. We are sure you have enjoyed a tune produced by Tempoe but you didn’t realise it was him. He has a popular sound tag “MÄD!” anytime a tune he produced comes on.
He is the music producer behind smash hits like Omah Lay’s “Soso“ and “Understand“, Victony’s “Soweto” and many other contemporary hit songs. He has also worked as a co-producer on international projects like Stormzy’s last album “This Is What I Mean“.
Let’s back up a bit, Tempoe is the guy who produced Joeboy’s “Sip (Alcohol)” and co-produced CKay’s record-breaking tune “Love Nwantiti“. Tempoe is a go-to guy if you need a hit in 2023.
Andre Vibez
The name Alexandre Uwaifo might not ring a bell, but we’re sure you have heard the name tag “Vibezzzzz” on some of your favourite records from Mavin Records. Alexandre Uwaifo better known as Andre Vibez is the son of the late Nigerian music legend Dr Victor Uwaifo.
He is the producer of some of these tunes from Mavin Records, “Rush“, “Feeling“, “Running”, “Won Da Mo“, and “Calm Down” among others. He isn’t just a music producer but also contributes actively to the music-making process as a songwriter.
As part of his credit, “Calm Down” by Rema has gone platinum in America and also smashed YouTube views records for an Afrobeat song.
Andre is that guy!
Kukbeatz
Kukbeatz has managed to keep a low profile, but he is a music powerhouse who has created a seemingly perfect partnership with Ruger. Kukbeatz and Ruger belong to one of these artistes and producers’ relationships that translates into hit songs. Since Ruger’s debut in the Nigerian music industry, KukBeatz has been his go-to music producer.
Kukbeatz has handled production from Ruger’s debut “Pandemic” EP to his latest singles “Asiwaju” and “Red Flags“. We have him to thank for other hits like “Bounce”, “Dior“, “Girlfriend”, and “SnapChat“.
We can’t wait to hear “Kukuruku, cook that thing” on Ruger’s forthcoming debut album.
Rewardbeatz
Rewardbeatz might not be as popular as his colleagues mentioned earlier, but he has had such an impact on the Nigerian Afrobeats scene in the past year.
He is a producer co-producer for smash hits like “Buga“, “R.I.T.D“, “Eh God (Barnabas)” by Kizz Daniel. He holds production credit for some of these tunes with Blaisebeatz who has been earlier mentioned.
That’s not all; he produced Iyanya’s comeback hit, “Like“, Young Jonn’s “Xtra Cool” and “If You Leave” among others. Anytime you hear “bangaaa”, you know Rewardbeatz did that.
P. Priime
Born, Peace Emmanuel Aderogba Oredope, P. Priime is one of Nigeria’s youngest and most accomplished Nigerian music producers. He is literally a beast when it comes to music production. The talented beatmaker is the one behind Fireboy’s “Bandana“, Omah Lay’s “Woman“, etc. He produced all but one track on Asa’s last album “V“.
Big P was also a producer on “Wakanda Forever” soundtrack album where he produced three songs for Burna Boy, CKay and Fireboy DML.
Other notable mentions
Kel-P
One big name we cannot ignore on this list is Kel-P, born kelvin Udoma. He has been very consistent over the pay few years and has worked with some of Nigeria’s finest musicians, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Rema, etc.
Kel-P produced two tracks on “Creed III” soundtrack album working with Bas, Black Sherif and Ayra Starr. Only recently he produced Adekunle Gold’s “Party No Dey Stop”.
Niphkeyz
Niphkeyz is the man behind some of the hit songs coming from Marlian Music. He has wonderful chemistry with Zinoleesky and they have churned out bangers, like “Loving You“, “Call of Duty“, etc. Besides working with members of Marlian Music, he produced Omah Lay’s lead single “I’m a Mess“, Young Jonn’s “Dada“, TI Blaze “Kilo” among others.
He co-produced the track “Hide and Seek” on Stormzy’s album
Chopstix
Chopstix has had a good music partnership with Burna Boy from the “Outside” album era until now. He has been a part of his album production from then until now. Big Chopper as he is called, cooked up Burna Boy’s international hit “Last Last“, sampling Toni Braxton 2000 classic “He Wasn’t Man Enough”. The tune has gone platinum in America and also selling big units across the globe.
He also produced Burna boy’s “Kilometer“.
