BNXN and Sarz‘s Back Outside, off their collaborative EP, The Game Needs Us, has been a theme song for most videos on social platforms. When the duo announced the release of their collaborative project, it was highly anticipated because Sarz is an exceptional producer, and BNXN’s melodies and lyrical game in the industry are unmatched. The project followed the synergy and collaborations among Nigerian artists in recent times.
Due to many factors, which ego could be considered as the top of the list, contemporary Nigerian artists rarely release collaborative projects. They’d rather feature them on a song in the entire project. In fact, releasing a project without a feature is sometimes considered a flex. But, like other industries, collaboration is important to grow the Nigerian music industry. It is exciting to see Nigerian artists come together to collaboratively release projects, such as albums and EPs. Producers and DJs like Sarz, DJ Tunez, Spinall, have been adopting the tool for long, collaborating with artists to release EPs or albums.
Let’s look at some of the Nigerian artists who have released collaborative projects in recent times:
Wizkid and Asake
After successful single collaborations, Wizkid and Asake decided to release a joint EP to solidify their creative synergy. Asake featured Wizkid on his third album, Lungu Boy. And because one good deed deserves another, Wizkid featured Asake too on his last album, Morayo. The previous features gave Afrobeats a partnership that most likely did not exist in the genre: a legend collaborating with a new act to release a joint project.
Fireboy DML and Pheelz
Fireboy DML and Pheelz are like a bottle and its cap; they simply have to be together. On Fireboy DML’s debut album, Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps, Pheelz produced a notable number of songs on the album. So their chemistry is divine, and every time they come together to make a song, they make classics. On Peace by Piece, no song is skippable. You can say, in literal sense, that they both went “band for band” on each song.
Joeboy and Wizard Chan
Joeboy and Wizard Chan sing from the soul, so it wasn’t a surprise when the duo announced a collaborative project forthcoming. The EP has hit songs like 100 Meter which has been doing numbers on streaming platforms.
BNXN and Ruger
What started as social media chaos became a joint project release. Days before the release of RnB by Ruger and BNXN, the duo were trolling each other on Twitter (now X) about who has more streams, more projects, more this, more that. Of course, it was all to generate buzz ahead of the release of RnB. Despite the bants online, when the collaborative project was announced, it was well-received by their fans. Standout tracks include Ilashe, POE, and Romeo Must Die.
It is exciting to see Nigerian artists embrace collaboration beyond just a song or two and commit to full projects together. These joint albums and EPs not only showcase creative chemistry but also expose how collaboration remains one of the strongest tools for pushing the industry forward. Which Nigerian collaborative project has been your favourite so far?
