Absolute Hearts Hottest Naija Artistes, 2015 (Male Category)

2015 has been a wonderful year in the music industry in Nigeria as various artistes were able to dish out good materials that have made the year musically blessed. 2015 was also the year we saw our artiste feature more with foreign artiste, from Drake to Meek Mill to R.kelly I guess saying 2015 was the bomb for Naija artistes would be an understatement.

Like I said loads of songs had been released this year and most were brilliant, that have kept us dancing from the moment they were released till this very moment but the real question is who are those artiste that had Naija on a shutdown with their songs for the year 2015? Today Absolute Hearts would be compiling a list of 10 Hottest Naija Artistes (male category) that shutdown Nigeria for the year under review.

Now every artiste that would appear on this list.The list is based on the following guidelines;

1.      Hit Songs: For we to say an artiste was or is the hottest artiste for the year under review then that artiste must have had some couple of hit songs that drove use crazy. The minimum hit required is 3.

2.      The Buzz: Now, it one thing to have a hit song and it is another thing for the song to create a buzz, there were plenty hit songs in 2015 but not all of them created buzzes.

3.      Collaborations: Yes this is another criterion that the hottest artiste in Nigeria for 2015 must have. There are no doubt that the numbers of collaboration an artiste have would determine how hot that artiste must be, so it is only logical that an artiste on this list must have at least four collaborations.

4.      Slang: I know this isn’t a thing but really let face it, for every super hit song there is always a slang that the street would pick up from the song and constantly get to use. For example the street took Yes Boss from Nateo C because of the song 10/10.

5.      Acceptance: Well I am sure you guys would agree with me that the acceptance of a song also matters because what makes your song a hit song is also how well the people accept the song.

NOTE: We don't expect the artistes on this list to meet the entire criteria but they must at least meet 3 out of the 5 criteria and with that been said let take a look at the Absolute Hearts Hottest Naija Artiste For 2015 (Male category). This list is in order of ranking.

8. Small Doctor: This is one artiste that the street really accepted and couldn’t be ignored because he was also practically everywhere for the year under review. With hits songs like Mosquito Killer, Gbagun, You Know, Uzobu. Small completely took over the street with his unique style of singing. His collaboration includes Omoge with Terry G, Ajoma Jaiye with Samklef, Jah Bless and Instagram Police with Viktoh just to mention a few. Small Doctor really made a name for himself in 2015. His hit song Mosquito Killer which he just shot a video for of recent is still creating lot of buzzes on the street. His hard work didn’t go unnoticed as he has been nominated for the Headies in the category Best Street Hop Artist.

7. Lil Kesh: After the success of his breakthrough single Shoki, Lil Kesh has gone from that Olamide protégé to a household brand as he provided us with three monster hit in 2015. All three songs Gbese, Efejoku and Is It Because I Love You made Kesh one of the most sought after artiste for the year under review. Artistes like Reminisce, Viktoh, Tha Suspect, DJ Xclusive, Samklef, and Iyanya have all featured Lil Kesh this year. Being Olamide protégé no doubt gave Kesh some level of acceptance but with his own hit after hit his acceptance level has grown. His latest single Is It Because I Love You is creating buzz just as much as Efejoku which is also one song DJs cant doing with jamming in the club.

6. Patoranking: From Gal Ting Riddim to My Woman My Everything and Make Am Patoranking really did shut down Naija. Remember Patoranking's Make Am got a 10/10 rating in one of the Absolute Hearts Music Industry Reviews. Patoranking should really be applauded because minus those three listed songs he didn’t release any personal single for the year under review and yet he swept us off our feet, now that's what I call a hot artiste. Music fans were still enjoying the monster hit My Woman My Everything which features Wande Coal when Pato decided to give us another monstrous hit Make am. In terms of acceptance Patoranking's acceptance has even grown beyond Nigeria as Ghanaian reggae artiste Stonebwoy couldn’t resist doing a song with him. His features songs includes Is It Because I Love You with Lil Kesh, Royal with Eddy Kenzo, Pull Up with Stonebwoy, Left For Good with Waje just to mention a few.

5. Falz: Still enjoying the successful release of his sophomore album Stories That Touch, Falz also shut down Naija with his hit song Ello Babe which instantly became a slang guys now use to refer to girls. His second single that also knocked us off our feet was Karishika ft Phyno and with that the street knew Falz meant business this 2015. His third single Gerrarahere ft. Koker also created a lot of buzz as it made the slang Gerrarahere much more popular. Because of his comical rap style other artiste like Simi, Mz Kiss, Reminisce, Ink Ewards and many more made sure they had Falz on their songs

4. Reminisce: With hit songs like Tesoju, Skilashi, Local Rappers. Reminisce is another artiste that shut down the streets of Naija in the year 2015. With the release of his third studio album, Baba Hafusa Reminisce finally cemented his name in the hearts of Naija music lovers. His song Local Rapper created a lot of buzz in and out of the music industry, the song was also well accepted by die hard fan of the phrase local rap because of the line “street ti take over tucking in o ja owo mo, street ti take over punchline line o ja owo mo street ti take over wordplay o ja owo mo” and till this very moment anytime this songs comes up it stills stirs up some kind of controversies among fans and even some rapper who felt the song was directed to them. Reminisce also had an handful of features for the year under review as artiste like Falz, Olalakeside, Vector, D’banj, Chopstix just but to mention a few had him on their songs.

3. Davido: I guess the fact that fans were expecting an album from Davido this year created some buzz but while we still wait for the so much talked about album Davido provided us with smashing hit for the year under review. With songs like Fans Mi, The Money, Dodo, Izzue, Davido made sure that has his fans keep waiting for his album, he gave them something to keep wetting their appetite. Shuffling with school and going on tours Davido still had time to attend to some of the artiste that were wanting to work with him and they include DJ Xclusive, R2Bess, Dj Neptune, Sina Rambo, Nasty C.

2. Phyno: I guess being an ambassador to Nariabet says a lot about how much street influence Phyno has had in the industry and in the year 2015. With hit songs like Connect, Asai, Nnunu the Igbo rapper did shut down our street and not also forgetting his collaborated project with Olamide titled 2kings, which gave him more acceptances with the Yoruba fans. Phyno is the Igbo version of Olamide as he is also one of the most sought after artiste for the year under review and artiste like Runtown, Terry G, Mr. Raw, Falz and Reminisce have all featured him on their track.

1. Olamide: There is no doubt that Olamide has been the hottest artiste for the year 2015 and with the release of five studio in five years Olamide has proven that he is in fact the most hardworking rapper in Nigeria. with hit songs like BOBO, Lagos Boy, Melo Melo, Matter Arising, Lagos Boys, Olamide really shut down the streets of Naija as slangs like Sneh and Eyan Mayweather has taken over the street and not forgetting of course the famous and popular dance from his video Shakiti-bobo. Olamide's new album Eyan Mayweather is a 21 tracker and he didn't have any features on the album making him the only person that has done that in Nigeria, it should also be noted that Olamide did a joint album with Phyno in the same year under review 2015, in other word we would be right to say Olamide has 2 albums in 2015. Olamide is the most featured artiste in the year 2015 and here are some of the artiste that have featured him Ycee, Skales, Davido, Reminisce, Seriki, Bracket, Klever Jay. All hail King BadooSneh has he is the Absolute Hearts Hottest Male Artiste for the Year 2015.

Stay glued to Absolute Hearts Blog (AHB) as we bring you the female version of the Absolute Hearts Hottest Naija Artistes 2015.