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In the last two weeks, our social media timelines have been chaotic. From Rema starting the cycle by calling out stylists and creating a new ‘Big 4’ category, to Wizkid trolling everyone, including Don Jazzy and Davido, the Nigerian music internet has not seen as much chaos in a while.
For a decade, Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy have remained atop their set career-wise, with each of them bringing in their unique flair. Over ten years into their career, they are still as relevant. Their cultural relevance has led to a social consensus that they are indeed the Big 3 of their set.
Although the recent chaos between Wizkid and Davido, who seem to have a complicated relationship, appears to have further strained the perceived tension among the Big 3, these stars have produced some of Nigeria’s biggest projects and have given each other a run for their money in terms of streaming. At times, one dominates; at other times, another dominates.
In the past five years, Burna Boy has gone on to reach new ground in his career and received more critical acclaim while overall consistently dropping hit music. For Wizkid, the multi award-winning singer released his last critically acclaimed album ‘Made In Lagos’ which got nominated for the Grammys Global Music album and Best Global music performance. Davido, on the other hand, recently released ‘Timeless,’ an album that earned him his first three Grammy nominations. At this moment, these artistes are at points in their careers where they do not necessarily have anything to prove. Yet, they strive not only to get ahead of one another, but to oust their own individual records.
Davido and Wizkid have teased their forthcoming albums, but Burna Boy seems to not be in the album zone yet. Regardless, the competition has gotten fierce, and all these stars can do to fight back is to release songs that keep them culturally relevant. Culturally relevant in the sense that it revives the industry from its present droughts of hits and sets the pace for what’s to come.
Taking it back to 2020, I have ranked the Big 3 based on how much they’ve dominated the music industry from then till date. For this, we have focused on not only singles in the calendar year but features where necessary. The rankings are based on the perceived quality and identifiable impact of the songs in the year they have been grouped. For us, hit singles are songs that have street credibility, top placement on the charts (streaming data), commercial sales and longevity.
2020
Wizkid: Essence
Burna Boy: Bank On It
Davido: Fem
Essence was and is that song. The hit single came off ‘Made In Lagos,’ the one album that fully introduced us to a new Wizkid and his reformed sound that we have all come to love. Beyond the many achievements, which include being the first Nigerian song in history to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Global 200, the song in itself was a hit. We saw Tems’ verse take the shine as she declared that she ‘don’t need no other body,’ while Wizkid matched her energy lyrically. It deserves the first position.
In 2020, Burna Boy started the year with a commercially hit song where he declared himself as ‘Odogwu,’ and went on to release ‘Wonderful’ where he hailed his home. He followed this moment with the release of his Grammy-winning album ‘Twice As Tall,’ which topped the World Album category of the Billboard music chart.
During that period many young Nigerians were on the streets nationwide protesting against police brutality. The End SARS movement was a time of solidarity for young Nigerians, and Davido’s ‘Fem’ was a song that allowed young Nigerians address politicians who were all talk and no action. It became the unofficial anthem.
2021
Burna Boy: Kilometre
Davido: Champion Sound and Ke Star
Wizkid: Essence Remix
Riding on the success of the original song, Wizkid takes Essence to the next level as he features Canadian singer Justin Bieber in its remix. The feature led ‘Essence’ to become the first-ever Nigerian top 10 song on Billboard Hot 100. Essence was everywhere – on the radio, across global charts, and on every major personality’s playlist – as the original version was on Obama’s favourite songs of 2020 list.
On the other hand, Burna Boy’s Kilometre was a party banger, the self-reverential song debuted atop the TurnTable Top 50 charts while simultaneously topping the streaming and radio airplay charts. At the time, Davido was in his Amapiano bag as he had a swap feature on Focalistics’ hit single ‘Ke Star’ while Focalistic featured on his hit single ‘Champion Sound.’
As the lockdown from COVID-19 was slowly being released, both ‘Champion Sound’ and ‘Ke Star’ took over the clubs and festivals. ‘Ke Star’ and ‘Champion Sound’ did not only have the streets and parties in a chokehold, but these songs had incredible results on the charts.
2022
Burna Boy: Last Last
Davido: Electricity
Wizkid: Bad To Me
News of Burna Boy’s breakup with his Jamaican girlfriend, Stefflon Don, had just been revealed, Burna Boy had to release a hit, and he made ‘Last Last.’ Last Last was simply 2020’s Song of the Summer, the ultimate heartbreak anthem. ‘Na everybody Go Chop Breakfast’ became a popular ‘slogan’ worldwide as a result. The single debuted at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Burna Boy’s first solo UK Top 10 hit.
In 2022, Davido had some of the best verses on feature tracks. From Young Jonn’s ‘Dada,’ to Iyanya’s ‘Like’ and Pheelz’s ‘Electricity’ – All of these songs dominated the airwaves and topped the charts. His solo song, ‘Stand Strong’ debuted within the top 10 of global charts as well.
With ‘Bad To Me’ we got groovy Wizkid. The infectious tune went on to set a new record on Spotify for the highest first-day streams. The release of this single ushered in his fifth studio album, ‘More Love Less Ego,’ which recently reached 200 million streams on Spotify.
2023
Davido: Feel/Unavailable
Burna Boy: Sittin’ On Top Of The World
Wizkid: IDK
When Burna Boy released ‘Sittin’ On Top of the World,’ it was a welcomed diversification into the hip-hop sphere that most enjoyed. The song went on to break streaming records while receiving international acclaim, especially with its feature with 21 Savage. ‘Sittin’ On Top of the World’ ushered in Burna’s seventh studio album ‘I Told Them.’
Four months after a brief hiatus, Davido released ‘Timeless,’ and every part of the 17-track album was a hit. From ‘Kante’ featuring Fave to ‘No Competition’ featuring Asake. However, commercially, ‘Unavailable’ and ‘Feel’ were the most successful as their dance challenges trended across social media platforms and had some of the world’s biggest stars joining in. The ‘Timeless’ project earned him his first set of Grammy nominations.
Like every other time he releases new singles, Wizkid’s ‘IDK’ ft Zlatan, upon release broke first-day streaming records in Nigeria. The song off his ‘S2’ EP released on December 21, 2023, is the EP’s most popular song with over 20 million streams across digital streaming platforms.
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