Rising music star Victor Abbey Blessed, also known as VaB, who is from the Degema area of Rivers State, says that he is creating music that not only spreads joy to others but also addresses important issues.

VaB, who is signed to Chrome Entertainment, talking about his work during the unveiling of his EP called ‘Surprise You’ last week. The new album comes with six premier tracks including ‘Close Eye, Portable, Shake Am, Diego, Raise Am, and Grind’ in a follow up to his debut song ‘Jeje’ back in 2023.

“My music goes beyond entertaining listeners to addressing major issues in society, especially in a place like Nigeria where people face challenges of all kinds on a daily basis” VaB said, according to the Daily Trust.

“As much as my sound spreads joy among the people, it also touches on important issues affecting them in order to offer hope and inspiration to those who may feel weighed down by different situations.

“My new body of work with all six tracks is distinct in message and effect on listeners.

“Apart from showcasing my talent as an artiste through each song, my EP is a testament to the fact that great music resides in Port Harcourt, where I am based, and we are always ready to share it with the world.

“My dream is to put Nigerian music on the global map like never previously seen before. In collaboration with the management of Chrome Entertainment, I am working hard every day to improve on my craft and take my place among the very best in the industry.”

Nigerian artists are breaking through into the mainstream music industry and a study from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) showed that sub-Saharan Africa was the fastest-growing recorded music region in 2023 for the second straight year, via Global Music Report.

The report, which was released back in April of this year, saw that Music from Africa continued to have a significant global impact in 2023, and was the only region globally to surpass20% growth, with revenues up 24.7% year over year, primarily driven by paid streaming revenues, which grew 24.5% year over year.

A big example of this is Nigerian superstar Rema, who joined the ‘Billions Club’ on Spotify with his hit Calm Down Remix (Mavin / Jonzing World/ Virgin Music) featuring global music sensation Selena Gomez (Interscope).

South African star Tyla rode a viral TikTok hit a peak of 7 on the Billboard Top 100 charts in January of this year after debuting at #67 in October 2023.

Shallipopi is one of the new stars making noise in the global music landscape, and many are being discovered on social media.

“I use Twitter, TikTok, Instagram ads,” AfroReekAH, an unsigned young musician based in Nigeria said, according to The Guardian. “To get listeners, I also use Spotify, Audiomack, Apple Music, and then pitch for editorial playlists on all these streaming services,” she added. “The dream is what keeps me going where I want to be. But it can be very discouraging,”

But money and costs for marketing and content is big hurdle for many new and up-and-coming artists.

“Money is always going to be a factor,” breakout Nigerian rapper Odumodublvck said. “It’s a matter of going head to head against the game and looking for anything that you can use to break through,” he says. “Like me now, when I started music, I didn’t have money to pay for billboards. So what did I do? I used spray paint. Just find a way.”

Excel Joab, an A&R manager for west Africa at Awal had some input for rising African artists.

“Not everyone will immediately come to you and say, ‘Hey, you sound nice, take some money.’ That’s not how the business works. So yes, you’re talented. Yes, you got something that means it going on.

“Always ask yourself, how can I make this more valuable? Once you have built value, money will find you.”

Just two short years from their highly-publicized and celebrated reunion, the popular Nigerian singing duo Peter and Paul Okoye, known as P-Square are splitting once again, according to AllAfrica.

Peter Okoye (aka Mr. P), publicly criticized his twin brother Paul (aka Rudeboy) in an open letter, calling him out for allegedly repeatedly undermining his contributions to the group, and took to social media to detail the group’s latest fallout.

The lengthy statement provided details around the brothers’ strained relationship with Peter claiming that Paul disrespected him and dismissed his role in their success during interviews, and accuses Paul and their older brother, Jude, of conspiring against him as well as disrespecting his wife.

Paul responded by accusing Peter of instigating the second breakup, claiming that Paul had sent him a text message saying that he no longer wanted to be in P-square, and claims that Peter reported him to Nigerian authorities.

Paul was summoned but later cleared.

The pair launched their successful music career back in 1999 and had been a dominant force in the African music scene for over a decade prior to their first split back in 2016. The two would reconcile following a four-year period in which they were strained and would delight fans in 2021 with a reunion.

There are now reports that Peter Obi is attempting to reconcile and get P-square back together for a third time.