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Nigeria's Mr Eazi is a Ghana-based performer known for his R&B-influenced Afrobeat sound. He broke through with his 2013 mixtape About to Blow, which featured the single "Bankulize," and gained wider attention with the 2015 single "Skin Tight" (featuring Efya). In 2017, he released a second mixtape, Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1: Accra to Lagos, which debuted at number four on the Billboard World Albums chart. Along with Live Is Eazi, Vol. 2 and EPs like One Day You Will Understand and Something Else, Mr Eazi has notched a handful of dance hits, including 2020's "Oh My Gawd" (with Major Lazer, Nicki Minaj, and K4mo), 2021's "Lento" (with J Balvin), and 2022's "Legalize."

Born Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Mr Eazi grew up in Lagos. After high school, he relocated to Kumasi, Ghana, where he studied mechanical engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Based there, he launched his musical career in 2012 with the single "Pipi Dance." A year later, he collaborated with U.K.-based DJ Juls on the track "Bankulize" (featuring Pappy Kojo). The singles, both included on his debut mixtape, About to Blow, caught on and more high-profile recordings followed, including 2015's "Skin Tight" (featuring Efya), which also performed well, garnering thousands of views online. From there, he collaborated on tracks with Sarkodie, Lil Kesh, Burna Boy, and others.

Despite his success, Mr Eazi was denied participation in the 2016 Ghana Music Awards because he was not a Ghanaian citizen. That same year, however, he signed with the Starboy Worldwide record label. In 2017, he released the mixtape Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1: Accra to Lagos, which featured guest appearances by Big Lean, Tekno, Phyno, DJ Cuppy, and others. Included on the album were the singles "Leg Over" and "Tilapia." The release debuted at number four on the Billboard World Albums chart. A string of singles appeared over the next year, including the hit "Decline" with British R&B singer RAYE and the Lotto Boyzz and M.O. collaboration "Bad Vibe." He also released a second mixtape, Life Is Eazi, Vol. 2: Lagos to London.

Early 2020 saw the arrival of the EP One Day You Will Understand, and later that fall, Eazi scored a Top 20 dance chart hit with "Oh My Gawd," a collaboration with Major Lazer, Nicki Minaj, and K4mo. In 2021, he released a second EP, Something Else, and joined J Balvin for "Lento," the latter of which reached 15 on the U.K. Afrobeat Singles chart. That year, he also returned to the dance Top 40 with "I Wanna Run Away" featuring R3hab and Wafia. More Top 20 U.K. Afrobeat singles arrived in 2022, including "Walangolo" (with DJ Neptune and Konshens) and "Legalize." ~ Matt Collar

Imohiosen Patrick, known professionally as DJ Neptune, is an award-winning Nigerian producer and DJ who parlayed a successful radio disc jockey gig into a prosperous music career. Combining elements of hip-hop, R&B, house, dancehall, and Afrobeat, Neptune issued a string of crowd-pleasing mixtapes and singles before releasing his debut studio LP, Greatness, in 2018.

A native of Lagos State, Neptune took to music early, entertaining friends, family, and neighbors while barely into his double-digits. By the time he was in high school Neptune was spinning wherever he could, from school parties and clubs to fast-food restaurants. He went pro in 2001 after joining the team at 100.5 FM Lagos, where he would spend the next decade influencing and entertaining.

Popular Nigerian rapper Naeto C hired Neptune as his own personal DJ and hype man in 2008, and the two began issuing promotional mixtapes to expand the brand. Following in the footsteps of other regional DJs who morphed into recording artists like M.I Abaga, the late Dagrin, and Naeto C, Neptune began expanding his own musical vision, releasing a string of remixes and singles featuring some of the Nigerian hip-hop and DJ community's biggest names, all while taking home multiple trophies at the NEAs (Nigerian Entertainment Awards).

In 2018 he released his first full-length effort, the star-studded, club anthem-heavy Greatness, which included guest spots from the likes of Jesse Jagz, M.I Abaga, Burna Boy, DaVido, Olamide, Maleek Berry, and Skales, among others. A remix EP, Love and Greatness, arrived one year later, and in 2020 he dropped a pair of feel-good singles, "Yoyo (feat. Shaggi)" and "Nobody (feat. Joeboy and Mr. Eazi)." That same year saw Neptune release The Quarantine Playlist, a four-song collaboration with singer, songwriter, and entertainer Teni. ~ James Christopher Monger

Minz is a contemporary Nigerian Afrobeats singer with a relaxed but dance-ready style. He spent the latter half of the 2010s steadily building a catalog of popular singles like 2018's "Skin" and 2019's "Nasty." In the next decade, he leaned more into collaborations, making tracks with artists like Spinall and Davido, then achieving breakout success with 2022's "Wo Wo (Remix)" with Bnxn and Blaqbonez. After years of smaller releases, Minz made his full-length debut in 2024 with By Any Minz.

Growing up in the Surulere neighborhood of Lagos, Dami Aminu began producing and writing his own songs in the early 2010s, developing an Afrobeats blend that gathered elements from pop, R&B, and dancehall. Under the name Minz, he began releasing singles like 2017's "Talk" and "Odoyewu." With their bright rhythms and warm melodies, his early tracks drew some buzz, which he built on with follow-ups like "Skin," "Nasty," and "BDMN." By the early 2020s, Minz had become well established, and he began to expand his sound with more collaborations. He worked with BoyBreed, Spinall, E Kelly, and more, but it was his 2022 track "Wo Wo" that sent him into the mainstream. Its original release was successful, but a follow-up remix with Bnxn and Blaqbonez became a breakout hit and his most popular track yet. He signed with Mr. Eazi's emPawa Africa label and continued releasing high-profile singles like "sokoto" with Zinoleesky and "wap" with Davido. Both songs appeared on Minz's first full-length album, By Any Minz, in October 2024. ~ Timothy Monger

Imbued with energy, confidence, and bravado, the music of Ghanaian dancehall artist, actor, and producer Shatta Wale has won multiple awards. He self-released numerous albums, mixtapes, and singles throughout the 2010s including his signature song, 2014's "Dancehall King." This activity caught the attention of Beyoncé, who invited him to guest -- with Major Lazer -- on "Already," a track from her 2019 Grammy-nominated album The Lion King: The Gift, which ultimately enjoyed over 200 million streams. Wale's autobiographical Wonder Boy was issued the same year, followed by Maali in 2023, an uncharacteristically relaxed set that fused his dancehall style with traditional African rhythms.

He was born Charles Nii Armah Mensah, Jr. in Accra's Police Hospital, in 1984. Following his parents' divorce, it was his father -- a public figure working in politics, business, and law -- who played the largest part in raising him. While at Seven Great Princes Academy in Dansoman, Wale developed an enthusiasm for the performing arts and was cast in a play which ran at the National Theatre of Ghana. On leaving Winneba Secondary School, he began to make reggae and dancehall music, inspired by regular visits with his father to stay with their U.K.-based Jamaican relatives. He initially used the moniker Doggy before switching to Bandana in time for "Moko Hoo," a 2004 collaboration with Tinny that received a Ghana Music Award nomination. Although that track brought him a level of fame, he was unable to create an effective follow-up single. Subsequently, the music he made over the next decade remained very much part of the underground.

In 2014, he successfully re-emerged as Shatta Wale, releasing both the Green Times mixtape and Answers: The Hybrid Album. The latter featured the crackling, in-your-face "Dancehall King," which enjoyed enough exposure that he was named Artist of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards. This sharp and significant change in fortune led to his casting in Selorm Martinson, Jr.'s film Never Say Never, which premiered that September. Keen to consolidate his newfound success, Wale issued no fewer than six long-players in 2015, including four mixtapes: Up a Road, Times & Season, Million Miles, and Magical Year. In 2016, he co-starred alongside Martha Ankomah in Ikechukwu Onyeka's Shattered Lives, before releasing After the Storm, the first album issued on his own Shatta Movement Empire. Produced by Willis Beatz, the bubbling and accessible March 2017 single "Taking Over" was a huge success that saw him collaborate with emerging dancehall artists Captan, Addi Self, and Joint 77, while that October's Cloud 9 EP found him delving into hip-hop. Reflective of his upward trajectory, Avance Media named Shatta Wale 2017's Most Influential Musician on Social Media.

The drama-infused single "Ayoo" was named Song of the Year at 2018's inaugural 3Music Awards, just prior to the premiere of Kejetia vs Makola: The Trial of Shatta Wale, a cinematic vehicle that led to his first lead acting role. "My Level" -- a skittering, commercially focused track, and a key part of his canon -- was issued in collaboration with Zylofon Music later that year, just prior to Reign, an accomplished project which hit the Top Ten of Billboard's Top World Albums Chart. In 2019, only a few months before his career-changing Beyoncé cameo, Shatta Wale won eight 3Music Awards, his largest haul at a single ceremony. After 2019's Wonder Boy, an EP, The Manacles of Shatta, arrived in early 2020 before he became the first Ghanaian artist to organize an online concert during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, he teamed up with the Accra hip-hop artist Medikal for the Cross Roads EP. He released the flowing, unhurried Maali in 2023. ~ James Wilkinson