​14 Unforgettable Pop Culture Moments of the Decade (2010 -2019)

A lot has gone down in the Nigerian entertainment scene in the last 10 years. As the decade comes to an end, we examine 14 unforgettable pop culture moments.

Mo’hits Split

This was one of the most controversial moments of the decade. Mo’hits split up and Nigerian music was never the same again. Don Jazzy announced the separation in a tweet and all hell broke loose. The iconic group would later take to the stage together at Davido’s 30 Billion Lagos concert in 2017

Mavins

With the dissolution of Mo’hits, Don Jazzy quickly formed a new record label called Mavin records. Signed to this label were the likes of Wande Coal, Tiwa Savage, Dr Sid and D’Prince. Wande Coal would later leave and the record label added Reekado Bans, Korede Bell and Di’Ja to the label’s roster. Over the years, Mavin has become a powerhouse in the music scene and it is currently seen as the most structured record label in Nigeria.

A new era of entertainment stars

The decade ushered in a new era of stars in the music and movie sectors. Some of these stars include Wizkid, Davido, Kizz Daniel, Tiwa Savage, Mr Eazi, Tekno, Yemi Alade, Reekado Banks, Olamide, M.I, Phyno, Adesua Etomi, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Regina Daniels, Yul Edochie, Falz, Osas Ighodaro, Toni Tones, Zainab Balogun, Chigurl and many more.

Drama at The headies

Who can forget the epic drama that followed when Reekado Banks won the next rated award? Olamide was not pleased, Don Jazzy told Olamide to come get the car that Reekado won and Olamide told Don Jazzy not to come back to the mainland. That was an epic moment. Shout out to Dangote for settling that beef.

Burna Boy walked out of the headies when Sean Tizzle won the next rated award back in 2013. Why is the next rated award such a controversial thing?

Sauce kid going to jail

Back in 2017, Sauce kid a.k.a Sinzu was sentenced to 2 years in prison for credit card fraud. The rapper has been released and recently put out an album.

Vector vs M.I

The beef has been on for the most part of the decade but it finally crystallized this year as both rappers went at each other’s throats with lethal diss songs.

Tiwa Savage and Tee bilz

This was quite a moment. We were all just chilling and going about our lives when Tee Billz brought up allegations of infidelity against his wife. Tiwa Savage would later grant an interview where she vehemently denied his allegations and then accused him of infidelity.

P-Square split

Our favorite singing duo and brothers split up and Nigerian music was never the same. For the most part of the decade, P-Square was the biggest African music group. Their reign spread far beyond the shores of Africa and they collaborated with international stars like Rick Ross, T.I and Akon.

Choc Boys split

The Choc boys were untouchable in their day. The supergroup made up of Chocolate City music acts M.I Abaga, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince and Brymo dominated our hearts and the airwaves with their songs. They were able to make hip-hop songs with mainstream appeal and they did it big. Brymo was the first to leave. In 2013, Brymo tweeted that he had parted ways with the record label but in a press conference later that day, Audu Maikori CEO of Chocolate City music refuted Brymo’s claims. A long legal battle would follow and somewhere along the line, Jesse Jagz left, came back and left again. Ice Prince would later leave to start his own label Cool Catz. There is no bad blood between any of them and this year, Brymo told us in an exclusive interview that he looks forward to working with M.I Abaga again. We hope that happens soon.

Alte movement begins

It’s a bit difficult to pinpoint when the Alte movement started but we know for sure that it came about in this decade and it is widely believed that music group DRB Lasgidi are the pioneers of the movement. The music acts from the Alte scene have been able to command attention with their amazing music and eccentricity. Artists like Lady Donli, Odunsi, Zamir, Ajebutter22, Santi, Boj, Fresh L, Teezee, Tay Iwar, Tomi Thomas, Zamir LOS and many more are some of the key players of this movement. Some mistake Alte to be a new genre of music but it is not. It is rather a community of likeminds who are doing things a lot different from the norm.

Iyanya vs Ubi Franklin

This was one of those moments that had social media buzzing. In a series of articles, pop-culture writer Joey Akan delved into the broken relationship between these former business partners Iyanya and Ubi Franklin. Iyanya alleged that Ubi Franklin had cheated him business-wise and Ubi refuted those claims. At a point, both of them visited Cool FM radio on different days to drop their own side of the story. The matter died down as quickly as it came to be but in the moment when it was relevant, it reopened the ever-green conversation about record labels and shady deals.

D’banj and the crossover of Afrobeats

A lot of people are involved with the crossover of Afrobeats from Africa (read Nigeria) to the rest of the Western world but we must always remember D’banj’s pivotal role in pushing Afrobeats to the next level. By 2011, he had signed with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D music label, a major move for him and Don Jazzy at that time. His first single under the G.O.O.D music umbrella was Oliver Twist, a successful chart-topping hit song that would gain the attention of the western audience and introduce them to the phenomenon that is Afrobeats. His label mates Kanye West, Big Sean and Pusha T had cameos in the song’s music video. That same year, D’banj hosted the Koko concert in London and Kanye West made a surprise appearance at the show. Right now, the likes of Davido, Wizkid, Yemi Alade, Burna Boy,Tiwa Savage, Mr Eazi and many more have taken Afrobeats to new levels and they are able to accomplish this much because of the foundation created by D’banj.

Wizkid FC vs Davido FC

Rivalry in music is nothing new but with the rise of social media came a new generation of music stans who support their favourite artists with fervour and a zombie herd mentality. The peak stan moment of the decade has to be the rivalry between Wizkid and Davido’s fans. Albeit, there was some tension between Wizkid and Davido for a while, their stans blew it out of proportion and made it a whole lot worse. Davido and Wizkid have set aside their differences but till this day, their fans still go at each other’s throats on social media.

The Wedding Party and the rise of Nollywood

Between 2009 and 2019, Nollywood improved in terms of production and it has attracted a larger audience than it used to before now. The movie that had the most impact in this decade is The Wedding Party. The movie had a mix of new and old school Nollywood acts to deliver a simple yet brilliant story that showcases all the drama and hullabaloo that can be found at most Nigerian weddings. As of the time of its release, it was Nollywood’s highest grossing movie, a record that would later be broken by the film’s sequel.