Less than a week to the 2023 Headies Award, anxiety is high in Nigeria’s music space, as stakeholders speculates on who wins the Next Rated and Rookie of the Year awards.
Asake, Young John, Victony, Seyi Vibes, Spro are among those nominated for the Next Rated category awards this year, which endows the most promising act with a hit single, an EP or an album, with a cash prize and an SUV vehicle.
Asa, WizKid, Davido, Sean Tizzle, Patoranking, Reekado Banks, Mayokun, Rema, and most recently Omah Lay are past winners of the award category.
Although Asake seems to be a favourite to win this category, he is facing stiff competition from the other nominees.
Meantime, battling for the Rookie of the Year Award are Eltee Skills, Tochukwu Gbubemi Ojogwu aka Odumodublvck, Guchi, Bayanni, Khalid and Bwde Covillum.
An RnB, Hip Hop artiste, Eltee Skillz music career was preceded by a stint in dancing. He made his music debut with the release of hit singles Jekafo, and Olowu Taiwo. However, it was his latest single Lucy that brought him to the limelight.
Rapper, songwriter and member of the hip hop collective Anti World Gangstas, Odumodublvck is popular for his stage performance and genre blending. His 2022 song Picanto featuring ECko Miles and Zlatan nabbed him the 79 th place on the Nigeria Turntable Top 100 lost, while his March 2023 single,
Declan Rice made it to the top 10 of the Nigeria Top 100 Songs chart.
Guchi, who is known for her melodious voice and stage presence is a tiktok celebrity who took the industry by storm with her breakout hit, Jennifer.
The Headies Award celebrates Pan-African and Afrobeats talents. Hence, come September 3, 2023, nominees, artistes and personalities in the music industry will head over to the awards scheduled to hold at the COBB Convention Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
