Hit songs don’t just happen. There are so many factors that determine whether a song released would be a hit or not.

Among these factors are the time of release (songs sell better during summer), the artiste’s branding, the song’s branding, the lyrics of the song, the promotion of the song, the official video, the concept of the song (love songs, concepts that portray struggle and erotism sell fastest) and – very importantly – the song’s beat (production).

And so it is that so many artistes in the forefront of the industry today only survive and thrive because of the money spent on promotion and the beat of their song.

With empty lyrics and extremely poor vocals, good beats and production are their only saving grace. Hence, producers have been saving lives since forever.

However, these super men on the keyboards are not celebrated enough. They are not being given the recognition and commendations that they deserve.

To curb that in my own little way, I’ve made this list of ten music producers doing Nigeria proud with their oomph sounds and skill in the music industry.

1. Sunday Nweke (MasterKraft)

His name is one that would ring a bell whenever it is mentioned. In Nigeria, Sunny Nweke is considered the king of music production. Born in Ajegunle area of Lagos, growing up was hard for Sunny. He had to struggle for many things in life.

His childhood dream was to become an accountant and he was doing very well; so much so that his state governor granted him scholarship. His parents however wanted him to own a store at Idumota but his mastery of the keyboard linked him with Kenny Ogungbe who signed him to his record label (Kennis Music).

He has worked with artistes like Banky W, Wizkid, 2face Idiba, Timaya, Flavour and CDQ to mention a few.

2. KelP

Kel-P Vibes is a perfect example of someone whose talent has opened doors for him. Kel grew to become an A-list producer in 2018 after his works with Afrobeat giant - Burna Boy - (On The Low, Gbona) became hits. He came into limelight when he worked on Solidstar’s ‘Eleganza’.

This year, he produced hits from Burna Boy (who does no bad songs) like ‘Killin Dem’ featuring Zlatan, and ‘Dangote’.

The future is certainly going to favour this young talent.

3. Pheelz

Philips Kayode Moses is a 25-year-old Afrobeat, jazz, R ‘n’ b and Hip Hop music producer. Having done jobs for the likes of street king Olamide, Wizkid, Seyi Shay, Adekunle Gold and Ice Prince; Pheelz can be considered one of the front liners in the industry.

He came into limelight in 2012 when he produced “First of All” and “Fucking With The Devil” of Olamide’s YBNL album. Both songs were hit tracks and Pheelz’s skills were very prominent in them.

His use of African percussions has distinguished him from the rest in the industry. This year, he has produced Fireboy’s “What If I Say”, Olamide’s “Buga Small Small”, Olamide’s “Poverty Die” and Dbanj’s “Action”.

4. Sess

If you know Folarin Falana (Falz The Bahd Guy) and you listen to his songs, then you definitely would know Sess Beats. Both creatives have been working together since Sess produced Falz’s “Stories That Touch” in 2015.

Both trained lawyers, their connection over time has grown to be one associated with beautiful music as its end product.

According to Pulse, Sess narrated coming to Lagos form Ilorin to meet with a certain artiste that did not work out. So he turned to Falz with the strategy of working with a non A-list artiste, and Falz looked like a good fit for him at the time due to the factor of them both being lawyers out to prove a point. Sess calls it a spiritual arrangement.

This year, Sess has worked on several songs, with one of the most prominent being “Original Gangster” by Adekunle Gold and Reminisce.

5. Spellz

Benjamin Obadje known popularly as Spells is a graduate of the prestigious Covenant University. He’s a Nigerian recording producer. He is famous for the Afropop, Hip Hop, R ‘n’ B and Blues genres.

ThisDay newspaper ranked him 10 on its 2016 list of Top 10 music producers in Nigeria. Some of his hit works are “Iskaba” by Wande Coal, “Ma Lo” by Tiwa Savage and “Askamanya” by Teni.

6. Ozedikus

Earlier this year in March, Mavin Records announced a new signee named Rema. Rema went on to release a self-titled EP that had 4 tracks in it. However, his song ‘Dumebi’ led the track.

Since then, ‘Dumebi’ has been stealing every airwave and has topped almost every chart in Africa. The song definitely bought Rema the hearts of Nigerians but Ozedikus, the man behind the captivating beat has not exactly been celebrated.

Real name Osaze Igbinoba, Ozedikus found his love for music in playing the piano. He started from his local church as a keyboardist before diving into music production in 2014. He is now signed as one of the in-house producers for Mavin records and has lived up to expectations so far in the industry.

7. JaySynth Beatz

A short video of himself, Teni and Phyno having a rehearsal session for Teni’s “Pray” in late 2018 shot his popularity from 4 to 8 on a scale of 1 - 10. JaySynth is a music producer affiliated with Dr. Dolor Entertainment that houses Teni Makanaki and is owned by Osadolor Asemota.

This year, JaySynth has been all out with Skibii’s “Daz How Star Do”, Teni’s “Power Rangers” and “Sugar Mummy” being some of his famous works.

8. Gospelondabeatz

Ace keyboardist and Afrobeat producer, Gospel Chinemeremu Obi was born on January 14th in 1987. Apart from being synth player for his band called Alternate Sound, he is one of Nigeria’s best talents in music production.

Growing up wasn’t too cozy for him at all. He had to live in the studio he learnt how to produce songs on several occasions because he ran away from home.

Today, he is one of the most celebrated. He runs Flux Factory, a record label that has Project Fame’s Okiemute signed to it.

9. Samuel Giveson (SMJ)

SMJ like he is popularly called has stolen the entire gospel music scene when it comes to producing songs. With hit works like Tim Godfrey’s “Nara” and JJ Hairston’s “Onaga”, the future – we hope – will only get better for the 22 year old.

Popular for playing the keyboard and drums, the beard gang ambassador is signed under Tim Godfrey’s ROX Nation as their in house producer/Keyboardist and an artiste.

10. BabyFresh

Last month, Don Jazzy made him head of Blowtime Entertainment. Blowtime is a record label (under Mavins Record) which has Star artistes like Crayon and Rema under it. Baby Fresh produced Bamiloke by Crayon and has been at the forefront of the industry since 2012 when he joined Don Jazzy.

His tagline is “Baby Fresh on the beat and it’s killing them all, of course.”

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