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10 Nigerian Music Snippets Left Unreleased

10 Nigerian Music Snippets Left Unreleased

Snippet from Nigerian artistes

Typically, snippets precede the official song release, but in some cases, the snippet is the only glimpse fans get, as the full song is never released.

By Hope Ibiale 

In recent times, artistes have begun to build listeners’ anticipation for their latest release by releasing snippets. Snippets can be likened to film trailers that usually show the most interesting parts of the film and give cinephiles a small glimpse of what to expect. For artistes, snippets do the same thing; they are one of the most popular ways to introduce new music to listeners. Through these snippets, listeners can pre-save the music and decide whether they will engage with the full song or album upon its release. 

A few years ago, artistes were highly protective of their releases, but today, musicians like Asake, Ayra Starr, Tems, Pheelz, Lojay, Rema, Davido, Wizkid, and many others use snippets to offer listeners a small taste of their music without revealing too much. Asake’s success story would be incomplete without acknowledging the role snippets have played in his career. For each of his records, there has been a snippet that contributed significantly to the success of his songs.

While the snippet culture has positively influenced listeners’ reception of new music, it has also placed unnecessary pressure on artistes to consistently identify the best parts of their records to release as snippets. Moreover, a snippet can cause a listener to lose interest if it captivates them but is followed by a perceived drop in the overall quality of their music. 

Despite the drawbacks of using snippets as a marketing tactic, a well-crafted snippet can still attract potential listeners, and its virality can significantly boost an artiste’s visibility. 

Typically, snippets precede the official song release, but in some cases, the snippet is the only glimpse fans get, as the full song is never released. We present a list of 10 snippets that were never officially released:

Drake Feat. Tems and Rema
Tems

A few months ago, nearly 100 gigabytes of unreleased material from American rapper, Drake, leaked online, including videos of recording sessions and unreleased songs. Among these were records featuring Nigerian artistes, Rema and Tems. The track with Tems is rumoured to be an alternate version of “Fountain”, a song from Drake’s 2021 album, Certified Lover Boy

Rema had tweeted about his collaboration with Drake as early as 2022. The leaked snippets caused an uproar on social media, with fans eagerly demanding that the “Hotline Bling” crooner release the full tracks. However, none of these songs have been officially released.

Bella Shmurda and Mohbad

Before the tragic death of Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as Mohbad, he collaborated with Bella Shmurda, a fellow artiste and one of his closest friends in the Nigerian music industry. From the Afro-Adura anthem “Adura” released in 2019, to the 2023 Street-Hop track “Pariwo”, their undeniable chemistry elevated each song and showcased their diverse talents.

With the success of their collaborations, fans clamoured for more music from the duo. In 2023, a video surfaced of them dancing to an unreleased track that even had its own unique dance step. To date, that record remains unreleased.

Mohbad
In loving memory of Mohbad afrocritik
Mohbad

A few months after Mohbad’s passing, a snippet of one of his unreleased tracks went viral on social media. The mid-tempo love song featured an interpolation of lyrics from Victor Olaiya’s classic “Mofe Mu Yan”. Despite the growing interest and anticipation, Mohbad’s estate has yet to indicate any plans to release this track or any other music the artiste was working on before his untimely death.

Peruzzi and Olamide – “Jah Love Never Fail Me Yet”

Nigerian singer and songwriter, Peruzzi, is widely regarded as one of the top songwriters in the Nigerian music industry, and his impressive discography speaks to his undeniable artistry. However, 2024 has been a relatively slow year for the “Gaza” crooner, with only one solo record and a feature with Sean Dampte to his name. 

Earlier in the year, he teased a track titled “Jah Love Never Fail Me Yet”, featuring Olamide. Despite the anticipation that followed the snippet’s release on Peruzzi’s Instagram page, the record is yet to be officially released.

Rick Ross Feat. Blaqbonez

For his latest album, American rapper Rick Ross expressed his desire to curate an African-themed album, featuring various artistes from across the continent. In several social media posts, he has praised the talents of Nigerian acts Odumodublvck and Portable, while also indicating his interest in collaborating with Ayra Starr, Diamond Platnumz, and Stonebwoy. 

In a video shared on his Instagram stories, Rick Ross previewed a track featuring a verse from Nigerian rapper, Blaqbonez, who is rumoured to be part of the upcoming project. However, despite the anticipation following the snippet’s release, the song has yet to be made available.

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Davido
Davido

Davido might be considered the unofficial king of snippets, given the numerous unreleased song previews scattered across the internet. The “Unavailable” crooner frequently shares videos of himself in the studio, vibing to these unreleased tracks. 

However, most of these snippets never see an official release. In a recent video, Davido is seen enjoying an unreleased track with American artiste Chris Brown, but like many of his other previews, this song remains unreleased.

Burna Boy
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Burna Boy

At one of his concerts earlier this year, Grammy award-winning artiste Burna Boy teased a new record with his talented band. Although the song hasn’t been released yet, it could potentially feature on his forthcoming album, No Signs of Weakness

However, Burna Boy has a history of sharing snippets without releasing the full track. Perhaps this time will be different if he decides to drop the song alongside his highly anticipated album.

Burna Boy – “Grown Romantic”

Another unreleased snippet from Burna Boy is a track reportedly titled “Grown Romantic.” The sensual song was teased some time ago, but it has yet to be released, and no future release date has been announced.

Mr Eazi and Burna Boy

Aside from their chart-topping collaboration “Miss You Bad,” released in 2018, Mr Eazi and Burna Boy have another unreleased track together. A few months ago, a video of both artistes listening to the record in the studio went viral on social media. Although the release date has not yet been confirmed, eager fans are still anticipating the drop of the captivating song.

Joeboy and Peruzzi
Joeboy in conversation with Afrocritik
Joeboy

Last year, Peruzzi released a snippet of a collaboration with Joeboy on his Instagram page. In the post, Peruzzi indicated that the record would be released soon; however, a year has passed, and the song has yet to materialise.

Hope Ibiale is a writer and journalist. She has a keen interest in music, film, and literature. You can connect with Hope on X @hopeibiale and via email: hopeibiale@afrocritik.com.

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