Nigerian Icons Fela Kuti, Burna Boy, and Sunny Ade are immortalized on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums.
“The classics are still the classics, but the canon keeps getting bigger and better”. The original 500 Greatest Albums article by Rolling Stone was initially published in 2003. As time progressed, fresh music genres emerged, and preferences evolved, leading to a transformation in the composition of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums list. The prominent magazine rolled out a fresh list of the TOP 500 GREATEST ALBUMS of all time.
The Afrobeats genre has had an amazing lift in recent years. No longer is this genre of music secluded to only Africa. According to Financial Times magazine, “In recent years it has crossed over to the mainstream, its biggest stars filling stadiums and infiltrating airwaves across Europe and the US. Its global popularity has been marked by Grammy wins, viral dance videos, and sold-out arena tours”.
JUST IN 🚨
RollingStone releases fresh list of the TOP 500 GREATEST albums of all time.
3 Nigerian albums made the list.
Any surprises? pic.twitter.com/m1HmzPOqGu
— WeTalkSound (WTS) (@wetalksound) January 3, 2024
The article featured Burna Boy’s ‘African Gaint’, Fela Kuti and African 70 ‘Expensive Shit’, King Sunny Ade’s ‘The Best of the classic years’ on the 500 greatest albums of all time with numbers 330, 402, and 465 respectively. This acknowledgment not only cements their status as influential musicians within the African continent but also underscores the impact of Nigerian music on the global stage.
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Burna Boy- African Gaint
‘African Giant’ was Burna Boy’s fourth studio album released on July 2019. The album blends a mixture of pidgin English, Yoruba, dancehall, R&B, and Hip-hop in it. The album houses 19 songs and features great African and international artists like Angelique Kidjo, Zlatan, Damian Marley, Future, and Jorja Smith. The album won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards and was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Fela Kuti and African 70- Expensive Shit
‘Expensive Shit’ was the twelfth album released in 1975 by Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti and his band- the African 70. The album is a 17-minute odyssey featuring two songs and blends African music with funk. Fela Kuti was quite known for using his music to fight societal issues. The talented pioneer of Afrobeat was not one to shy away from socio-political commentary. The late musician won the 2008 MTV African Music Legend Award
King Sunny Ade- The Best of Classic Years
The ‘Best of Classic Years’ is a compilation put together by King Sunny Ade in 2003. The juju master finetunely combed through all his greatest works and carefully crafted a compilation album. The album features 10 songs and blends juju music with African pop.
