Nigeria’s music trade has develop into a world phenomenon, with Afrobeats taking heart stage within the world music dialog.
Valued at $1.8 billion and projected to generate $14.82 billion by 2025, the trade owes a lot of its success to the collaborative efforts of each artists and visible storytellers/administrators.
Whereas Nigerian artists are celebrated for his or her expertise and creativity, the function of videographers in amplifying their success is simple.
These administrators have performed a key function in refining the appear and feel of Nigerian music, creating visually compelling tales that resonate with audiences worldwide. By crafting music movies that spin tens of millions of views on platforms like YouTube, they’ve elevated the profiles of artists and prolonged the attain of their music far past Africa.
Movies like Davido’s Fall, Rema’s Calm Down that includes Selena Gomez, Wizkid’s Essence, and Burna Boy’s Final Final usually are not simply in style tracks however cultural exports with excessive manufacturing worth. These works have set new benchmarks for visible storytelling in Nigerian music, serving to artists obtain viral success and entice important worldwide consideration. For instance, Calm Down boasts over a billion views on YouTube, a milestone made doable by the seamless mix of its audio and visible components.
Past producing tens of millions of views, these music movies have helped Nigerian artists safe model offers, worldwide collaborations, and world awards. The excessive manufacturing high quality of those visuals has reshaped perceptions of Nigerian music, presenting it as polished, progressive, and prepared for the worldwide stage.
On this article, we highlight 15 videographers who’ve been instrumental in shaping the visible identification of Nigeria’s music trade. These professionals usually are not solely enhancing the storytelling potential of music movies however are additionally positioning Nigerian music as a world chief in creativity and high quality.
Clarence Abiodun Peters is a famend Nigerian music video director, filmmaker, and cinematographer, recognized for his distinctive work within the Nigerian music and movie trade. Over time, he has directed and created a few of the most iconic music movies within the nation, shaping the visible aesthetics of latest Nigerian music.
Movies directed by Clarence Peters:
Peters has acquired quite a few accolades for his work, together with the distinguished Greatest Music Video Director award at The Headies and Nigeria Music Video Awards. He has been acknowledged for his cinematography and enhancing expertise, which have set new requirements for the trade.
He’s additionally the founder and CEO of Capital Hill Information, a distinguished Nigerian file label that has labored with artists resembling Chidinma, Tha Suspect, and Illbliss. By way of his label, he has helped form the careers of a number of Nigerian artists, contributing to the dynamic progress of the music trade.
Clarence Peters continues to be a serious pressure in Nigerian cinema and music video manufacturing, shaping the visible route of music within the nation and influencing the bigger African music scene.
ThankGod Omori Henry, popularly often called TG Omori, is a extremely acclaimed Nigerian music video director and filmmaker who hails from Cross-River State in Nigeria. At age 16, he began making movies, and by 20, after graduating from the PEFTI Movie Institute, he grew to become the youngest skilled filmmaker in Nigeria on the time.
Omori’s profession within the music trade took off in 2018 when he began directing music movies for a variety of Nigerian artists throughout varied genres. His early work consists of collaborations with high musicians like Olamide, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tekno, Kizz Daniel, Fireboy DML, Falz, Timaya, Naira Marley, Asake, and plenty of others.
He rapidly grew to become probably the most sought-after administrators within the Nigerian music scene. In 2019, Omori’s work dominated the music video charts, with a number of of his movies showing on MTV, Soundcity, and Hint.
Omori’s videography spans quite a few profitable tasks, together with main hits like “My Facet” by Ycee (2018), “Billionaire” by Teni (2019), “Odogwu” by Burna Boy (2020), and “Champion” by Fireboy DML (2022). He has constantly directed movies that resonate with each Nigerian and worldwide audiences, contributing to the worldwide recognition of Afrobeat music.
All through his profession, TG Omori has been acknowledged with quite a few awards. He additionally acquired a nomination for Greatest Music Video on the 2021 Headies for his work on Teni’s “Billionaire.” In 2022, he took residence the Greatest Music Video Director of the 12 months award on the Headies for his route of Fireboy DML’s “Champion.”
Sesan Ogunro, born on January 11, 1983, is a famend Nigerian music video director primarily based within the UK. Recognized for his work with high Afrobeats artists like D’Banj, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, and Davido, he’s the CEO of Movie Manufacturing unit Nigeria and Movie Manufacturing unit South Africa.
Sesan was raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and later moved to the UK, the place he studied 3D Animation and Visible Results on the College of West London. Impressed by his late father, a distinguished Nigerian promoting mogul, Sesan started his profession within the UK’s city underground scene earlier than transitioning to mainstream music video route. His breakthrough got here in 2007 when he directed D’Banj’s “Abruptly,” resulting in an extended collaboration, together with the award-winning “Oliver Twist.”
Sesan’s portfolio consists of hits like “The Sound” (Davido), “Soweto Child” (Wizkid), and “Gringo” (Shatta Wale). He has gained a number of prestigious awards, together with Channel O’s Most Gifted Male Video for “Oliver Twist” and MTV Africa’s Greatest Collaboration Video for “Soweto Child.”
Sesan runs Movie Manufacturing unit along with his sister, Fade Ogunro, and stays a key determine within the world Afrobeats music scene. His work continues to form the visible identification of the style.
Buari Olalekan Oluwasegun, born on April 2, 1987, in Lagos, Nigeria, is a famend music video director, usually often called Limitless L.A. He’s a cousin to distinguished music video director DJ Tee and has been lively within the trade since 2011, working with artists like Olamide, Timaya, and Reekado Banks.
In 2015, he gained Greatest Director on the Nigeria Leisure Awards and Greatest Music Video at The Headies, additionally receiving a nomination on the All Africa Music Awards. His work continued to earn recognition, with a number of nominations at The Headies and the Nigeria Leisure Awards in 2016. He gained Greatest Director of the 12 months on the 2017 Metropolis Individuals Leisure Awards.
Limitless L.A.’s videography consists of in style hits resembling Olamide’s “Story for the Gods,” “Wo!!,” and “Science Scholar,” in addition to Timaya’s “Bam Bam” and “Sanko.” His work extends to commercials for manufacturers like Glo, Gala, and Essenza Magnificence.
Over time, Limitless L.A. has gained a number of accolades, together with the 2015 Nigeria Leisure Awards for Greatest Music Video of the 12 months for Di’ja’s “Awww” and the 2017 Metropolis Individuals Leisure Award for Greatest Music Video Director.
