2020 was a weird and difficult year.

The coronavirus pandemic shuttered the music industry with one fell swoop as governments issued stay at home and no travel orders in a scramble to keep the raging pandemic under control. Still, artistes found a way to create new music and to present them to the world via internet.

Sometimes it seemed like music was all we had to get us through the most trying times of the year. These were the best of the best.

10. Geng- Mayorkun

With Geng, Mayorkun continues to embrace bold fashion forward choices, Dammy Twitch puts together a vibrant, colorful party that compliments the up-tempo rhythm and anthemic swing of the song. There is some neat camera work and visual effect flourishes that keep the video just on the right side of memorable.

9. My Fantasy- Niniola ft. Femi Kuti

This Sesan directed ode to Afrobeat and Fela’s Kalakuta queens is styled by Niniola herself. No surprise as the video is pretty much representative of the queen of Afrohouse. Colours, sounds, hair, more colours. Check, check, check. Bonus points for that vivid shot of Niniola twerking to the eargasmic sounds coming out of Femi Kuti’s sax.

8. Shekere- Yemi Alade ft. Angelique Kidjo

This high-profile collaboration between two music divas gifted us with this colorful video that dabbled into cliches of a vision of Africa driven by the global north. But try to resist the lush cinematography, the exquisite choreography and the magnetic pull of two of our favs together in one place.

7. Damages- Tems

Directed by Ademola Falomo, Damages is almost a rarity in Nigerian pop music circles. Falomo creates an environment- a hazy house party no less- that appears to be a safe space for Tems and her cohort of young women to just hang around, drink and chat shit about the guys who did them dirty. Some neat tracking shots ensue.

6. Strippers + White Lines- Brymo

This moody reflective title from Brymo’s Yellow album is accompanied by a moody reflective video helmed by Promise Charles. Restricted in a strait jacked and held in some kind of asylum, Strippers +White Lines appears to chronicle Brymo’s struggles with depression and poor mental health. Yes, there is a shot of a stripper as the title suggests.

5. Ada- Kizz Daniel

Kizz Daniel, with direction from TG Omori repurposes the DIY visual aesthetics that is now identifiable with a generation of comedians and content creators who work primarily with the internet. To give it more oomph, Daniel invites Mr Macaroni, one of the brightest stars working with the medium for a cameo appearance.

4. Damn- Omah Lay

Dammy Switch’s interpretation of Omah Lay’s Damn is a stunning affair made up of striking visual compositions that paint of picture of beauty and danger coexisting. Damn is brightly drawn, with a spring in its step yet held ack by a cloud of sadness that envelopes Omah Lay.

3. Smile- Wizkid ft. H.E.R.

This deceptively simple but crowd pleasing ode to family and forging human connections is dedicated to Wizkid’s three children. Directed by Meji Alabi and featuring Grammy winning R&B singer H.E.R., Smile gathers people- from Lagos to New York- bringing joy to the world via simple random exchanges. The positive energy is radiant and a salve for the trying times that was the entire year.

2. 1 Milli- Davido

Everyone loves a good wedding party and Davido’s 1 Milli video is an excellent example of why. A colorful wedding procession with jubilant, dancing women in white, give way to a celebration of one our favorite love stories, that of Davido himself and his fiancée/baby mama Chioma. Despite accusations of copyright infringement levelled against Davido and his director K, 1 Milli remains as memorable and hard to look away from with every viewing.

1. Corner- Lady Donli

Shaun Kalu’s thoroughly enjoyable film is a triumph of style and aesthetic. Paying homage to the Nollywood films of the nineties and early oughties, Lady Donli and her co-creators whip up an alternate, inclusive universe where women take up space, fight for their rights, do boss things and celebrate their wins. The Corner video film is feminism on steroids.