Have you ever heard a song that reminded you of a particular time in your life years ago and made you go, wow, I wonder what happened to that singer? Some of those songs might have been from African one-hit wonders who are not new to the industry. They seemingly come from the blues. Then, drop a piece that leaves a considerable impression and makes insane numbers, and then vanish into thin air.
I have my favorite one-hit wonder songs, as I’m sure you do. This piece is going to take us back a little bit in time. We will look at certain African one-hit wonders who came, made a huge mark, and left the fans yearning for more.
DJinee – Ego, The Nigerian One-hit-wonder
17 years ago, when DJinee dropped this song, it had all the lover boys and girls in a chokehold. Nigerian singer and songwriter DJinee’s career seemed to have hit a rocket start with the release of his famous song, Ego. Kids and teenagers were singing it. Even parents didn’t seem to mind that the song was a heartbroken lover’s cry for help.
Djinne’s career didn’t stay in the limelight for as long as we had hoped. Following the release of Ego, his following few songs certainly didn’t hit the same, and he soon disappeared from the music scene. In a recent interview with The Nigerian Premium Times, DJinne speaks about how he didn’t necessarily disappear from the industry but just took a break.
More recently, Djinee released a song with MI in 2019. When asked about making a comeback, he replied… “There are no comeback moves; I’m still making music.” Think we’ll be hearing from him soon? It might’ve been a one-hit wonder, but we can’t deny that Ego is still a jam. Let’s listen to it, just because we can!
Nana Boroo – Aha Yede, Ghana’s World Cup Singer
Next on our list of African one-hit wonders is Ghana’s very own Nana Boroo. After pursuing graphic design at the university, Nana Boroo decided to try his hand at music. Eventually, he landed a lucky dip with his hit song Aha Yede.
This song made waves and spread throughout Ghana like wildfire. Soon enough, it crossed the country’s borders and quickly became the continent’s favorite. Aha Yede was such a hit that officials selected it as the official music from Ghana for the 2010 World Cup, where Nana Boroo performed.
As magical as it all sounds, that was the peak of Nana Boroo’s career. He subsequently released other songs in the late 2010s, but of course, they couldn’t touch the hem of Aha Yede.
Take a look.
Mgarimbe – Sista Bethina, The South African One-hit Wonder
From the heart of Durban, South Africa, Mgarimbe gave the continent a hit song that left an incredible impression on its listeners. Sista Bethina was said to have originally been recorded as a studio freestyle in the mid-2000s. It was so much of a hit that it only needed little polishing before it was released to the public.
Sista Bethina had explicit content and controversial lyrics and was banned from radio airplay. However, this one-hit wonder was undeniably one of the biggest kwaito hit songs in South Africa. Everyone was singing it, the partygoers especially.
The one-hit wonder spoke about enjoying life to the fullest, and if you know Africans, you know that it is one message we love to hear. According to Savanna News, a large number of people even suggested the song be incorporated into South Africa’s national anthem, but obviously, that didn’t hold water.
Mgarimbe later released an album with Sista Bethina as the lead single. However, none of the songs were as enjoyable as his hit song. He later released a few more songs before eventually dwindling out of the limelight to become the African one-hit wonder we know today.
Let’s listen to Sista Bethina one more time.
These three artists are just a fraction of the multitude of African one-hit wonders we’ve seen in the industry. They came, they saw, they conquered, and then they left a little bit soon. However, their music will still live on. Other artists often described as one-hit wonders include Olu Maintain, singer of the hit song Yahooze, the South African music group 101, Ghanaian singer Atom, and so many others.
Until next time, don’t forget to stay glued to our Soot Africa social media pages, where we bring you only the best news from the African music industry.
