Popular Nigerian, Azeez Fashola, singer better known as Naira Marley, has been named Nigeria’s most-viewed artiste on YouTube, American video-sharing platform, for the year 2019.
The streaming giant disclosed this on Wednesday in Lagos during the launch of YouTube Music and YouTube Premium, two digital services in Nigeria.
The ‘top 10 most viewed artists in Nigeria in 2019’ list also includes the likes of Davido, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Teni, Zlatan, Chris Brown, Olamide, Wizkid and Mercy Chinwo — in that order.
Interestingly, Chris Brown was the only foreign artist to make the list.
The 25-year-old ‘Soapy’ crooner’, who was the only celebrity guest at the press event, took to his Twitter handle to inform his numerous followers about the feat.
During the event, Marley spoke on the creative force behind the kind of songs he makes. He also opened up on how his love for Indian songs, Fuji, and Christian songs have inspired his music career.
“I listen to different types of music: Slow Jams, Fuji, Christian and Muslim songs, Indian songs like those in Bollywood,” he said.
“But a lot of things inspire me: a bit of the drum, a little bit of Fuji, a little bit of proper Yoruba songs.”
The street singer has amassed a deluge of diehard fans — comprising both old and young — ever since his legal battle with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over cybercrime allegations.
