Following on from his second single of the year following ‘Slow Down’, which was widely supported by i-D, The Independent, Highsnobiety, DJ Target and more, KING PROMISE brings on the party vibes with track, ‘Ring My Line’. Featuring Headie One, who rolls out imitable laid back bars, King Promise deliver his silky smooth crooner lyrics over a vibrantly smooth afro-fusion sample.
The First Films Worldwide directed video, brings to life the hypnotic single. Filmed on Ghana’s lush tropical coastline, the three-and-a-half minute production features both artists, soaking up the vibes surrounded by statuesque, goddess like women to soon head to an after-hours party.
Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, King Promise is an ardent storyteller inspired by life, love, family, hustling and partying, over an irresistible blend of afrobeats, hip hop and R&B. Since first releasing music officially in 2017 via Soundcloud, Promise’s fanbase quickly began to swell as word spread and a huge buzz manifested locally. Before he knew it, his career had taken off and he now counts fans in the likes of GQ, Complex, Boiler Room, BBC Radio 1 and more. Though a humble guy not bothered by numbers, he has over 35 million streams on his top 5 tracks on Spotify alone and 2.6 million followers on his socials and claims Ghana’s most streamed album of all time with his 2019 album, ‘As Promised’ (which saw him share tracks with Raye, Wizkid and more). With his irresistible signature crooner lyrics and palpably warm and danceable energy, King Promise is somewhat of a hidden gem outside of West Africa.
‘Ring My Line’ is part of an incredible new project he wrote over lockdown which he’s yet to shed light on…check out the video below…
After closing out his ‘Take A Slice’ series, which has amassed over 160K Spotify streams, Rotterdam rapper, singer and producer KAY SLICE is working on his highly anticipated solo debut album, which is due for release in January 2022. This summer, he begins to tease out the record with its first single titled ‘BREEZE’.
Written by Kay Slice and produced by Slice and his long-time collaborator Bora, who also provides live guitar and bass arrangements, along with Willem T Hart on keys, Peter Somuah on percussion drums and Charmain Charlemagne on backing vocals, ‘Breeze’ is a soulful and infectious rap fusion tribute to this mother, and the people in our lives that have nurtured us and helped us grow, such as our parents and family, with Kay Slice vowing to return the favour. According to the Dutch Ghanaian native, “the people who provided for me mean the world to me”.
Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘Breeze’ and how the track came together, Kay Slice says, “the song came to me during my recent stay in Ghana. It was like Mama Ghana was talking to me. I came up with the melody and bassline, and from there, it was just a matter of perfecting it with Bora and the band. The song is about giving tribute and honour to our providers, to the people that nurtured and helped us become who we are today. It’s also about that urge I and a lot of people around me have to return the favour and provide for the people that provided for us”.
The accompanying music video for ‘Breeze’ speaks directly to this inspiration and desire that Kay Slice expresses. Shot in Aburi Botanical Gardens in Ghana and directed by burgeoning Accra-based cinematographer Edward Pappoe, the visuals for ‘Breeze’ beautifully capture the relationship and connection between a mother and her young son, with the timeless century-old botanical garden providing the perfectly calm, peaceful and vibrant backdrop to bring the track and its message further to life, which Kay Slice describes as “the perfect fit for this song”.
Emerging as an exciting and fast-rising new artist in the Netherlands for his glorious hip-hop and afrobeats fusion, Kay Slice has already performed on the biggest Dutch TV entertainment show De Wereld Draait Door, with the likes of 3VOOR12, VPRO Mundo and Red Bull Netherlands also singing his praises. He is now on a mission to spread his unique blend of hip-hop, soul, Ghanaian groove, afrobeats and highlife across Europe, Africa and the rest of the world. His music speaks to self-love, identity, finding yourself and connecting deeply with ones’ roots, and when it’s all said and done, Kay Slice wants to have left a rich impression on his generation.
Here’s your chance to check out the official video for Kay Slice’s epic tune below…
With a slamming mix of funky house and Afrobeats, MUZI’s brand new single, ‘I Know It’, offers a respite from the darkness of the past year, a sense of hope and optimism for the future – something that is much needed in the current climate. ‘I Know It’ is the 5th single from upcoming ‘Interblaktic’ album, slated for release 1st October.
Released yesterday (8th September) by way of Apple Music 1 exclusive premiere, ‘I Know It’ details Muzi’s obsession with his phone as a way to comment on society’s social media/phone dependency. The accompanied visuals feature the artist locked in a gaze with his smart phone. “During my time of healing, I got addicted to being on my phone and social media to take my mind off of things. I wrote this song to sort of talk about my phone as if it were a woman I was in love with,” Muzi says.
With the ‘Interblaktic’ album just a few weeks from release, ‘I Know It’ brings an exciting precipice of Muzi’s release campaign with fans eagerly anticipating the artist’s 4th studio album.
Following the release of this latest single ‘Ojuju’ last month, which earned praises from the likes of HighSnobiety, Complex, Rolling Stones and Pitchfork, Afro-fusion sensation OXLADE he drops the must-see visual today, directed by Demola Falomo.
The latest offering forms part of his brand new four-track EP ‘Eclipse’, which saw him trending on Twitter for hours following its surprise release last week.
Here your chance to check out the video to the single below…
Following the success of his last album Augustine’s Legacy, which was dedicated to his late father and his first child and has now accumulated over 16 million streams on Spotify alone, Texas-based international rap artist S.O. releases new EP. ‘Larry Ginni Crescent’, which sees him tracing his footsteps back to his hometown in Nigeria, where he was born and raised. The new project is nostalgically named after the street in Lagos, Nigeria that S.O. lived on as a child called Larry Ginni Crescent.
Written and composed by S.O. and produced by long-time collaborator and Grammy Award nominated producer GP, alongside burgeoning Nigerian producers TBabz (Travis Greene, Faith Child, Aaron Cole) and SteveRawd, the Larry Gini Crescent EP is driven by lead singles ‘Kinda Love’ and the previously released ‘Corner (O Ti De)’ – the former is a summer-ready afropop love song from S.O. dedicated to his wife, where he exudes the virtues of their love, while the latter is an infectious head-bopping track that sees S.O. boasting about who he has in his corner, as he sings “no babalawo in my corner, just God putting things in order”.
Chronologically, the EP opens with the infectious up-tempo ‘Prosper’, which was penned in direct response to S.O. losing his grandmother last December and sees him putting an afrobeats twist to the popular Bible verse “no weapon formed against me shall prosper”. Elsewhere on the EP, S.O. is full of gratitude on the uplifting sing-along number ‘Good To Me’, while the up-tempo dance floor filler ‘That One’ sees S.O. fusing afrobeats, rap and a motivational message together to great effect. The EP then winds down with the sexy R&B driven ‘Want You’ and the afrohouse influenced ‘Wonder’ with its cautionary tale about battling sin and temptation.
Speaking about the inspiration behind his new Larry Ginni Crescent EP, S.O. says: “This is a project that is connected to my African roots – Larry Ginni Crescent is the name of the street I lived on as a child back in Lagos, but it’s also deeply sentimental for me and it is dedicated to my grandmother who passed away from COVID late last year. As a proud Nigerian, I have always loved my heritage, from the food and the language to the music and the culture, and afrobeats is one of the branches on the Nigerian tree that’s rooted in the diaspora.
This project has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while and the lockdown opened the door for that. I got to collaborate with two special Nigerian producers TBabz and SteveRawd, as well as my long-time collaborator GP. Not only am I a Nigerian but I am also a Christian and that comes out in this project. So ‘Larry Ginni Crescent’ can be described as deeply Christian and deeply Nigerian. From the songs about faith, to songs about love, everything connects to this one point – al that we do, all that we experience, can be used for our art. I hope it moves you”.
With over 40 million global streams and sold-out shows across America, Europe and Africa, and having also lived in Lagos, London and now Texas, S.O. is the true definition of an international artist. Since his now classic debut mixtape 5 Solas, S.O. has gone on to chart in the top 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart, in the top 30 on both the Billboard Rap album chart and the Billboard Christian album chart, and in the top 5 on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap album chart across his four albums and two EPs. As his new project Larry Ginni Crescent arrives, S.O. is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Check out the blog’s song recommendations below:
Must Listens: Corner (O Ti De), Good To Me, Kinda Love, Want You
New Lease Music 