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Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio With Cuppy This Sunday With Major League DJz

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This Week’s Episode Features a Conversation With Major League DJz, the 5 Hottest Tracks of the Week, and Matthew Mensah’s Favorite African Proverb!

Tune in to Africa Now Radio With Cuppy This Sunday, January 31st at 2p Lagos/London / 3p Johannesburg/Paris / 6a LA / 9a NYC
Only on Apple Music 1

Cover Star Interview
South African twins Major League DJz are this week’s cover stars and join Cuppy via FaceTime on Apple Music 1 to talk about their latest track, “Dinaledi (feat. Mpho Sebina).” Major League also dive into the themes behind their new EP, ‘What’s the Levol,’ and linking the kwaito and amapiano genres.

The Big 5
Cuppy shares the 5 hottest new African tracks of the moment. This week’s selection includes new tracks from Nelson Freitas, Dice Ailes, Junior De Rocka and Lady Du, Bankulli and Not3s, and Bensoul.

Africa Rising
Nigeria’s Jonzing World (featuring Ruger, D’Prince and Rema) is the latest Africa Rising cover star, a campaign which shines a light on the next generation of African superstars. https://apple.co/3qTGTZk

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Proverb of the Week
Ghanaian tourism ambassador, entrepreneur and philanthropist Matthew Mensah shares his favourite Akan proverb: “A crab does not give birth to a bird” – honoring all the traits we inherit from our forebears.

Mini Mix
Cuppy finishes this week’s show with a special mini-mix of Apple Music’s Alté Cruise playlist, featuring music from Tems, Amaarae, Gabzy, Gyakie, Psycho YP and Azanti, and Sirbastien and Naya Akanji. https://apple.co/2KSzD0p

Tune in and listen to the full episode this Sunday, January 31st at 2p Lagos/London / 3p Johannesburg/Paris / 6a LA / 9a NYC on Apple Music 1 at apple.co/_AfricaNow.

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Major League DJz on the growth of amapiano sound

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It’s going to have a lot of sub-genres in all of piano. It’s already having sub-genres, just like Kwaito piano, there’s like deep house piano, there’s tech-piano already. There is afro-piano and there’s soulful piano. So like Dinaledi is soulful piano. And there’s Kwaito, Kwaito, Kwaito, African Kwaito piano. So yeah, so it’s probably going to grow. There’s going to be afro-beat piano, you know? So you just need to let the genre grow, that’s part of growth.

Major League DJz on the decision to switch genres

Cuppy: You’ve done urban music before. So were you worried when you were switching genre?

Major League DJz: Yeah, it was a bit worrying, but we basically knew what we were trying to do. You know, dance is a very big genre in Africa and the world alone. So moving into that space wasn’t that hard, but we just had to tell the fans like, “This is how we’re moving.” And now, and this is how we make touring.

Major League DJz on creating a blend of kwaito and amapiano

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Cuppy: Is that any way of creating a collaborative sound between kwaito and amapiano? Is it possible?

Major League DJz: It is possible. That’s what we’re doing basically right now. Putting on different… because hip hop here is more like kwaito so we move the kwaito, put in that kwaito sound onto amapiano, and people are loving it. A lot of artists that are coming out do that.

Major League DJz on the concept behind their EP ‘What’s The Levol’

Major League DJz: “What’s The Levol?” It’s a slang that you have in South Africa. Like, “What are we on about right now?” So at one point, snakes returning in South Africa. People are using snakes for “mooti” and all those things. So we just played around with the…

Major League DJz: What “mooti” is? You know when people do craft?

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Cuppy: Oh, like black magic?

Major League DJz: Yes, yes, people are using snakes for witchcraft. So we use it as the playing field, but also “What’s the Levol?” is the energy we wanted to have in summer, it was a festive EP. So it’s more street anthems than songs like “Dinaledi,” more chanting anthems on that EP. It’s not very musical like Piano Chill. So that was the theme around it.

Matthew Mensah’s proverb of the week

Matthew Mensah: This is an old Akan proverb. I’ll say it first in Twi, and I’ll translate it. But it goes like this [speaks own language], which means literally, “A crab does not give birth to a bird.” So it’s kind of acknowledgment of the physical features and character of a child has with the parent. So-

Cuppy: “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.”

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Matthew Mensah: Exactly. Exactly. That is one that I really enjoy, because if something really speaks to the character, when you see a young woman or a man that’s really trying in life, you can see some of those traits that they have from their parents. And for example, as well, even just take yourself, for example, you have all of this whole ambition and hard working and entrepreneurship around your business, I guess something you have gotten from your mom and dad as well.

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Tems Tells Apple Music About What Fans Can Expect From Her Upcoming Album, And More…

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Tems joins Eddie Francis on Apple Music 1 to talk about her new song “Love Me JeJe” out now. Tems talks about how she came up with the new single, how it was a collaborative effort amongst her friends. She reveals that her mother loves the song and that it’s inspired by a Nigerian classic.

Also, Tems gives fans a glimpse into what they can expect from her upcoming album, “Born in the Wild”.

Key quotes below please feel free to credit Eddie Francis on Apple Music 1. Video to follow shortly.

Tems tells Apple Music about the love she gets from people…

Eddie Francis: There’s this certain reaction you get from people where like people love you. It’s not even just a like. Does that get weird? Because we feel like we know you and we don’t know you and you don’t know us.

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Tems: I think I’m used to it. I don’t know why though. Always I’m like, “Do you really feel this way? Why? Why do you like me?” I don’t know, but I think I’m used to it now.

Eddie Francis: Like when they see you, it’s like, “Oh my God, it’s Tems.” And I’ve talked to you before and I know you’re really on energy and spirituality and I know you got to feel it. When did you realize you have a different kind of relationship with people that are fans of your music?

Tems: I think it’s just the reaction and in real life, the amount of emotion, there’s just this energy that feels pure that I get all the time. And I was like, “Yo, this is not normal. This is not normal.” It is different if it’s like, “Oh yeah. I think you’re just so cool.” And that might be the case, but I don’t know. It’s so much love sometimes, I just, I don’t, it’s just wild.

Tems on the creation of her new song, “Love Me JeJe”…

So basically, I went out to dinner with my girls, with my friends, two of my friends. We’re just like, “Oh, let’s just do a cute dinner. It’s going to be cute.” And afterwards, my friends are always telling me, you never show us your Tems side. Everybody else, yeah, you’re Tems, but my friends don’t feel like I am when I’m there. It’s just like, I’m this girl. So they’re like, “Oh, you never take us to the studio. We don’t even know if you are like… Are you a doppelganger? Are you like, what is that?” So I said, “Okay, tonight we’re going to the studio and you people, you are going to sing?” So they were like, “Oh my god, crazy. What?” So we went to the studio and two of my producers, they made this beat, Spax and Guilty and they sent it to me as a challenge like, “Oh. Yeah, I’m sure you can’t do Nigerian. I am sure you can’t do this jam.”

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So I was like, I just had it in the back. So I played it and I told my friends, “Yeah, lets all freestyle, take turns. Oh yeah, you do freestyle, you…” So one of my friends did “Love Me Jeje, Love Me Tender.” And then my other friend was just screaming as well. And I was like, “Actually this is a mad vibe. I love this vibe. I’m going to keep this in the song.” And I did my own freestyle and it just was such a cute vibe and I wanted to pay tribute to the actual song ’cause I love that song. My mom loves that song. “Love Me Jeje.” The original song is from Seyi Sodimu. The original song is called “Love Me Jeje” as well and it’s a Nigerian classic and it just felt right.

Tems on the term “JeJe” and what it means…

Jeje is African and Jeje also just means the concept of the song Love Me Jeje, Love Me Tender, it just means love me softly, take your time with, love me unconditionally and show me good love. That’s what it means. So that’s the idea of “Love Me JeJe”.

Tems on “NEPA” and what that means when she uses it in the song…

NEPA is, so basically NEPA is the electricity company in Nigeria. And basically, we don’t always have 24 hours electricity. So when there’s lights or when the electricity comes back on, there’s this like, everybody, you just hear your neighbours shouting, “Hey, there’s electricity now.” So you turn me on like the electricity, I’m back on, you electrify me, basically.

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Tems on what fans can expect from her next album, Born in the Wild…

“Born in the Wild” is actually about my journey. It’s about my experience as me and about the experiences I’ve had so far. And it really felt like the life I lived before, the life I was accustomed to felt like a wilderness. And it’s not really more so, yes, I was raised in Lagos and that’s a part of me, but it’s not really about the place, it’s more about the state of being. It was a wilderness in the environment I lived in and there’s so many things that happened and so many lessons I learned to come and be this person now. It is basically coming out of the wilderness. So that’s basically what Born In the Wild is about.

I’ve had to step back a bit to make sure or to check in with myself that I’m being true and also just find healing from all the trauma. Everything I experienced before Tems, I think I had to unlearn a lot of things. And this album is just, it is just a new way of me expressing myself while still centering who I am in it.

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Larry Vibez transports us into his universe in “Diary of Vibez” EP

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Afropop Newcomer Larry Vibez is set to make his mark in the burgeoning Afrobeat music space as he unveils his highly anticipated EP “Diary of Vibez.” The project was released via Big Larry’s Record. (more…)

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CAKES DA KILLA releases ‘Black Sheep +’ album

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CAKES DA KILLA

Last month, New York rapper Cakes da Killa released “his most refined work to date” (DJ Mag), Black Sheep, and today, Cakes shares Black Sheep + out now via Young Art Records. With five new tracks and fresh album art, the deluxe version of Black Sheepexpands on his “most danceable album yet” (The FADER) and showcases more of Cakes’ “rapid-fire flows, clever punchlines and old-school ‘rapper’s rapper’ mentality” (RANGE).

 

Black Sheep is inspired by seeing the world, by embracing the nightlife and building community. Cakes’ critical and communal acclaim precede him: in the past two years, he’s played GlastonburyGovernors BallSonar, and Whole Festival. He’s worked with everyone from Honey Dijon to Injury Reserve to RyeRye. Whether holding court, going through customs, or crushing competition, Cakes stands firm as a seasoned vet who knows his role and knows the game.

 

Reuniting with long-time collaborator Sam Katz, the producer behind 2022’s SvengaliBlack Sheep finds the duo at their most comfortable and confident: Cakes wrote every bar, Katz did every beat. Over the course of the album, Cakes guides us through a spiritual trip from the clubs of Manhattan to the back blocks of Brooklyn. Black Sheep is a work of survival and sees the decorated emcee fully aware of his power, his place, and no longer settling for less than he deserves.

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Featuring his sharpest writing and most electrifying performances to date, Black Sheep is a coronation of his graduation to foremother: a figure who spent his 20s hustling alongside his peers, focusing on the work, and paving the way for the generation we see today. He’s a rapper’s rapper, a girl’s girl, and he’s ready to be a superstar.

 

Stream/Purchase Black Sheep +

 

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Listen to “Black Sheep”

 

Watch Video for “Mind Reader” (ft. Stout)

 

Listen to “Do Dat Baby” (ft. Dawn Richard)

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Listen to “Cakewalk” by Cakes da Killa

 

Watch Cakes da Killa perform “Cakewalk” on COLORS

 

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Black Sheep + Tracklist

1. It’s A Luv Thang (ft. Wuhryn Dumas)

2. Mind Reader (ft. Stout)

3. Make Me Ovah

4. FourPlay

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5. Do Dat Baby (ft. Dawn Richard)

6. Global Entry

7. Downtown J

8. Cakewalk

9. Crushin In Da Club

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10. Problem 4 Problems

11. Ain’t Sh*t Sweet

12. Black Sheep

13. Chain Gang Pimpin

14. Fly Trap

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15. Not Da One

16. Standing Ovation

 

Cakes da Killa Tour Dates:

Sat. June 29 – Brooklyn, NY @ Ladyland Festival

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Sat. July 6 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival

Sun. July 21 – Ghent, BE @ Boomtown Gent Festival

Sun. July 28 – Amsterdam, NL @ Milkshake Festival

Fri. Aug. 2 – Amsterdam, NL @ Dekmantel Festival

 

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Praise for Cakes da Killa and Black Sheep

 

 

Cakes Da Killa is a rap icon…” – Mixmag

 

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Black Sheep stands as one of the emcee’s best works to date, continuing his genre-defying style with renewed panache — jazz, house, R&B and rap all meld into one sound throughout the project — while his writing game reaches yet another career-high.” — Billboard

 

“[Black Sheep] is a confident compendium of breathless performances, bombastic personality, and thrilling genre collages.”  — Pitchfork

 

“[Black Sheep is] an impressive display of pure rapping ability and irresistible grown and sexy grooves” — Bandcamp

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WOTOWEI! Quamina MP & Kofi Mole drops first single off their debut joint EP

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Ghanaian music sensations Quamina MP and Kofi Mole have sent waves of excitement through the music scene with the release of their debut joint single, “WOTOWEI” Produced by MPZ, the track is the first single off their upcoming collaborative EP, set to take the industry by storm. (more…)

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Kobby Carter and Big Jay of Bando Boyz Unleash “Bad Boy” – A UK Afrobeat Sensation

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The music scene is about to get a major shake-up with the latest single “Bad Boy” from the dynamic duo Kobby Carter and Big Jay, members of the renowned Bando Boyz. This new track is a tantalizing teaser off their highly anticipated upcoming EP, showcasing their unique blend of UK afrobeat rhythms and Ghanaian flair.

“Bad Boy” isn’t just a song; it’s an auditory journey. With its smooth, sweet vibes, the track promises to transport listeners straight to a world where the beats are rich and the melodies are lush. Kobby Carter’s signature style meshes seamlessly with Big Jay’s vibrant energy, creating a synergy that’s undeniably infectious.

The collaboration is a testament to the power of partnership. Kobby Carter and Big Jay, both hailing from Bando Boyz, have come together to create something that’s more than just a song – it’s a statement. A statement that they’re here to stay and they’re not playing by the rules.

Produced with a slick, polished finish, “Bad Boy” is set to be the anthem of the season. It’s that track you play when the sun is setting and you’re gearing up for a night out. It’s the song that you turn up when you need to feel like, well, a bad boy.

As fans eagerly await the full EP, “Bad Boy” serves as the perfect appetizer. It’s a glimpse into the future of UK afrobeat, a future that’s bright and bursting with talent. Kobby Carter and Big Jay are leading the charge, and if “Bad Boy” is any indication, we’re all in for an exhilarating ride.

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Stream “Bad Boy” now on all major platforms and follow Kobby Carter and Big Jay for the latest updates on their music and the upcoming EP. The Bando Boyz are not just making waves; they’re making a splash – and the world is ready to dive in.

links to the song

Audiomack: https://audiomack.com/kobbycarterr/song/bad-boy?share-user-id=8773134

other platforms : https://tiememusicdistro.lnk.to/218738BadBoy

Kobby Carter Socials

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Instagram : @Kobbycarterr

twitter: @KOBBYCARTERR

Big Jay Socials

instagram: @bigjay0_

twitter: @jayissbighttps://tiememusicdistro.lnk.to/218738BadBoy

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LEONARDODDJ X IYKE PARKER X KORSHI T AND NEL: PIECE OF ART

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LEONARDODDJ X IYKE PARKER X KORSHI T AND NEL: PIECE OF ART

Ghana’s new favorite music duo, LeonardoDDJ and Iyke Parker, kick off 2024, where they left off with their first song of the year. After two successive singles, the duo teamed up with vocalist Korshi T and Disk Jockey Nel on the song they call Piece of Art.

There are moments when your eyes fall on someone, and for a brief period you are lost for words because you are caught up in the amazement of the beauty before your eyes. Caught with his eyes on the prize, Korshi T takes his time as he serenades the “work of art” before him. He highlights not only her physical attributes but her entire being as what has caught his attention. 

Life is very short, so when you see someone who tickles your fancy, it is only right that you walk up to them and express yourself to them. The song also doubles as an appreciation of one’s self and body. 

Produced by Iyke Parker, the song is a mid-tempo blend of Afrobeats and Amapiano and embodies the mood of the song and the message it conveys. 

“Piece of Art” is available on all major streaming platforms :https://easternchild.fanlink.tv/PieceOfArt

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