Category: Music

On Thursday, April 18, 2024, Davido announced the news for his new record label, Nine+ Records.

Nine+ is a new record label formed by Davido and Steve Stoute‘s UnitedMasters. The new record label will be a 2.0 version of Davido Music Worldwide Records (DWM) as of April 17.

Steve Stoute and Davido connected last year at the SelectCon event by UnitedMasters, and from the event they have been talking business. Steve Stoute visited Lagos, Nigeria, where they solidified their plan and partnership, leading to Nine+.

The name Nine+ is coined from Davido’s lyrics, “OBO elemi nine plus,” from his song Stand Strong, which means “OBO has more than nine lives,” according to Davido’s PR team member, David Adeyemi.

Last December, UnitedMasters partnered with the NBA to forge a new deal that allowed their artists to showcase their work on NBA Africa’s social media channels showcasing their artists to African audiences via technology. The initiative is based at the NBA Africa office in Lagos, Nigeria. This partnership marks another step for United Masters in Africa, following their collaboration with Sarz Academy in 2023.

According to his manager and lawyer Bobo F. Ajuda, “Davido will collaborate with Steve Stoute to identify and develop talent. Their respective teams from Nine+ Records and UnitedMasters will work together to support these artists. This includes everything from artist development and branding to securing market opportunities.”

Davido continues to uphold his responsibilities at Nine+ same as DMW but including a collaborative approach in his capacity as a music executive. This collaboration will play a role in identifying and fostering talent, providing them opportunities for strategic brand alliances and synchronization.”

“I am thrilled to announce the launch of a new joint venture between my label, Nine Plus, and UnitedMasters, founded by my good friend, Steve Stoute. This collaboration marks a pivotal moment in our journey, as we aim to empower artists globally by leveraging UnitedMasters’ revolutionary music distribution platform and Nine Plus’ innovative vision and eye for talent. Together, we are set to redefine the music landscape both African and global, providing artists with unprecedented tools and opportunities to amplify their voices and craft. Excited to witness the creativity and growth ahead. This partnership signifies a significant step in music history, encompassing both Africa and the world,” Davido, Founder/CEO of Nine Plus.

This announcement comes after Davido’s sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where he made history by bringing Afrobeats to one of the world’s most iconic venues. A moment after his performance he visited Tunde Onakoya who was attempting to break the world record for the longest chess marathon.

UnitedMasters has been making waves with recent company announcements, including partnerships with SymphonyOS and Groover.

Davido expressed his enthusiasm in a statement, saying, “I am thrilled to announce the launch of a new joint venture between my label, Nine Plus, and UnitedMasters, founded by my good friend, Steve Stoute This collaboration marks a pivotal moment in our journey, as we aim to empower artists globally by leveraging UnitedMasters’ revolutionary music distribution platform and Nine Plus’ innovative vision and eye for talent. Together, we are set to redefine the music landscape both African and global, providing artists with unprecedented tools and opportunities to amplify their voices and craft. Excited to witness the creativity and growth ahead. This partnership signifies a significant step in music history, encompassing both Africa and the world.”

Davido’s first move is to move DMW Record artist to Nine+.

All dmw artist would be moved to Nine + records …. Clearing the air !

— Davido (@davido) April 19, 2024

Afrobeats giant Olamide and Afropop artist CKay are back together with a new collab.

“Bolabmh is the producer behind the song, which is believed to draw influences from Salsa. This single serves as a testament to CKay’s exceptional talent in songwriting.

According to CKay “Olamide and I complimented each other well on the record. I think it’s beautiful.” This is their second song since ‘Trumpet, released back in 2023’.

Wahala’ is available on all streaming platforms; listen here

Temilade Openiyi, professionally known as Tems, is one of Africa’s finest musical songwriters and singers. A talent with so much recognition has no album, but everything will change in May 2024. Tems plans to publish her first studio album.

In 2018, her first published song, Mr. Rebel, was released. Her debut EP, “For Broken Ears,” alongside “If Orange Was a Place,” contributed significantly to the industry.

She is featured in Wizkid Essence and the remix of the same featuring Justin Bieber. During the 2024 Coachella, Tems performed with both Wizkid and Justin Bieber.

Many fans are so eager and excited for her first album to drop. See the trailer below:

Gospel music goes beyond the lyrics, beats, or rhythm; it is the connection to the soul. Being a gospel artist may not win you 20 awards in one year, but the impact will be felt for generations.

Traditional gospel artists combine English and their local language to produce the finest soul-touching songs. This article will highlight 20 of the greatest Yoruba gospel artists of all time, presented in no particular order.

Tope Alabi

Tope Alabi is a successful artist and actress. She has written and released hundreds of songs. Many of her songs are sung in numerous churches nationwide and are featured in films and television programs.

Before gospel music, she belonged to the Jesters International comedy troupe and has performed in various theatres in Nigeria. She has released over seven albums in her lifetime and over 350 soundtracks for films and series.

Lara George

Lara George is a respected and award-winning Gospel musician and producer, she was once a member of the group, KUSH before going solo. In 2008, she published her first studio album, Forever in My Heart featuring her hit single “Ijoba Orun.”

Sola Allyson

Sola Allyson-Obaniyi, born on September 24, 1971, is recognized as one of Nigeria’s most successful and accomplished soul and gospel musicians and composers. She gained recognition after the release of her album Eji Owuro in 2003, The album was made into a film and the tracks were made the official soundtrack for the film – Eji Owuro.

Others include:

Yinka Ayefele

Lanre Teriba

Ayo Vincent

Bola Are

Bidemi Olaoba

Dunni Olanrewaju

Tomi Favored

Sunmisola Agbebi

Funmi Aragbaye

TY Bello

Snatcha

Joseph Adebayo Adelakun

Joshua Mike-Bamiloye

Kunle Ajayi

Mega 99

Mr Gbera

Funke Bada

Davido just announced the release of his first single of the year, which will be dropping by 12 noon midnight.

Nigerian rapper and actor Tobechukwu Ejiofor professionally known as Illbliss has described why he took a break from music.

In an interview with HipTV, the rapper revealed his wife had birth complications during the pregnancy of their second daughter.

“We rushed to the hospital and they said it was about to be a miscarriage. I abandoned that album. I just went from one hospital to the other. My child survived but it was a lot of drama. She is three and a half years now. And my first daughter came after eight years of marriage. Two of my kids came to this world very dramatically. So I took time off to be a dad. To just take it all in. Try and spend time and raise these kids,” he said. 

He also explained that during this sabbatical with music, he took the opportunity to diversify: “Also, I was trying to find diversification. So I moved into television as well. I had done ‘King Of Boys’ a year before then and I just felt like I needed to produce more; shoot more films, documentaries and get into spaces where I could still express myself artistically without just putting out music. So, I took a break from music. All of these is what has been happening in the last four years.”

What the video here:

Temilade Openiyi, Tems, is a force and talent in the music industry – with no album, she has won multiple awards and international recognition. This year alone she was recognized by Billboard in Billboard Women in Music.

It is a popular culture for artists to release an album in less than two years of gaining recognition, but that wasn’t the case for Tems. She has two EPs; “For Broken Ears” and “If Orange Was A Place.”

Tems recently featured on South African rising star, Tyla’s album “Tyla” in the song No. 1.

This year the world is ready to experience a new side of Tems on her album, whenever it drops.

Watch her speech:

In an interview with Pulse Nigeria, Bob Hearts Abishola star, Folake Olowofoyeku speaks on her first love music, her time in Hollywood, our background and her love for her fatherland.

Folake, the lead actress for CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, is an award winning Hollywood actress. She left the country at 18 after multiple attempts to study at University of Lagos, Nigeria (Unilag) to the city of hopes and dreams – New York.

Born to a prominent Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Babatunji Olowofoyeku, she was destined for another path but instead chose entertainment or so you will think. While in university she studies Economics for a while but has fate will have it, she ended up graduating with Theatre.

Her father was the original pianist in the family so in a way it had an impact in the direction her life will go, she once saved up from to buy bass and thought herself how to play. These events and moment took her top the point she played with David Bowe and released few tracks of hers – Ehen Ehen Okay Okay and Melanin No Ni included.

The part of the story most readers will be familiar with, her Hollywood journey came moments after her musical heights with, David Bowe but Hollywood fame is not stopping her. Culture, Arts, Love and many more is starring her back to music as she plan to release her new single which drops in May.

This upcoming track will be the birth of a new genre, “Afrojoy.”

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Not really what you want to hear, but it’s true… Our Big Wiz recently announced he isn’t an Afrobeats artiste anymore. He claims to have transcended beyond the label, Afrobeats.

Afrobeats, a music genre mostly associated with Africans, is the modern version of music legend Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat artiste. The sound, Afrobeats, gained global recognition in the past few years and most international music bodies like the Grammys have created a spot for Afrobeats in their awards. Even Billboard has added a category for Afrobeats in its charts.

Via his official Instagram account, @wizkidayo, he spent the past two days he’s more than one sound.

Singer Davido once described Afrobeats as an umbrella term to describe African music and not the actual name of the genre.

“Afrobeats is what is used to describe music made by an African artist” — Davido

pic.twitter.com/0VtRqdDbCs

— WeTalkSound (WTS) (@wetalksound) March 17, 2024

Wizkid isn’t the first to detach himself from Afrobeats; Davido and Wizkid are guilty of this.

https://twitter.com/Winco_3/status/1769144474574168166?s=20

Burna Boy described himself as an Afro-fusion artiste because his sound evolved overtime. to him Afrobeats is a box he doesn’t fit into. Burna Boy has done Raggae, Afrobeat, Afrobeats and Hiphop.

‘‘I created Afro-Fusion because i didn’t want to be boxed into Afrobeats’’

— Burna Boy pic.twitter.com/Rx6SxPz3cA

— HYPETRIBE (@hypetribeng) March 17, 2024

While describing himself as more than Afrobeats, Wizkid announced his upcoming album named after his mother, Morayo.

Kanye West’s (Ye) daughter, North West, is taking her father’s steps to become the next music star in the West family.