The second edition of the Martell cypher featuring rap heavyweights M.I, Blaqbonez, A-Q and Loose Kaynon has been released, and it is quite the experience.

The four rappers effectively sent social media into a frenzy earlier this year, dominating the rap conversation for weeks on end. This go-around, they have doubled down on the bars, charisma, and braggadocio, delivering another noteworthy performance.

Watch the second edition of the Martell cypher here

Ckay’s “Beeni Gets the Animoji Treatment

Following the release of his sophomore mixtape, “Ckay the First”, Chocolate City artist-producer, Ckay releases an animoji video for one of the project’s standout songs, “Beeni”. The track features Barry Jhay, and is produced by long-time Ckay collaborator, Tempoe. The cartoony video adds a quirky layer to an otherwise emotional song by the artist. 

Watch the video here

Street Billionaires Unleash Video for  “Yoruba Ni Mi”

Chocolate City musical group, Street Billionaires release the video for their latest single, ‘Yoruba Ni Mi’, which dropped last year.

The video is a tribute to the indigenous group’s roots, as well as wider Yoruba culture. It is a colourful collage of fabrics, tie-dye patterns, artefacts, food, as well as other core elements of the Yoruba aesthetic, and also features a number of gorgeous overhead shots of Lagos state.

Watch the video for “Yoruba Ni Mi” here

https://youtu.be/6HxBpNr5q2Q

Nosa Drops Trailer for Upcoming Video, “Na Your Way”

Chocolate City’s contemporary gospel artiste, Nosa, released the trailer for the video to his upcoming single, “Na Your Way”. “Na Your Way” is one of the songs off Nosa’s forthcoming album, “The Sacrifice”, and it features popular gospel artiste, Mairo Ese.

The video is slated to be released on September 27th, 2019.

Watch the trailer for “Na Your Way” here

Data is Still King: Lessons from Brent Faiyaz

Spotify’s global head of partner solutions, Danielle Lee, remarked in 2017 that data is the brand’s ‘superpower’. This is first and foremost a reference to the fact that data is central to both the company’s product and marketing strategies, but also explains their willingness to provide artists and record labels with statistics and analytic information that enables them to make better informed decisions.

Independent artist, Brent Faiyaz makes for a compelling case study. Having gained mainstream recognition with his appearance on Goldlink’s hit single, “Crew”, the artist and his management team leveraged on that momentum, and built a revenue-generating business by making data the core of their practices.

Watch here how Brent Faiyaz and his team successfully utilized data to their benefit.