With their induction, the artistes will have their songs featured on RADAR playlists, RADAR podcasts, and Spotify Singles, and Spotify will prioritise releases from RADAR artists across all regions.
By Hope Ibiale
One of the largest streaming audio and media service providers, Spotify, has announced the new inductees of its RADAR programme for African artistes. The new artistes in the programme include Bloody Civilian, Baaba J, Xenia Manasseh, Ria Sean, and Tyla. The artistes, recently announced as the new inductees, will join the previous cohort, which comprised Ayra Starr, Black Sherif, Victony, DBN Gogo, BNXN, and Buruklyn Boyz, to enjoy the benefits provided by Spotify.
With their induction, the artistes will have their songs featured on RADAR playlists, RADAR podcasts, and Spotify Singles, and Spotify will prioritise releases from RADAR artists across all regions.
While announcing the new cohort, Spotify’s artist and label partnerships manager for West Africa, Victor Okpala, noted, “As the music industry continues to evolve, it’s essential to find new ways to support emerging talent and offer them a fair chance at success both on and off the platform. We welcome Xenia Manasseh, Bloody Civilian, Ria Sean, Tyla and Baaba J to the RADAR programme.”
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Emoseh Khamofu, known professionally as Bloody Civilian, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and music producer. In 2022, the artiste debuted in the music industry with “How To Kill a Man,” She also wrote and produced a track on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever compilation album, which further stamped her presence in the industry. According to Bloody, her desire to empower and elevate African art and history through her music drives her.
Baaba J is a Ghanaian singer and songwriter passionate about music and film. Her alternative afro music blends indigenous, high life, pop, rap, and soul and has been described by Spotify as “Precise and poetic.” Baba J draws inspiration from her childhood experiences and creates music around love, culture, and identity.
Since her debut in the Kenyan music scene in 2019, R&B/Soul artiste Xenia Manasseh has captivated music lovers with her voice and pen game. Throughout her career, Xenia has worked with artistes like Teyana Taylor, Big Sean, Mr. Eazi, Tay Iwar, Sauti Sol and many others. With her music, Xenia is topping charts in Kenya and has begun to climb charts in the UK, US and many other places.
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Ria Sean is a rising Nigerian singer-songwriter who combines Afro-fusion, pop, and R&B into her music. The Aristokrat signee collaborated with artists like Leriq, Moelogo, Ayra Starr, and many others. With a discography that boasts projects like Fluid and Love Station, Sean is a rising star to watch out for.
Tyla is a South African-born genre that fuses African melodies, jazz, piano melodies and deep house music. Her emotionally-rich songs started at a young age and have led to international success with hits like “Getting Late.” The Pop star has had her song “Overdue” featuring DJ Lag and Kooldrink featured on the second-season trailer of Netflix’s South African teen drama Blood & Water.
Since launching in 2020, the Spotify RADAR programme has been an initiative that identifies artistes with the potential to break across borders. They proceed to create new recordings of cultural collaborations in Spotify studios worldwide. Since its creation, the programme has continued supporting artists on their paths to superstardom, helping rising talent at all stages of their development, and strengthening their connection to audiences.