Edmond Montague Grant is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, African polyrhythms, and Latin music genres such as samba, among many others. In addition to this, he also helped to pioneer the genre of "Ringbang". He was a founding member of the Equals, one of the United Kingdom's first racially-mixed pop groups who are best remembered for their million-selling UK chart-topper, the Grant-penned "Baby, Come Back".
Jonathan Michael Batiste is an American musician, singer, songwriter, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music, released his own recordings, and performed in more than 40 countries. Batiste, with his band Stay Human, appeared nightly as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022.
Disclosure is an English electronic music duo consisting of brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence. They grew up in Reigate, Surrey. Their debut studio album, Settle, released on 3 June 2013, by PMR Records, was nominated for Best Dance/Electronica Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards. They released a second studio album, Caracal, on 25 September 2015 which was also nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Their third studio album, Energy, was released on 28 August 2020, and was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, alongside the fourth single from the album, "My High", which was nominated for Best Dance Recording.
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential African artists of all time. He began recording music at the age of 11 and released a collaborative album with the Glorious Five (5), a group he and a couple of his church friends formed. In 2009, Wizkid signed a record deal with Banky W's Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E). He later rose to the limelight after releasing "Holla at Your Boy", the lead single from his debut studio album, Superstar (2011), which also spawned the singles "Tease Me/Bad Guys" and "Don't Dull".
Edrisah Musuuza, known professionally as Eddy Kenzo, is a Grammy Nominated Ugandan singer and music executive who is a founder and a member of Big Talent Entertainment. He received international attention after the release of his 2014 single, "Sitya Loss" and an accompanying viral video that featured the Ghetto Kids. In total, he has released 4 albums, including Roots in 2018 and most recently Made in Africa in 2021. Kenzo has also won numerous national and international awards, including a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award in 2018, a BET Award in 2015, and multiple All Africa Music Awards.
Rehema Namakula, known professionally as Rema Namakula or simply Rema, is a Ugandan singer, songwriter and record producer.
Cinderella Sanyu is a Ugandan musician. She was one of the original members of Blu*3 which also consisted of Lilian Mbabazi and Jackie Chandiru. She has performed with P-Square, Wahu, Beenie Man, Ne-Yo, Tiwa savage, Bobi Wine, Shaggy, Chameleon, Bebe Cool, Davido, Mr. G and Radio & Weasel.
"Sitya Loss" is a very popular Ugandan song by Eddy Kenzo and his most successful hit. It was subsequently included in an Eddy Kenzo album titled Sitya Loss in May 2014.
Queen of Katwe is the soundtrack to the 2016 American film Queen of Katwe directed by Mira Nair. It was released by Walt Disney Records on September 23, 2016. The film, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and ESPN Films, stars David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, and Madina Nalwanga, and depicts the life of Phiona Mutesi, a girl living in Katwe, Uganda, who learns to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master after her victories at World Chess Olympiads. The film is based on inscripts from the ESPN magazine article and a book written by Tim Crothers, based on her life.
Jessica Reyez is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Her 2016 single "Figures" peaked at number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100 in 2017 and was certified triple Platinum by Music Canada and Platinum by the RIAA. Her 2017 EP, Kiddo, led to four nominations at the 2018 Juno Awards, winning Breakthrough Artist. Her follow up EP, Being Human in Public, was released in 2018. It won R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the 2019 Juno Awards and was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Reyez again won the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, for "Feel it Too" with Tory Lanez and Tainy, at the 2020 Juno Awards, where she was also nominated for Artist of the Year. Reyez has written songs for Calvin Harris, Kehlani, Dua Lipa and Normani, most notably penning the hit "One Kiss", and has collaborated with Eminem on multiple occasions. Her debut album, Before Love Came to Kill Us, was released on March 27, 2020, to widespread critical acclaim, and saw commercial success, entering at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known collectively as the Daniels, are American film directors, producers and screenwriters. They began their career as directors of music videos, including the popular DJ Snake and Lil Jon music video for the single "Turn Down for What" (2013).
Lewis Marc Capaldi is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards. In March 2019, his single "Someone You Loved" topped the UK Singles Chart where it remained for seven weeks, and in November 2019, it reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it was nominated at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and won the 2020 Brit Award for Song of the Year. Capaldi also won the 2020 Brit Award for Best New Artist.
Gah-Ndo Ashuembom Amabo professionally known as Gasha, is an Afro-pop, Afrobeats Soul singer from Cameroon. She made herself known in October 2013 with her debut single Kaki Mbere.
Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence after being featured on Wizkid's 2020 single "Essence", which peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the release of the remix version with Justin Bieber. The song earned her a Grammy Award nomination. That same year, she was featured on the song "Fountains" by Drake.
Tracy Kirabo, known professionally as Pia Pounds, is a Ugandan singer-songwriter and performer of the electronic dance and afrobeat music.
Matte Edgar, better known by his stage name Eddie Wizzy, is a Ugandan dancer and choreographer. He was nominated in the Afrimma Awards 2016 and 2017 in the African Best Dancer category.
"Essence" is a song by Nigerian singer Wizkid, featuring fellow Nigerian singer Tems. It was released on 30 October 2020, as the fourth single from Wizkid's fourth studio album, Made in Lagos. "Essence" was produced by P2J and Legendury Beatz. The "sensual" song sees the duo express their desire for each other. A music video was released on 9 April 2021, shot in Accra, Ghana. "Essence" is the first Nigerian song in history to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Global 200. The song received a nomination at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Global Music Performance.
Summer of Soul is a 2021 American documentary film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in his directorial debut. It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 28, 2021, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the documentary categories. It had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. by Searchlight Pictures on June 25, 2021, before expanding and being released for streaming on Hulu the next weekend.
Matthew David Benson, better known by his stage name Matt B, is a Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer whose genres have been generally classified as R&B, Hip hop, and Afrobeats. His album, Eden, debuted in the Top 40 on Billboard's R&B albums chart.
Priscilla Zawedde better known by her stage name Azawi is a Ugandan singer, songwriter and dancer signed by Swangz Avenue in 2019. Her musical genre is Afrobeats in both Luganda and English. She became the first female Ugandan act to appear on the New York "Times Square" and Los Angeles billboards.
