JZyNO | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonathan Lee Pratt 3 January 1995 Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, Liberia |
| Other names | JZyNO |
| Citizenship | Liberian |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Awards | Full list |
| Website | jzyno |
Jonathan Lee Pratt, professionally known as, JZyNO, is a Liberian singer and songwriter based in Ghana. He is known for his single "Butta My Bread" (featuring Lasmid).
Professionally known as JZyNO and based in Accra, Ghana, [1] Jonathan Lee Pratt is a singer-songwriter born on 3 January 1995 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, Liberia, [2] to a Liberian-Portuguese father and a Nigerien-Liberian mother. [3]
Pratt's biggest musical influences include Kendrick Lamar, Wizkid, and Bryson Tiller amongst others. [3] His first release to gain attention was "Kpan Kpan Me" in 2019. [4] He later released the single "Butta My Bread" featuring Ghanaian singer, Lasmid, [5] which debuted at number 50 on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs, making it the first entry on the Billboard charts for both artists. [6] "Butta My Bread" also peaked at number 16 on the UK Afrobeats Singles Chart in 2023, spending four weeks on the chart. [7] In 2023 Pratt won four out of the seven Liberia Music Awards, and towards the end of the year released the amapiano single "Yakunay". [8]
| Organization | Year | Award | Recipient or nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberia Music Awards | 2023 | Afro Pop Artist of the Year | Himself | Won | [9] |
| Liberia Music Awards | 2023 | Afro Pop Song of the Year | "Butta My Bread" | Won | [9] |
| Telecel Ghana Music Awards | 2024 | Best African Artiste of the Year | Himself | Nominated | [10] |
Livingstone Etse Satekla, better known by his stage name Stonebwoy, is a Ghanaian Afropop, Afro-dancehall and reggae musician from Ashaiman, Accra.
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu , known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He gained recognition in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album L.I.F.E (2013). In 2017, Burna Boy signed a record deal with Atlantic Records and its parent company Warner Music Group. His third studio album Outside, which also serves as his major label debut, was released in 2018.
Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade, better known by his stage name Mr Eazi, is a Nigerian-Bajan singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is the pioneer of Banku music, a fusion of sound he describes as a mixture of Ghanaian highlife and Nigerian chord progressions and patterns. Mr Eazi relocated to Kumasi in 2008 and enrolled at KNUST, where he began booking artists to perform at college parties. He showed interest in music after recording a guest verse on "My Life", a song that gained traction and became a popular record at KNUST. Mr Eazi released his debut mixtape About to Blow in 2013. He gained an international audience following the release of the Efya-assisted single "Skin Tight". His second mixtape, titled Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1 – Accra to Lagos, was released in 2017.
Paintsil Ofori Richmond, who goes by the stage name Paintsil McLean is a Ghanaian High-life and Afrobeat singer-songwriter. He is signed to esoun Entertainment and is known for several songs, including "Demigod", life on the street "Ohemaa", and many others. respectively, and the Ghana Music Awards UK. He also received the Most Promising Artist in Africa award from AFRIMA / LYNXGHANA. In 2022, Paintsil McLean received 7 nominations at the Nyanynano Music Awards and went on to win the awards for Album of the Year, Year, and Highlife Artist of the Year. He was crowned Artist of the Year in Nyanynano and High-life Artist of the Year in Nyanynanoat the 2022 NyanynanoMusic Awards.
Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a style per se, and more of a descriptor for the fusion of sounds flowing out of Nigeria and Ghana. Genres such as hiplife, jùjú music, highlife, azonto music, and naija beats, among others, were amalgamated under the "Afrobeats" umbrella.
Ama Serwah Genfi, formerly known as Petrah and currently known professionally as Amaarae, is an American-Ghanaian singer and songwriter. She is known for her fusion of pop, R&B, afrobeats, and alté, as well as her fluid representation of gender and sexuality. After collaborating with local artists and putting out a few non-album singles, she released her debut EP, Passionfruit Summers, in 2017.
Amapiano is a subgenre of kwaito and house music that emerged in South Africa in the mid-2010s. It is a hybrid of deep house, gqom, jazz, soul and lounge music characterized by synths and wide, percussive basslines. The word "amapiano" derives from the IsiZulu word for "pianos".
Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She rose to prominence after being featured on Wizkid's 2020 single "Essence", which peaked at number 8 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 Canadian rapper Drake.
Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, known professionally as Ayra Starr, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Starr achieved mainstream international recognition in 2022, with the release of her song "Rush". The song charted in several territories, including Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 24. It earned Starr a nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance.
Afro Nation is an annual three-day music festival founded in 2019 by Live Nation, SLE - Sociedade Lusa de Espectáculos and Event Horizon to bring together the best African artistes in Afrobeats, Hip hop, RnB, Dancehall, Gqom, Amapiano, Afroswing and more. The festival was nominated in the Best Overseas Festival category at the 2019 UK Festival Awards.
Raphael Camidoh Kofi Attachie known by his stage name Camidoh is an Afropop, R&B and Afrobeats singer and songwriter from Aflao in the Volta Region of Ghana.
"Sugarcane" is a song by Ghanaian singer and songwriter Camidoh, featuring the Nigerian record producer Phantom, released in 2021 by Grind Don't Stop Records, through Crux Global, and MOVES Recordings. A remix, with Mayorkun, and Darkoo, featuring the Ghanaian singer King Promise, was released in 2022. The song gained popularity across TikTok, following the release of the remix.
Noble Zogli professionally known as Nektunez is an African-American music producer and a sound engineer. He came into the limelight after his Amapiano remix of the ERA song "Ameno" became a global hit in the last quarter of 2021. In December 2021, the remixed song debuted at number 1 on Billboard World Digital sales. It also became the number 1 song on Shazam global 200 chart. By February 2022, TikTok videos created with the song had almost 10 billion views. Billboard U.S. released its first top 10 Afrobeats charts, with ‘Ameno Amapiano Remix’ charting at number 7. Nektunez also Produced the late Mohbad’s Global hit Song, Ask about me, where He blends Amapiano perfectly with ancient choral chants, Afrobeat and Street-Rap genre. Ask about me became the number 1 song on both Spotify and Apple Music. Debuted on billboard Hot Trending Songs Powered by X Charts, world Shazam charts and also number 10 on the official Afrobeats chart uk.
Sefadzi Abena Amesu better known by her stage name S3fa is a Ghanaian singer and songwriter. She is an afro-pop and afrobeats musician. S3fa won the Afrobeats Song of the year award during the 2022 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards with her song titled, E Choke.
Ahmed Ololade, known professionally as Asake, is a Nigerian singer, rapper and songwriter. He is signed to YBNL Nation and Empire Distribution. His stage name "Asake" is his mother's name.
Ladsmid Nathaniel Owusu known professionally with the stage name Lasmid is a Ghanaian musician, rapper and songwriter from Takoradi in the Western Region of the Republic of Ghana. He was crowned winner of the MTN Hitmaker Season 8. He is best known for the viral song Friday Night which gained attention in Ghana topping charts after it became a trend on TikTok.
Tárico Caifaz Samuel Simbine known professionally as DJ Tarico, is a Mozambican DJ, sound engineer and record producer from Maputo signed to Geobek Records. The main man of the Yaba Buluku Boyz, Tarico is noted for his production credits and his 2021 self produced single "Yaba Buluku" off his sophomore studio album Moz Piano Vol. 2 which became an instant hit in several countries and helped in popularizing Amapiano, described by Billboard as a hit for all season.
"Push 2 Start" is a song recorded by South African singer Tyla. It was released in tandem with the deluxe edition of her self-titled debut studio album on 11 October 2024, by FAX and Epic Records. It is a reggae-infused Afro-pop, afrobeats and amapiano-R&B song about Tyla imploring her partner to give her affection. For the chart dated December 21, "Push 2 Start" charted at number two on the U.S Afrobeats Songs chart while "Water" was at number one simultaneously, marking the first time a solo artist held the top two spots in the same week.
"Awuke" is a song by Nigerian singer and record producer Davido and American singer YG Marley. It was released on 31 October 2024 by Columbia Records. The song was written by Davido and Moonlight AfriQA. The song reached the top ten on the US Billboard Afrobeats Songs chart.
"Sability" is a song by Nigerian singer Ayra Starr. It was released on 10 February 2023, and was written by Ayra Starr, her brother Dami, Mbryo, Louddaaa, Johnny Drille, London, and Prosper Udu. The song was produced by London, and features a sample of Awilo Longomba's "Coupe Bibamba." "Sability" was featured on Barack Obama's summer playlist in 2023. It was included on OkayAfrica's list of the "Best Afrobeats Songs of 2023."
