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Kenyan singer, Maya Amolo, named first-ever Fresh Finds Africa artist by Spotify

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23-year-old Kenyan alternative R&B artist, Maya Amolo, has been announced as the first-ever Fresh Finds Africa artist by audio and media streaming provider, Spotify, as part of its programme tailored to specifically spotlight and develop emerging independent artists from across the continent of Africa.

The Swedish company, in a statement on Wednesday while making the announcement, said the programme is centered on its Fresh Find playlist, and “focuses on helping emerging artists to learn and grow by giving them the tools for long-term and sustained career success.

“The Fresh Finds playlist serves as a launchpad for up-and-coming artists to get exposure, while also catering to fans and industry tastemakers who want to discover fresh new talent,” the streaming company said.

The Nairobi-born Maya, cut her musical teeth on SoundCloud while collaborating with Internet producers to create ‘Sad Boi’ tunes including ‘U Wanna’ and ‘Where Tornados Flew,’ which propelled her to top of her career and an artist to be reckoned with in Africa.

Her powerful vocals quickly and soft harmonies quickly amassed her a dedicated listenership and grabbed the attention of local producers and musicians, according to her citation on the Spotify platform.

Speaking on making Maya the first Fresh Finds artist from Africa, Spotify’s head of music for Sub-Saharan Africa, Phiona Okumu said:

“Spotify has always been committed to connecting fans to up-and-coming artists and the music they love. The Fresh Finds programme is an enhanced version of that.

“For an upcoming artist like Maya, these figures promise an increased audience and opens her up to new opportunities which might not have been possible without Fresh Finds.

“Fresh Finds Africa will be a monthly programme, with a new artist selected every month by the Spotify music team, and forms part of Spotify’s continued commitment to support the African music industry, through initiatives such as Equal and Radar,” Okumu said.

Maya’s first body of work, Leave Me At The Pregame, which was released in mid-2020, takes the listener through a melodious journey of self-acceptance and healing.

She has gone on to establish herself as one to watch, having been covered by NPR, The Native Mag, Okay Africa and Tangaza Magazine.

She is set to release the first single from her forthcoming project on March 31.

Culture

Survey ranks Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa among 15 ‘cheap countries’ for family trips

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A recent survey carried out by Insider Monkey, an investment website that tracks corporate insiders and hedge funds, has ranked Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa among 15 “cheap countries” to visit with family.

The Insider Monkey’s affordable countries list features Egypt as the top cheapest country for family trips while Ethiopia is in fifth place on the survey report, with Morocco ranking in eighth position while South Africa comes in at 15th place.

Giving a breakdown of what it will cost for a family vacation in the listed countries, the report say a one week trip for two people would cost as little as $935 in the listed countries to visit.

According to the survey, the second cheapest country for family trips is India, while Serbia and Colombia are ranked third and fourth, respectively.

“Ethiopia is the fifth in the list, while Poland and Russia are the sixth,and seventh, respectively,” the report said.

“South Africa ranks 15th, behind Romania (14th), Hungary (13th), Panama (11th), Albania (10th), and Bulgaria (9th),” the report stated.

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Davido’s ‘Unavailable’ achieves milestone with 100 million views on YouTube, Spotify

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Nigeria’s Afrobeats sensation, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has landed another milestone after his hit single, “Unavailable’, surpassed 100 million streams on both YouTube and Spotify.

According to a release on Wednesday by his management team, the track which features South African artist, Musa Keys, also hit a major milestone as its music video crossed 100 million views on YouTube.

The hit track which was released on April 11, 2023, as part of Davido’s chart-topping album “Timeless”, grew to become the most streamed Afrobeats song of 2023 and received high praise, including being named by Rihanna as her favorite single of the year.

“The single, Unavailable, has also surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify to become Davido’s first single to achieve this feat,” the statement said.

“With the music video surpassing 100 million views, it becomes Davido’s fourth song to surpass the 100 million streams mark following his 2017 hit releases ‘If’, ‘Fall’, and ‘FIA’.

“Following the success of Unavailable, Davido released a remix EP that includes collaborations with Jamaican Dancehall star Sean Paul and American rapper Latto.

“Described by Rihanna as her favourite single of 2023, Davido’s Unavailable was the most streamed Afrobeats song released in 2023.

“Additionally, the single recently earned a SNEP Gold plaque after reaching 15 million streams in France, cementing its status as a global hit,” it added.

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