When
it comes to spreading African music in the United States of America, one group
definitely stands out tall.
The
groups called the Young African Kings (YAK) have been championing this course
by promoting classy African parties within the tristate area (New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut) of the U.S over the last decade.
The
Young African Kings in recent months have taken this campaign to a different
level by establishing a record label namely; “YAK RECORDS” which aims at
nurturing and investing in African talents especially in the United States.
Simply put, YAK Recordz was born
with the goal to invest in raw, undeniable talent and support the new age of
African creativity through good music and groundbreaking performances.
Commenting
on the success of Young African Kings, Mr. Zuberu Sumaila, CEO of the label voiced
that it has been the dream of these vibrant group of young entrepreneurs to
make Africans as powerful as the Americans in the area of entertainment in the
USA.
“We
won’t stop at nothing until Afrobeat becomes a universal genre of music
celebrated by all and sundry”, he continued.
However
YAK RECORDZ have dropped their first single “WAWANE” which is performed
by American based Ghanaian artiste Duke D2 who happens to be their
first signee under the label.
The
single which features self acclaimed Dancehall King Shatta Wale which
comes with awesome visuals. The viral music video was shot in Newark,
New Jersey and is doing quite well both in Ghana and in the USA. -
Mr
Sika described Duke as a special but underrated talent with so much
potential of becoming a great asset for African music in the U.S.
“We
signed him because we see so much talent and hunger in him. I think
he’s underrated but we have so much belief in him and we know he will
soon blow.”
“We are in talks with a few other popular African artistes, we will soon unveil them when all is set” he concluded.
The
General manager, Mr. Kwabena Sika aka K sika also added that the label
does not just aim at signing only American based African talents but also those
living in Africa. “At the moment our partners in Africa are in talks with young
and hardworking talents as well, I think it’s high time our African artistes
had equal opportunities as those over here. It is sad to see African artists
receiving awards backstage at the BET just because they feel our music is not
that popular in the U.S.” he lamented.
YAK RECORDS’s mission
is to create new African music legends with substance in their crafts.
Young African Kings Music comprises of a diverse mix
of music lovers first, a progressive marketing team, a group of experienced and
forward thinking management, promoters, and event organisers.
Young African Kings symbolizes world-class music from
Africa.
