South African Rapper Nasty C Signs To Def Jam, Debuts New Single
‘There They Go’ offers a first taste of the best-selling artist’s forthcoming album, “Zulu Man With Some Power”.
Nasty C, South Africa’s most-streamed artist on Apple Music, has signed a deal with legendary hip-hop label, Def Jam Recordings, through a joint venture with Universal Music Africa. To help celebrate, the artist dropped a new single, ‘There They Go’, which marks his official US debut. The song, which premiered today at 4:30 pm EST with Ebro on Apple Music Beats1, is the first single off Nasty C’s forthcoming album, Zulu Man With Some Power.
The artist also premiered the cinematic music video for ‘There They Go’, which was shot in his hometown of Durban, South Africa and directed by Andrew Sandler, whose credits include videos for Yungblud, Lil Wayne and Blink 182, among others.
Zulu Man With Some Power, set for release later this year, follows Nasty C’s immensely popular second studio album, 2018’s Strings And Bling. With over 120 million streams, the multi-platinum-selling album featured such hit singles as ‘Jungle’, ‘King’, and ‘Legendary’. The album was praised by multiple local outlets as one of South Africa’s greatest hip-hop albums, while it won him two South African Music Awards and two AFRIMMAs (All African Muzik Magazine Awards).
At only 23, Nasty C (born Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo) has already been included on Forbes’ “Africa Under 30” list, while he was named GQ South Africa’s “Musician Of The Year”. However, the artist is no newcomer to the industry. In fact, he has been releasing music for nearly a decade, beginning with his 2012 debut mixtape, One Kid, A Thousand Coffins.
The artist rose to continent-wide stardom two years later, with Price City, which featured his hit song, ‘Juice Black’, and earned him the award for Best Freshman at the 2015 South African Hip Hop Awards.
Within 24 hours of releasing his 2016 debut LP, Bad Hair, it became the most streamed album in South Africa, shooting up to No.1 on the local iTunes Album chart. The title also introduced Nasty C to a global audience and earned him nominations at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards and the 2017 BET Awards.
In a statement released today, Jeff Harleston, Interim Chairman & CEO of Def Jam Recordings, said, “Nasty C is a unique and forward-thinking artist who is at the forefront of a new generation of rappers emerging from Africa. Def Jam is a globally recognised brand synonymous with excellence in hip-hop, and we are excited to welcome Nasty C – an international star with real vision and talent – into the family.”
“It’s powerful to be a part of the Def Jam family”, added Nasty C. “It’s an iconic record label and has made the careers of many of the artists I look up to.”
Listen to the best of Nasty C on Apple Music and Spotify.
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