Following an eventful summer of North American festival headline sets at AfroNation Detroit, Toronto’s Afrobeats To The World, and Afro Switch Festival in Calgary, after selling out London’s OVO Arena and the Manchester Academy in May, award-winning global music superstar KIZZ DANIEL is back with two massive new singles titled ‘MARHABA’ and ‘WE MUST’, as featured in Iggy Magazine, to continue his all-year-round ‘Vado At 10’ celebrations, marking a decade at the top of afrobeats music. The double A-side drop comes on the heels of two back-to-back Official Nigeria Top 100 chart-topping releases in ‘Showa’ and ‘Twe Twe’, which is also the most streamed song in Nigeria so far this year.
Produced by Billboard chart-topping and platinum-selling musician Ramii (Kid Cudi, Anderson. Paak, Big Sean), ‘Marhaba’ is an unapologetic celebration of success, confidence, and living life on your own terms from Kizz Daniel. Driven by South Asian tablas and West African percussion drums, over which the afrobeats icon exudes a sense of self-assuredness through a blend of bold and playful lyrics, highlighting themes of resilience, independence, and navigating through life’s pressures. The infectious track taps into Kizz Daniel’s journey of staying grounded and defiant, while achieving global success, and also delves into the complexities of fame, enjoying the highs of life, and staying focused.
‘We Must’ on the other hand sees Kizz Daniel reuniting with frequent collaborators Ay Zed (Davido, DJ Spinall) and Blaisebeatz (Wizkid, Asake, Fireboy DML) to deliver a vibrant afrofusion anthem centered around hustling together with your people, and sharing your successes with them. Over its energetic bass, percussions and synths, Kizz Daniel emphasizes the importance of collective ambition, loyalty, and perseverance on ‘We Must’, while also flexing his versatility with a cheeky rap verse to boot. Thematically, the track encapsulates Kizz Daniel’s spirit of resilience and collaboration, as he urges his listeners to stay focused on their collective dreams despite any challenges.
Kizz Daniel’s inspiration for ‘Marhaba’ came from his time spent in Northern Africa and the Middle East, where the widely used Arabic greeting “Marhaba” resonated deeply with him. The word’s meaning, “Welcome” or “Hello,” influenced the track’s celebratory tone, reflecting the warmth and hospitality he experienced during his visit. For ‘We Must,’ Kizz Daniel initially envisioned a collaboration with a UK rap artist to bring a gritty UK rap and grime vibe, but when delays arose, he decided to take control, delivering the verse himself. This decision not only highlights his adaptability but also allowed him to experiment with a new genre, turning ‘We Must’ into a glorious anthem.
Even As Kizz Daniel celebrates his illustrious decade-long career, the international pop star is not resting on his laurels. He began 2024 with one of the biggest songs in afrobeats, ‘Twe Twe’, topping the Official UK Afrobeats Chart, and charting in the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs Chart Top 10. He followed that up with his TZA EP, which has now garnered 250 million plays online, and its Official Nigeria Top 100 chart-topping single ‘Showa’. All this comes on the back of the success of Kizz Daniel’s 2023 album Maverick, which has amassed over one billion streams, birthing hit tracks like ‘Cough’ featuring Latin pop sensation Becky G, and 2022’s afrobeats song of the year ‘Buga’.
MORE ABOUT KIZZ DANIEL
Since bursting onto the scene with his cult-classic debut single ‘Woju’ in 2014, Kizz Daniel has continued to lead from the front when it comes to afrobeats music. His debut album New Era was The Headies ‘Album of the Year’ in 2016, while he was nominated for The Future Awards Africa the following year. Driven by the massive hit track ‘Nesesari’, Kizz Daniel’s 2018 sophomore album No Bad Songz topped the iTunes World Album Chart on its first day of release. Since 2020, the Nigerian sensation has released four critically acclaimed projects, King Of Love, Barnabas, Maverick, and TZA, birthing essential afropop tracks like ‘Boys Are Bad’, ‘Lie’, ‘Rich Till I Die’, and ‘Twe Twe’.
With over four billion streams under his belt, two Shazam chart-topping singles, sold-out tours across Africa, North America, and Europe, and over 25 million social media fans, Kizz Daniel is one of the leading figures at the forefront of representing afrobeats on the world stage. The enigmatic musician is the epitome of an all-round entertainer with a magnetic tone, captivating lyrics, alluring stage and screen presence, and an undeniably infectious musicality, which are just some of the irrefutable characteristics of all his songs, cutting across afrobeats, pop and R&B music, from classic cut ‘Nesesari’ to chart-topper ‘Buga’ to fan-favourite ‘Cough (Odo)’, and everything in between.
After coming off of a very eventful 2022 that saw the global music sensation achieve huge milestones of being crowned the most streamed artist in Africa in the first half of the year, releasing the biggest afrobeats song of the summer with ‘Buga’, and performing at the 2022 World Cup opening ceremony with Diplo and Calvin Harris, 2023 shaped up to be an even bigger year for Kizz Daniel, with the success of his fourth studio album Maverick, his Essence Festival headline performance, and chart-topping collaboration with Becky G among his many highlights last tear. So far in 2024, Kizz Daniel has been celebrating a decade at the top of afrobeats music via his ‘Vado At 10’ world tour.
CONNECT WITH KIZZ DANIEL: Instagram – Twitter – Tiktok
MEDIA & PRESS: Please direct all inquiries to Ayo Adepoju: [email protected]