South African musician and record producer, Master KG, has taken to his official social media handles to show his fans from across the globe how he was invited by renowned American actor, filmmaker, and singer, Vin Diesel, to spend some quality time with his family at their home in Santiago Dominican Republic. In a video he shared on Instagram, he was seen sitting at a dinner table with the family having fun-filled conversation.

“Day 4..Big Thanks To Vin Diesel And The Family For inviting Me Here in their home To Entertain them With my music..I’m Learning a lot from them,it is also So Wonderful To See The Support And They Have For Me and my country,” he posted on Instagram.

Vin Diesel and his girlfriend, Paloma Jimenez, become the newest international celebrity to have glimpse of the the ‘Jerusalema’ hitmaker’s outputs. In 2020, Cristiano Ronaldo endorsed Master KG’s Jerusalema featuring Nomcebo Zikode video on Instagram. The video shows the five-time ballon D’or winner and his partner making their way to an intimate private party, and as they welcome their guests, the Master KG’s world widebanger was playing at the background.

Master KG’s music career started when he got in touch with DJ Maebela and they began experimenting with music software specifically FL Studio.

In December 2019, Master KG released the song “Jerusalema”, featuring Nomcebo Zikode. In mid-2020, it went viral online, charting internationally and spawning a remix with Burna Boy. His Spotify followers increased to over 1.2 million following the rising popularity of the song. The song’s official music video was released onto YouTube on 21 December 2019. By 27 August the video had passed 100 million views, half a year later it passed already 300 million views, a rare feat for South African artists

As part of Audiomack’s committing to Ghana outside of just music and focused on giving back to the community and culture, the music streaming and discovery platform, in collaboration with Amsterdam-based fashion label Daily Paper, is funding the restoration of the football pitch at Accra Girls Senior High School after it sponsored this year’s annual football tournament.

This annual tourney by Daily Paper is a celebration of the ongoing initiative to empower the youth and give back to the Ghanaian community by reinforcing commitment through sports. Since 2017, Daily Paper, founded by three close friends, Hussein Suleiman, Abderrahmane Trabsini, and Jefferson Osei, has been consistent in showcasing and supporting Ghanaian youths. Audiomack is no different.

This year’s tournament took place inside the Accra Girls Senior High School and saw a great line-up of the best African creatives and athletes. Alongside Daily Paper and Audiomack, the teams included SmallGod, Eunice Beckham, La Même Gang, and members from Daily Paper, Free the Youth, Young, Melanin Unscripted, and Native Mag. The kits were designed by Daily Paper in collaboration with Puma.

Drawing attention to the creative arts in Ghana, outside of just music, Audiomack has also made it a point to help the community which has blessed the world with its music and culture.

David Ponte, Audiomack Co-Founder & CMO says, “We are thrilled to partner up with Daily Paper, Puma, and the Accra Girls Senior High School for this amazing event! Our mission at Audiomack is not only to move music forward but to also empower the youth so that they can continue to innovate and express their creativity on and off the pitch!”

Jefferson Osei, Co-Founder of Daily Paper, explains, “We are glad to collaborate with Audiomack, who shares in our vision to accelerate growth in the African creative industry. Giving back to the continent that inspired us to create our label has always been a dream for us, and we will continue to intensify efforts towards achieving that vision.”

“All [of] our collaborations are purposeful collaborations for community growth and youth development, so it is exciting to see Audiomack coming on board for this year’s tournament,” Osei continues. “Youth culture is part of Daily Paper’s DNA. We started the brand as a lifestyle brand and invested in empowering youth culture. Within Daily Paper’s global community the brand has always organically built authentic relationships with the youth.”

Daily Paper partnered up with Audiomack based on the organic connection made for the love of West and South African music: Afro Alté, Afrobeats, African hip-hop, African-American Drill, and Amapiano. “This was the base of the relationship. From here on, both entities explored possibilities to invest in the Motherland,” Osei adds.

Twenty-three (23) YouTubers including artists Fireboy, Sauti Sol, and Sho Madjozi from Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa respectively will take part in an intensive three-week incubator programme followed by bespoke training, workshops, and networking programmes. This forms as part of YouTube’s inaugural class of African content creators set to receive a grant for the development of their channels from the global #YouTubeBlackVoices Fund.

These creators are part of 132 creators from across the world who are participating in the Class of 2021. The Artist Class of 2021 will receive dedicated partner support from YouTube, seed funding invested into the development of their channels, and participate in training and networking programmes that are focused on production, fan engagement, and their wellbeing.

“We’re excited to spotlight Black creatives from the African continent and amplify their voices as they create original content on our platform.

African creators on YouTube are reshaping the power of our platform by providing a unique perspective on all manner of topics from fashion and comedy to politics, learning, and wellness. Through their content, these creators continue to raise the bar for how others engage with their audiences and build community on our platform,” says Alex Okosi, MD, Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA

This announcement comes after the October 2020 call for African creators to apply for #YouTubeBlackVoices funding as part of YouTube’s global, multi-year commitment aimed at nurturing Black creators and artists on YouTube. Over the next few years, YouTube plans to invest directly in more than 500 creators and artists from across the world in order to fulfil this commitment.

SK Global and The Mazur Kaplan Company have acquired rights to acclaimed Ghanaian writer and academic Peace Adzo Medie’s novel His Only Wife in a competitive situation.

Billed as “A Crazy Rich Asians for West Africa” in its Kirkus review, His Only Wife tells the empowering story of a young seamstress in Ghana whose life is transformed when she accepts a marriage proposal from the wealthy family of a man she barely knows. She relocates to the capital city of Accra and soon discovers her marriage is not the charmed and happy partnership she’d dreamed of. But as she begins to explore the city, she finds new independence she never before imagined for herself.

The book was published in September by Algonquin Books. It is a New York Times 2020 Notable Book of the Year, a Time Magazine Must-Read Book of 2020, and the October selection for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club.

The acquisition is the first following SK Global and The Mazur Kapan Company’s recently announced first-look development pact, which included five initial new novels. The company is looking into possibilities with the author for the book’s development as either an English-language movie or a TV series.

“After reading Peace’s beautiful novel, we were driven to build on what she created. We’re honored to take this journey with her and Mazur Kaplan,” SK Global President of Television Marcy Ross said.

Added Paula Mazur, president of The Mazur Kaplan Company: “Peace brought to life a character and slice of Ghana that is unique and captivating. Mazur Kaplan is excited to bring a novel that has resonated deeply with so many readers to screen alongside SK Global.”

Medie is a Senior Lecturer in Gender and International Politics at the University of Bristol. Her research addresses gender, politics, and conflict in Africa and informed her book Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence Against Women in Africa, published in March. Her research and findings have been published in African Affairs, International Studies Review, Politics & Gender, and the European Journal of Politics and Gender. She is a co-editor of the top-ranked African Studies journal African Affairs and is a Research Fellow at LECIAD, University of Ghana, as well as a 2015-2017 Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellow.

His Only Wife is represented by Aevitas Creative Management and Thompson Literary Agency. Medie is repped by Kiele Raymond at Thompson Literary.

source : Deadline.com