By Taylor Victor

The independent music industry in Africa is constantly changing; today, labels are discovering, innovating and shaping African sounds. The Nigerian record label and music distribution company, SIINKO (founded in 2021 by music executive Chinedu Ezionu, popularly known as Gax), has joined the new movement of independent music labels in Africa.

SIINKO has managed 140+ mastered tracks and hundreds of millions of combined streams to date, and their simple but incredibly effective approach – discovery, development and distribution – has allowed artists to hone their sound and master their craft under a record label that understands their vision.

On this label are six contemporary artists representing the label’s eclectic Afrobeats, Afro-pop, dancehall, and Afro-fusion soundscape. These six artists push their sounds through SIINKO to date:

1. RunUp 

This Afropop artist has made a mark on the African industry due to his sound and rhythm – a rhythm intrinsically linked with the label. His song ‘Tsunami’ still stays on the chats and most people’s playlists and has earned him hundreds of millions of views on YouTube, according to SIINKO’s records, with it winning the 2022 ‘Song of the Year’ award at both the Isango na Muzika Awards and the DIVA Awards Rwanda. RunUp has a vocal combination of sing-rap over love-filled, youthful lyrics. He is the candidate for a label seeking to support an artist’s sound.

2. Pallaso 

SIINKO is also dedicated to developing artists who have already made some impressions; Pallaso, an Ugandan musician, is an example of such. As one of East Africa’s musicians, he is known for his fusion of Afrobeats, Afro-pop and dancehall, a consistent genre throughout his career. His singing voice, accompanied by a rhythmic dancehall beat, has kept him on the African music scene for years; he has a wealth of knowledge and a substantial fanbase to act as a guide to SIINKO’s next generation.

3. Tibey 

At the forefront of SIINKO’s modern wave of Afrobeat artistry stands Tibey, who considers himself a student of the art form. He is focused on producing a rhythmic Afro-beats sound with instrumentation and some lyrical depth, a divergence from the commonly recognised and traditional African beat. Tibey brings a contemporary African musical identity by utilising different sounds in his fusion of rhythmic beats and melodies. In doing so, Tibey, who is still relatively fresh in the music business, gives his listener a sample of what is to come from African sounds on the digital domain.

4. YoungDzee 

While charts and accolades are most certainly part of a musician’s ambition, YoungDzee stands apart due to his story of love and loss that is honest and raw, capturing the bittersweet feelings within a song whilst maintaining an Afrobeats pulse that listeners have grown accustomed to on the continent. YoungDzee’s vocal blend is perfect for an artist seeking to create space for an introspective lyricist, adding another layer of musicality and nuance to the Afrobeats sound.

5. Jaysing 

A label must have an artist whose passion lies within exploration, and that artist is Jaysing. Jay sings across several musical genres, and as an artist, Jaysing brings to the table some new sounds in an African setting, utilising layers of instrumental sounds and rhythms to bring forth a unique and trance-like soundscape. His use of beats is a perfect fit for SIINKO, and Jay has worked and has a growing fanbase across digital platforms. 

6. Ziza Bafana 

Completing the SIINKO line-up is another African performer who earned the nickname ‘Kabaka wa Ragga’. Ziza Bafana is SIINKO’s artist that loves the dancehall sound and works for him with his blend of African elements. His stage presence and work have allowed him to integrate the traditional sound of his home country with the sound of dancehall in a way that has listeners of all backgrounds wanting more.