The NATIVE

Any avid Cruel Santino fan would attest that the visual imagery surrounding his music is just as important as the fluid, genre-defying sounds he has put out over the course of his career. A tongue-twisting rapper and singer who also moonlights as a filmmaker, Cruel Santino’s visuals have long been central to his artistic appeal. From his highly referential music videos to the...

When we first met artist, songwriter, and producer Daramola, on 2017’s “Lotto”, his distinct blend of poetry, EDM, and Yoruba folk suggested a mercurial sound-bender in the making. Since then, he’s received a Grammy for his co...

An Odogwu, a warrior, a zombie slayer, conflicted twins: throughout Uzor Arukwe’s career, the actor has collected characters like infinity stones. When you browse through Nollywood’s large catalogue, you realize that there is an Uzor Arukwe film for every season; the actor made it deliberately so. This choice was a bet on himself. He wanted everyone to see what he knew he had...

Five years after his breakthrough with the cross-continental hit, “Adiwele,” South African singer, Young Stunna, has come to terms with the good and bad aspects of the music industry. “The music business introduces you to a lot of things and a lot of people,” he tells Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio. “So, if something is bad, I’m just gonna run away from it. If somethin...

Now into its 10th anniversary, Art X Live! remains one of the most powerful stages for rising musicians looking to test out their live performance skills and introduce themselves to an engaged audience. 2026 is not going to be an exception. This year, eight musicians are taking to the stage in a furtherance of Att X!’s goal to close the distance between art and music. Between...