BLKCITY Share Video For Summer Party Track 'Salsa'

Local hip hop collective BLKCITY share the video for forthcoming single ‘Salsa’, a fresh latin-inspired track for summer that takes you straight to the dancefloor, with the video by emerging director Tom Grut showing the collective recounting their own memorable nights as they celebrated together at a real house party.

It’s just under a year since Raiza Biza, Abdul Kay, Blaze the Emperor and Mo Muse joined JessB on stage during her Northern Bass set to perform ‘Funds Pt II’. The moment was electric, and the rappers realised that the dynamic sound they created together deserved to have a longer shelf life than just one track, and BLKCITY was born, combining the styles and life experiences of five of New Zealand’s most talented African rappers into one exciting collective.

In July this year, the group released ‘Flying’ the first track under the name BLKCITY, collecting over 300k streams, radio and streaming playlist adds, and the track was recently added to Spotify’s Fresh Finds: Best of Hip Hop 2020 playlist. These artists aim to make both a music and cultural impact - they’ve been part of Black Lives Matter events and in their music showcase life as young Africans in New Zealand.

Rapper Mo Muse says that collaborating with the other members of BLKCITY has been inspiring. "We're solo artists with a lot in common, and we want to put out music that reflects who we are, and what we can be when we work together as musicians or African Kiwis."

"'Salsa' is about fun and being together and celebrating, we hope people enjoy it this summer."

BLKCITY are working on a full length album, due for release in 2021. ‘Salsa’ is set to be released on streaming platforms via Noisehive Music Distribution this Friday, an early gift to fans ahead of the summer party and roadtrip season.

Introducing BLKCITY

JessB
Winner of the 2019 MTV European Music Awards for Best New Zealand Act, over the likes of other NZ legends such as Benee and Drax Project, JessB has quickly made her mark in New Zealand music. Her discography boasts well over 3 million streams, and collaborations with award winning artists such as Baker Boy, SWIDT, and more recently a live cover with G Flip on Triple J radio just to name a few. Along with her musical releases Jess has toured extensively across New Zealand and Australia performing in most of the big festivals in both nations in the past couple of years, garnering a huge trans-Tasman following as a result.

The diverse range of festivals and events include Venice Biennale, Rhythm & Vines, Northern Bass, Auckland City Limits and Splendour in the Grass, Jess is stamping her authority as a powerful female rap artist, breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for other female musicians.

Raiza Biza
Heralded as the first African music artist in New Zealand to have his music crossover to a larger audience; Raiza’s decade long legacy in NZ hip-hop is undeniable. As well as completing countless sold-out tours in NZ, Raiza success internationally is just as impressive. With a feature in the international platform ‘Colors’, His music has also been added in high rotation on Australian radio stations such as Triple J, Double J and RRR. He has also toured Australia, Europe and China on a number of occasions along with working on music with award-winning artists such as Oddisee, Sampa The Great, Black Milk, DJ Spinna, REMI, cementing Raiza’s name as an NZ Hip Hop legend.

Mo Muse
2019 saw Mo Muse as the Winner of the NZ Vodafone Music Awards Pure Potential stage, the release of his critically acclaimed debut project “The First Generation LP”, a feature on David Dallas’ Redbull-backed “64 bars” project, and subsequently emerging as one of the most exciting upcoming talents in New Zealand Music. His debut NZ tour in 2019 also sold out 3 cities, and he’s been featured in every major music blog and news outlet in the country. The astonishing achievements in one year alone, coming from being a completely unknown artist has shown Mo’s potential in becoming an important figure in the future of NZ hip hop.

Blaze the Emperor
Kiwi-Rwandan rapper Blaze the Emperor started making music in 2011 as part of Auckland hip hop collective, Beneath The Hype. He then embarked on a solo career collaborating with fellow Kiwi-Rwandan, Hamiltonian, and MC Raiza Biza and his AmmoNation collective.

Blaze has toured New Zealand, Europe and China both as a solo act and as part of AmmoNation. He’s released several singles, as well as a solo EP Western Heights, which came out in 2017, debuting at #1 on the iTunes hip hop album charts.

Abdul Kay
Abdul Kay emerged as the one of the most exciting young talents in the NZ hip-hop scene debuting as the first artist on the David Dallas curated Redbull-backed “64 Bars” series. The video went on to amass over 200,000 combined views across YouTube and all socials. With over 800,000+ streams on Spotify with just 3 official releases, Abdul has one of the most engaged audiences. With performances at Northern Bass, and a huge debut single, critics note Abdul's music to be "laced with confident flows, sharp rhymes and unmistaken urgency”, and one to watch out for in the future.

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