Apple Music has announced Neo-soul rapper and songwriter Nyota Parker as the latest featured artist in its Up Next artist development program in South Africa. Apple Music’s local version of the global emerging artist platform launched in early 2021.
“I feel honoured to have been selected, I feel seen,” she tells Apple Music. “Hopefully, the people who resonate with my music feel seen too, that’s what it’s all about. It’s helping me to stay optimistic for the future of hip-hop and Neo-soul, especially in South Africa!”
Being of half-Irish and half-Congolese descent, Nyota moved to South Africa when she was 5 and adopted Mzansi as her home. Currently based between Montreal and New York, Nyota infused her diverse cultural background into her music, blending elements of rap, hip hop, neo-soul, and alternative R&B into her distinct sound.
Her love for songwriting began at the tender age of 11. She recorded her first song when she was 16 having met mixing and mastering engineer, Jay Loopz, who helped record her first set of records. But it was after she won a competition to open for Nasty C and A-Reece, that she seized her moment and didn’t look back. Her debut album Spectrum (2021) was a bold statement on self-awareness, manifesting your dreams and not conforming to societal norms, laying the foundation for Nyota to build a dedicated audience who appreciate her unapologetic approach to her artistry.
Her new album INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS (2024), released on her birthday and available to stream on Apple Music, is an exploration of the tumultuous journey through the human psyche. It fearlessly navigates the inner chaos that often dominates the mind, while her evocative lyrics and soulful melodies skillfully weave a tapestry of emotions that deal with mental health struggles, artistic dilemmas, and the core theme of self-discovery.
As the newest Up Next artist to be spotlighted in South Africa, Nyota Parker will be featured across Apple Music’s South African Up Next playlist https://apple.co/3eITdJd. The curated Up Next playlist features a dynamic class of new and emerging artists, thoughtfully hand-picked by Apple Music editors from around the world.The playlist is genre agnostic and represents a line-up of artists our global editors are passionate about and eager to expose to a larger audience.
The vast global Up Next roster of past talent includes Grammy-nominated and critically lauded talent like 6lack, Daniel Caesar, H.E.R., Greta Van Fleet, Khalid, Amy Shark, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Claudio, Sigrid, Mr Eazi, Stefflon Don, Bad Bunny, Juice WLRD, Bazzi, Jax Jones, NCT 127, Summer Walker, Tierra Whack, Dean Lewis, Pink Sweat$, Koffee, Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy, Clairo, Lunay, Jessie Reyez, Orville Peck, Victoria Monét, Ingrid Andress, Conan Gray, Don Toliver, Rema, BENEE, Holly Humberstone, Natanael Cano, Givēon, beabadoobee, Arlo Parks, Tate McRae, Fousheé and Tems.
Up Next is Apple Music’s monthly artist program geared towards identifying, showcasing and elevating rising star talent. Each month, Apple Music’s editorial team selects an artist to promote, utilizing the full force of the platform to raise awareness of the artist to its growing global audience of music fans. The vast Up Next roster of past talent includes Grammy-nominated and critically lauded talent like 6lack, Daniel Caesar, H.E.R., Greta Van Fleet, Khalid, Amy Shark, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Claudio, Sigrid, Mr Eazi, Stefflon Don, Bad Bunny, Juice WLRD, Bazzi, Jax Jones, NCT 127, Summer Walker, Tierra Whack, Dean Lewis, Pink Sweat$, Koffee, Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy, Clairo, Lunay, Jessie Reyez, Orville Peck, Victoria Monét, Ingrid Andress, Conan Gray, Don Toliver, Rema, BENEE, Holly Humberstone, Natanael Cano, Givēon, beabadoobee, Arlo Parks, Tate McRae, Zoe Wees, Morray, Fousheé, Amorphous, Tems, Parker McCollum, Jay Wheeler, Shenseea, Omar Apollo, Jvck James and aespa.
In 2022, Apple Music’s Up Next artist program has expanded into its sixth year and includes a curated companion Up Next playlist featuring a dynamic class of new and emerging artists, thoughtfully hand-picked by Apple Music editors from around the world. The playlist is genre and country agnostic and represents a line-up of artists our global editors are passionate about and eager to expose to a larger audience. In March 2021, Apple Music expanded the Up Next program to feature localized campaigns that highlight artists across the U.S., U.K., Australia/New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Greater China, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Netherlands, Nigeria, Nordics, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and Turkey.
