Ayra Starr and Aya Nakamura courtesy of Warner Music Group
SHARE NEW MUSIC VIDEO SHOT IN LAGOS
LISTEN TO “HYPÉ” OUT NOW VIA LABEL REC. 118/ NAKAMURA INDUSTRIE
What the press is saying about Aya Nakamura:
“…she shifts through her various modalities of defiance, softness, and matters of the heart to create a cohesive, intimate experience. She remains dominant, with a cultural penetration that hasn’t emerged from a woman in France since the days of Edith Piaf.” – Pitchfork
“One of the most important acts in Europe now, musically and socially” – The New York Times
“The world is now her playground” – The FADER
Today, French-Malian record-breaker Aya Nakamura and Nigerian superstar Ayra Starr join forces on a surprise remake of “Hypé,” demonstrating a true cultural exchange of Caribbean Zouk and the classic Naija sound. Two of the most prominent artists of their generation with a combined total of 20M+ monthly listeners and 50M+ fans on socials, the single arrives alongside their most ambitious music video to date, shot in Lagos and Directed by Yanis Challab. Currently, Nakamura boasts an impressive catalog of 7+ Billion and was recently crowned “Female Artist of The Year” at France Music Awards 2024 (Victoires de la Musique) this February.
Aya Nakamura finished 2023 on a high note as the most streamed female of the year on Spotify France and was also crowned the most streamed female artist of the last 15 years since the platform’s creation. Earlier that year, she had released her chart-topping 4th album DNK, which was #1 on the album charts for two weeks, propelled by the hit singles “Baby” (Diamond certified in France) and “T’as Peur” feat. Myke Towers (Platinum in Spain). She returned to the stage selling out three Paris ACCOR Arena in less than 2 hours (3 x 20,000 capacity), headlined the biggest festivals across Europe (Lollapalooza Paris, Les Ardentes Belgium, Paleo Switzerland…), performed for the first time in London (OVO Wembley Arena), Antilles Stadiums, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Ivory Coast before closing her tour with a performance in Mali where she was born.
Just last month, Aya cemented her “Queen of France” status by winning the France Music Awards for Female Artist of the Year while releasing a surprise single, the Zouk-infused, deeply rooted in the French West Indies sound: Hypé. Seeing a live performance of this track on socials, Ayra Starr connected with Aya and hopped quickly on the international version. Since no official video had been released yet, Aya flew to Lagos, Nigeria for the two to shoot together in a stunning setup.
At only 28 years old, multi-award-winning French-Malian superstar Aya Nakamura has already claimed her role as one of the most important figures in contemporary French music. Born Aya Danioko in Bamako, Mali, she comes from a family of Griots, West African storytellers and praise singers. She grew up in the Parisian suburb of Aulnay-Sous-Bois and later took the stage name Nakamura after the character Hiro Nakamura from NBC’s popular series Heroes.
Dubbed “One of the most important acts in Europe now, musically and socially” by The New York Times, Aya Nakamura closed out 2022 on a high note as the most streamed Francophone female artist in the world for the 5th consecutive year. That October, she became the first francophone singer to perform in Fortnite, one of the most popular games in the world offering millions of fans a special performance of her biggest hits, “Djadja,” “Copines” (2018), “Pookie” (2019), “Jolie Nana” (2020), “Bobo”(2021) and her recent fifth #1 single in France with Dégaine feat. Damso.
In February 2022, her eponymous third album AYA (Nov. 2020) featuring the #1 singles “Plus Jamais” (feat. Stormzy) and “Jolie Nana,” won the Victoire de la Musique France Music Award 2022 for the most streamed album by a female artist, having earned over 1 billion streams globally. Meanwhile, Aya’s 2018 album NAKAMURA, had surpassed one million album sales worldwide, bridging Europe, Africa, Latin America, and most recently South East Asia, becoming the most streamed French-language album of all time. With a deep reach in music as well as fashion & beauty, Aya Nakamura was named in 2023 global ambassador for Lancôme.
Her discography has also earned Aya over five #1 hits and over 25 Top 10 singles, among which “Djadja,” which has reached more than 1 billion streams, the TikTok viral hit “Copines” from her latest platinum hit Baby.
Listen to “Hypé” featuring Ayra Starr out now and stay tuned from the global superstars coming soon.
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