#EXCLUSIVE: 10 Artists Pushing The Cyprus Afrobeats Sound In 2018.

Afrobeats music in Cyprus has come a long way with different artists at different times contributing their bits and pieces here and there. The journey to be truthful hasn't been an easy one for most of them in an enviroment where their story isn't told or appreciated properly, no support from radio, TV and the blogs can barely do enough for them, yet their persist and keep recording, releasing and promoting their songs, vidoes and brand. What these artists are working for will not be reaped by them. They are just making the bed for artists coming behind them in the future just as those that came before them have doen and hopefully at some point, we can all look back say, YES they did it.

In 2018, the afrobeats scene in Cyprus is totally different from how it looked or felt in 2015, Many artists have switched their sound, some have gone on relegation, some are finally getting the attention they worked hard for while some have persisted and keep churning out tunes that keeps finding its way into our playlists or mobile devices.

Today we will run down a list of artists that have been pushing the culture through sound in 2018 so far and their works. Buckle your sit belts. 

This list is compiled to focus on Cyprus based afrobeats artists that have released materials within the first quarter of 2018. 

NB: This list is not a TOP 10, it is in no particular order. We only do Top 10 at the end of the year. ENJOY!!!

HeirNxt

Emmanuel Orie Ernest popularly known as Heirnxt rose to popularity in 2015 after the release of his viral single 'Mrs. Portiphar'. He won an ASGA Award for Song of the Year in 2016. He took a break from releasing new music (sort of) in 2017 but in 2018, he came back with a new tune titled 'Diana (SHOTS) which came with a video and his latest effort 'High Grade'. The song and video have gotten good reviews so far so good and is spreading across social media in Cyprus gradually. Check it out below.

Kevin Tita

Philemon Chukuka Okezie a.k.a Kevin Tita is one of the afrobeats artists that have become a staple name in Cyprus as a musician. He dominated the whole of 2017 with the success of his two smash hit songs 'WAIT' and 'Tripping For You'. He won the Awards for Artist Of The Year and Song Of The Year at the ASGA Awards last year. In 2018 he has yet again registered another successful song titled 'BLESSINGS' which has amassed over 9,000 streams on SoundCloud and close to 4,000 downloads on MyNotJustOk. Towards the end of last year, he released his debut music video for his song 'Gbeborun' which is also raking up numbers on YouTube as well.

MIMI

MIMI is currently the only female artist in Cyprus to have released a song in 2018 so far so good, infact she has released two songs titled 'Unconditional' and her latest effort 'VIBE' feat Pamo. She rose to popularity in Cyprus in 2017 after she her remix to Reekado Bank's 'Problem' caught the attention of afrobeat listeners in the country and beyond.  She is definitely on the right path so far and if she keeps going at this pace, 2018 will be her's for the taking.

Olayinka

Olayinka Basit caught the attention of people especially in Magusa in 2017 with the release of his single 'Mafimile'. He signed a management deal with Odogwu Entertainment (owned by comedian, N.I Emeka) same year and began to perform within his province and then started travelling to Lefkosia to perform as well. He started 2018 with the release of the video to 'Mafimile' and followed that up with a cover of Adekunle Gold's 'Ire' single. We hear he has a video for the song coming as well.

Dave Ishman

Dave Ishman might not sound familiar to the everyday afrobeats fan in Cyprus and that is because he is a gospel artist. This young man has worked so hard in the last one year. he has released 2 videos so far as well as performing at various gospel events in Cyprus. To top it all, he released his debut album 'Father's Child' in 2018 which he launched with a concert in Girne. He has been nominated at the ASGA Awards twice and hopefully this year he will win.

Tizzer.

Tizzer is also another artist that has stood the test of time in Cyprus. He rose to popularity in 2014 with the release of his single 'Jeje'. Since then till now, he has released a bunch of songs and videos including a remix of WizKid's Daddy Yo. In 2018 he has released two songs so far titled 'Everything' and 'TURN UP' though he as focused all his energy and promotions on 'TURN UP' being that it follows in the trend of the rigning shaku shaku sound that is very popular in Nigeria right now.

DIMIX.

Dimix is relatively still a new face and name in the afrobeats scene in Cyprus but this young chap hit the ground running already. Last year he released his debut song in Cyprus titled 'Follow Me' with a music video to back it. He then followed up with another song 'Cindarella' and his latest effort 'Want Some'. He is a lagos born and raised and the spirit of Lasgidi seems to be vibrating in him. You can listen to 'Want Some' below and confirm for yourself.

Double B

Solo Banky and Richy Bankz other wise known as Double B are currently the only afrobeats artists resident in Girne that are making some sort of wave in Cyprus. Though they are still new but these young men have been putting in a lot of work. In 2018 they have released a music video for their song 'Jeje' and have been shuttling between Girne and Lefkosia to perform at various events where they are booked. The video was nominated for Best Video Project by Students in Artts in Cyprus in February. We hope to hear more music from them because Solo Banky has been announcing that they have one on the way.

Flamez (D.E.T)

One half of the Cyprus based hiphop duo, D.E.T, Flamez seems to be the only active member of the group this year so far. he seem to be trying out the solo path though he has in the past released some songs of his own. In 2018 he has released quiet a number of songs including 'Plans' feat DJ Delete, 'Mega Man', 'The Morning' and 'Short Story 2' on which he featured Mayoyo Love. 'The Morning' seems to be out performing the rest of he new releases. D.E.T saw their peak year in 2016 after they got in a beef with another Cyprus based hiphop duo, VersaceBoyz which lit up Cyprus. Hopefully the solo thing works out in favor of all. The group isn't broken up tho.

DaFist

Ebuka Emesim a.k.a DaFist is a Nigerian indeginous rapper based in Cyprus. He started his journey as a musician on the island last year and released 'AYFM' feat JayWalker and performed as an opening act at RunTown's concert in 2017. In 2018 he hs released one song so far titled 'Roll' on which he featured his label mate, SmallMan Izzy and HeirNxt. The song was released on iTunes, Spotify courtesy of his label, GoodK Music. We are sure he will release new materials in 2018 going forward.