MULTI-PLATINUM AFROBEATS STAR, KEL-P, RELEASES NEW SUMMER SINGLE “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
Kel-P —the GRAMMY award-winning superproducer who’s behind Afrobeats’ biggest hits— releases his new single and video, “What Have You Done?,” today via Virgin Records France / Jones Worldwide. He debuted his first EP as a vocalist, Bully Season Vol.1, in February, full of tropical odes to women, meant to get them on the dancefloor.
On “What Have You Done?” Kel-P wants everyone to keep on dancing. “‘What Have You Done?’ is a special track for me,” Kel-P shared. “I was in Los Angeles with The Elements (shout out to them!) and I asked them if they had an uptempo production, because everyone knows that what I love most is to make people dance. They were halfway done with this production, so we sat down and finished it together. At that point, the most important thing for me was to put as much of my influence and culture as possible, ‘to bring my people home.’ But it was the beat, the essence of the song, that inspired the whole artistic direction of this single.”
To capture the magnetic synchronization of place to bodies in motion and dance, the video was shot in the heat of an underground party in Lisbon, a city close to Kel-P’s heart. Also in Lisbon, Kel-P recently made a remarkable appearance at his friend Richie Campbell's concert at the Altice Arena, playing for the first time live, in front of 17,000 people, the tracks of his first EP accompanied by a band of 8 musicians. Other recent highlights include Kel-P’s appearance on the blockbuster Creed III soundtrack, executive produced by J. Cole’s Dreamville, as both an artist and a producer. He’s also set to be on the next albums of Davido, Adekunle Gold and Wande Coal and is preparing for his second EP, Bully Season Vol. 2. Stream “What Have You Done?” here and watch the video here.
Kel-P is a GRAMMY Award-winning, multi-platinum producer and songwriter who has played a vital role in shaping the current sound of Afrobeats after producing many of the genre's biggest hits, including “Gbona” and “Sere.” Along the way, the 27-year-old has earned 4 GRAMMY nominations, generated billions of streams, and achieved multi-platinum success worldwide. His instantly recognizable tag, “It’s Kel-P vibes” has become synonymous with transcendent hits and for the first time he’s amplifying another aspect of his artistry with his songwriting and vocals. “It was time to put a face to the name Kel-P” he affirms. “I knew this was the next level. I could feel it. While I was producing for all of these other artists, I was learning. I’ve always wanted to drop my own project, but I was working on myself throughout the whole time. Now, I’m heading into this new artist journey, and I have a lot to show the world.”
Born a twin in the city of Calabar, Kel-P lost his mom at two-years-old. He and his brother moved to Lagos where they lived with relatives. At a very young age, Kel-P met his first musical mentor, Sarz, who encouraged him to compose his own instrumentals. He quickly developed his signature style, a colorful and dynamic sonic vision. He notched his first marquee production with Solidstar’s “Eleganza” in 2018. Building a sterling reputation, he linked up with Burna Boy and produced ten tracks from the superstar’s 2019 blockbuster album African Giant, including “On The Low,” “Gbona,” “Killin Dem,” and “Pull Up.” His catalog continued to expand, highlighted by Wizkid’s smash hit “Ginger” feat. Burna Boy, “Donne-moi l’accord” for Dadju and Burna Boy, “Diamond Platinum” for Jeje. Branching out, he produced “Faith” from Skip Marley’s Higher Place, scoring a GRAMMY Award nomination for “Best Reggae Album.”
2022 saw Kel-P receive a GRAMMY in the category of “Best Global Music Album” for Angélique Kidjo’s Mother Nature and a Grammy nomination for Made in Lagos: Deluxe Edition by Wizkid. Earning widespread acclaim, Okayplayer predicted, “For beatmaker Kel-P, the road to royalty seems inevitable,” and GRAMMY.com christened him “one of the hottest beatmakers and producers in the Afrobeats global movement.” Last February, Kel-P made his artist debut with his first body of work, Bully Season Vol. 1. The lead single, “One More Night,” was named by Rolling Stone as “a song you need to know” and has accumulated 3M streams. It stands out for flipping Nelly and Kelly Rowland’s iconic R&B hit “Dilemma,” and brilliantly introducing Kel-P as a seasoned hitmaker with star power. Kel-P is currently working on the second volume of his Bully Season series. “As a human, I feel I always had to bring out the Bully in me to shake the table and get what I want from life” Kel-P said. “This inspired the name as it’s the journey of my work ethic, my wins, my losses, my relationships, my life leading to this moment.”
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