Veteran producers, Chimney Records, and independent Nigerian starlet, Zasan, secured first place in the inaugural JAHFROBEATS competition held on the Cyphr app platform.
The team took home $2,500 in winnings. The competition ran through this past June and brought together musical talents from Jamaica and Africa. The rules were simple — each team had to consist of a Jamaican and an African, either could be the producer or the artiste and had to create a track. After a month, the track with the most listens won.
The competition played to the unique strengths of the Cyphr platform, which not only connects producers with artistes but streamlines the process from collaboration to releasing a single. The winning team of Zasan and Chimney Records had their song aired on the British radio station WestSide Radio 89.6. It was Zasan’s first time hearing herself on the radio. “We’re very pleased with how it went,” shared Cyphr CEO and founder Dylan Brennan. “Our intention was to drive collaboration see what kind of magic could have been created between African and Jamaican artists.”
JAHFROBEATS pulled in over 30 entries. While the winning track won with over 18,000 listens, the difference between the 1st and 2nd was in the 100s. “The artists really rallied their fanbases,” explained Brennan. “I was blown away, even by the ones that didn’t win.”
JAHFROBEATS executes on the Cyphr team’s vision and has led to the birth of a new sub-genre. Additionally, the competition has shone a light on emerging talents. While Chimney Records are stalwarts of the Jamaican dancehall scene, boasting the likes of Mavado, Vybz Kartel, and Aidonia among their collaborators, Zasan is an emerging talent in the truest form. “You go on their Instagram, and they barely have any followers or likes, but their talent is through the roof.”
Looking Forward
The Cyphr team is looking to push the JAHFROBEATS initiative further, with a series of in-person parties in Jamaica. “It’s a party series where we’ll be playing dancehall, afrobeats, and Jahfrobeats music,” Brennan explained over the phone. The Cyphr team intends to do more competitions in the future exploring even more genre collaborations.
Cyphr is a mobile app available on iOS devices worldwide and coming soon to Android devices. The app creates an environment for musicians to connect, collaborate, and self-publish their music, bringing the ethos of ‘work from home’ to the studio space and allowing anyone to make music.
