Our guest artists for Vol.4
For Beyond Music Vol.4 we are looking for the "Best Songs for Social Change". Songs that have the power for universal healing and can essentially change the world. Music as a catalyst for social change, inspiring and encouraging people to take action; giving voice to those who are often unheard and in need.
We want to make an important contribution to conscious action. We have engaged some of the world's most celebrated artists to work with you. Artists who raise their voices against grievances, are committed to social issues and are naturally both artists and activists. They will choose their favorite song from your submissions, work with the artists involved and record the song together with you.
Angélique Kidjo
Singer, Songwriter, Actress & Activist
"The audience gives me energy, so I have to give it back."
Five-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo is one of the greatest artists in international music today, a creative force with sixteen albums to her name.
Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva", and named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2021. The BBC has included her in its list of the continent's 50 most iconic figures, and in 2011 The Guardian listed her as one of their Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World. Forbes Magazine has ranked Angelique as the first woman in their list of the Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa. She is the recent recipient of the prestigious 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award, the 2018 German Sustainability Award, the 2023 Vilcek Prize in Music and the Polar Music Prize 2023 for International Recognition of Excellence in the World of Music.
As a performer, her striking voice, stage presence and fluency in multiple cultures and languages have won respect from her peers and expanded her following across national borders. Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America.
On Mother Nature (2022), Kidjo’s latest album, she joins forces with many of her musical progeny, including some of the most captivating young creators of West African music, Afrobeat, Afro-pop, dancehall, hip-hop, and alt-R&B. The result is a truly visionary body of work, rooted in a deep understanding of musical tradition yet endlessly forward-thinking and inventive. Kidjo says: “The new generation of artists coming from Africa are going to take you by storm, and the time has come.” In sharing this album with the world, Kidjo hopes that her songs might inspire the kind of togetherness that ultimately leads to transcendent change. “This album is a love letter to Mother Earth and all the values we hold dear: truth, trust, love, connection,” says Kidjo. “For our own survival, we need to recognize the humanity that we all share and learn how to live together. There’s just no other way.”
Pheelz
Producer, Singer & Multi-instrumentalist
"The fact that I can express my art and have the world embrace it is a fulfilment on its own.“
Pheelz, whose real name is Phillip Moses, is an award-winning Nigerian producer, singer and Grammy nominee on Usher's R&B hit “Ruin”. He is known for his stellar songwriting skills and crafting beats to producing global hits. He is a key figure within the world of Afrobeats.
He discovered his passion for music while he was a member of the church choir at age 10. At that time, young Pheelz was intrigued by musical instruments and vocals.
During the early years of his career as a music producer, he produced hit records for Olamide, Adekunle Gold, Lil Kesh, and other artists signed to YBNL (an independent record label in Nigeria). Between 2012 and 2015, Pheelz became a household name in the music industry as he was highly sought-after by artists who craved dynamic Afro sounds in their production.
In the past 5 years, he has produced chart-topping singles for Mr Eazi, Tiwa Savage, Davido, Adekunle Gold, Fireboy DML, and Teni amongst other entertainers.
In 2020, Pheelz won Producer of the Year at the Headie Awards - Nigeria's top hip hop honor.
In 2021, the musical mastermind released his debut EP, Hear Me Out which was a 5-track showcase of his vocal talent and songwriting skills. With over 10 million streams across all platforms, the project reached the top 20 (#15) on Apple Music’s Top Albums in Nigeria. Pheelz is also featured on “Crown of Clay” alongside two of Nigeria’s greatest Hip-hop artists, Vector and MI Abaga. The song has been described by critics as the Hip-Hop song of the year in Nigeria. In addition to his feats in 2021, his song, “Somebody,” spent 3 weeks on Billboard’s Top Triller Global Chart and peaked at number 3.
In 2022, he signed a record deal with Warner UK, shortly after his single “Finesse” became an international success, and earned him, his first career entry on the Billboard Global 200 at number 131, the TurnTable Top 50 at number 1, World Digital Song Sales at number 10, UK Afrobeats Singles Chart at number 1, and the UK Singles Chart at number 52. He also released in 2022 his Davido collaboration titled "Electricity" and performed at the BMI Awards in Miami.
Pheelz had a front-row seat as American powerhouses Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg joined forces for tracks that will end up on their upcoming joint album. Pheelz also recently contributed to Usher’s Grammy nominated album Coming Home and his R&B hit "Ruin".
Wiyaala
Singer, Songwriter, Communicator & Activist
"The stage is my door to the World."
Wiyaala, which means “the doer” in her local Sissala language, is a powerhouse musician entertainer from Funsi in the Upper West Region of Ghana. An irrepressible extrovert since childhood, Wiyaala is an award-winning African star who never fails to excite and inspire love. With her dancing, polyglot and engaged songs, Wiyaala performs an Africa that is both modern and traditional.
Wiyaala's music references West African Folk traditions and contemporary Afro-Pop, sometimes evoking comparisons with African stars such as Miriam Makeba and Brenda Fassie.
The second of four sisters and thanks to her musical mother, Wiyaala was spared the horrors of FGM and child marriage whilst attracting attention as a child entertainer, dancer, artist and footballer despite growing up in a patriarchal society often hostile to artistic growth.
In 2012, she traveled to the capital city Accra and won the Vodafone Icons Reality Show.
Since being discovered by Rita Ray of BBC’s Global Beats in 2014, Wiyaala has become one of Ghana’s leading media personalities representing Ghana and Africa at events and festivals around the world. Wiyaala has performed for Kamala Harris, vice president of the USA and at the Commonwealth Games 2018, The African Union in Addis Ababa, SummerStage 2022 in New York, WOMAD UK and many more. In 2014, Wiyaala was the first Ghanaian artist to chart on Billboard since Osibisa in the 1970's with her 2014 FIFA World Cup Song "Go Go Black Stars". She has released two albums "Wiyaala" (2014) and "Sissala Goddess" (2018).
An articulate communicator, who designs and makes her own costumes, Wiyaala is a role model in her community where she has built a Stage, Guest House and Restaurant frequently holding jam nights for local artists and children. Wiyaala campaigns against child marriage and in 2020, she detected and handed over to the authorities a 36 year old man attempting to abduct a young girl into a forced marriage.
Wiyaala advocates, among others, for UNICEF Ghana, GACA - Ghana Against Child Abuse, and Water Aid Ghana.
She has won many prestigious awards such as "Alternative Song of the Year" - Ghana Music Awards UK 2021, "Best Ghanaian Cultural Act" - Ghana Music Awards UK 2021, "Woman of the Decade" - Women’s Choice Awards Africa 2020, "Artiste of the Year" - Ghana Arts & Culture Awards 2019 and “International Touring Artiste of the Year” - Ghana Music Awards UK 2019.
Dodo
Producer, artist, singer & TV host
"Never stop doing what you love!"
Swiss hit producer and artist Dominik Jud aka Dodo, born in 1977 in Kenya, spent his early childhood in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. His heart beats very deeply for the continent of Africa. Dodo is considered a pioneer of Swiss dialect reggae and a charismatic performer. He describes himself as a musician who has no real command of any instrument and has reached where he is today for one main reason: “My talent is determination. And I can achieve anything!“
Dodo feels like an eternal traveler. His music is nourished by this openness to the world - musically as well as lyrically. Dodo's songs may be sung in dialect, but are otherwise mainly influenced by Caribbean and African music. And by hip hop, of course. He is very interested in the cultural connection between nations, it is his real motivation to make music, because he understands music as a cultural and energetic exchange.
Today, Dodo is one of the most successful pop producers in Switzerland and has discovered and promoted numerous artists, turning them into chart-toppers. There is no other artist who has won more Swiss Music Awards than Dodo.
In September 2022, Dodo packed his studio into a shipping container and went on a biographical and musical search for musical traces from Switzerland to Africa. He wanted to find out what it is about this longing for Africa that has been driving him ever since. On the way, the cosmopolitan encounters a wide variety of artists and, through music, comes ever closer to African culture and his roots. For four months, a film crew travelled with Dodo and recorded this adventure journey: to Cape Town, Accra and Abidjan, his home town.
On the way, Dodo's next album, which will be released in autumn, was created with many African artists he discovered on his journey. It is an extraordinary musical travel diary. In addition, a documentary film was made, which will be shown in Swiss cinemas in autumn this year.
Since spring 2023, Dodo has been appointed as the new host of the Swiss TV success format "Sing meinen Song - Das Schweizer Tauschkonzert", ("Sing My Song - The Swiss Swap Concert"), in which prominent Swiss artists are invited and reinterpret each other's songs.
Dodo is very committed to "Social Change" and has been involved in environmental and climate protection for years as an ambassador for various organizations such as GREENPEACE and PRO NATURA. He is also involved with the VIVA CON AGUA organization, which campaigns for clean drinking water in Africa, and is a water ambassador there.