Barely six weeks before she heads back to her home country Ivory Coast to perform at the African Cup of Nations in January 2024, Grammy Award-nominated Ivorian American artist, and songwriter CHRYSTEL is excited to unveil her exciting new afropop single titled ‘SNAPCHAT’, featuring Nigerian rap star Blaqbonez, and produced by award-winning afrobeats hitmaker Type A (Fireboy DML, Amaarae, CKay). Arriving on November 24 in partnership with The Orchard, ‘Snapchat’ is the first single from Chrystel’s long-awaited and highly anticipated sophomore EP that is due for release in February 2024. Written and recorded with Blaqbonez and Type A in Lagos, Nigeria during Chrystel’s last trip to West Africa, where she has been recording much of her upcoming project, ‘Snapchat’ is a carefree and flirtatious afropop offering with a heavy dose of confidence, independence, and self-assurance.
Driven by the infectious bounce of Type A’s bass and guitar-led production, held together by the inescapable chemistry between Chrystel and Blaqbonez, and underpinned by their witty songwriting, the track is an instant dancefloor filler that was crafted to make you move. Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘Snapchat’, Chrystel says, “It’s about feeling sexy and having fun. I want people to feel like they know their powers when they hear it. I’ve always had an inspiring sense of self assurance, and confidence, and I feel inspired seeing other people walk their own conviction. To me, this song is like a form of self-care – knowing what you like, and liking yourself, without needing validation from others is key. Loving yourself for who you are, and who you’re becoming is so important to me”.
Revered as a Grammy Award-nominated and multi-platinum selling songwriter, having written on the acclaimed Dreamville compilation album Revenge Of The Dreamers III, as well as on Baby Tate’s viral hit ‘I Am’ featuring Flo Milli, and Ari Lennox fan favourites ‘Bussit’ and ‘Outside’, CHRYSTEL is also now emerging as a fast-rising artist in her own right. On the back of her fan-favourite debut EP Prey, and her scene stealing collaboration with Ivorian producer Jeune Lio, the Atlanta-based Ivorian American native comes with over six million global streams, and critical acclaim from international tastemakers across BBC 1Xtra, Apple Music, The NATIVE, Culture Custodian, and ONE37pm, among others. Her highly anticipated next project will see Chrystel lean more into fusing her contemporary pop songwriting with afropop soundscapes from her homeland, as is evident on new single ‘Snapchat’. Sharing what to expect from her new musical era, and upcoming new project, Chrystel says, “While I am a first generation American, I was raised in an Ivorian household, where West African traditions, influence, and culture ran rampant. Growing up, I was introduced to a wide range of music, and I quickly began to pick up on intricate sounds and melodies of the music coming from the continent. I believe that multi-cultural background is what sets me apart. My main goal for this project was to create the best music I could possibly make with the best producers coming from the continent right now. Taking elements from different sounds, cultures, and collaborators who have helped refine my sound, and making it make sense. It’s like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. except this isn’t your first puzzle and you’ve gotten really good at it. The end result is even better than what I envisioned.
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