Apple Music has announced the latest featured artiste in its ‘Up Next’ artiste development programme for Nigeria, as Afro-fusion singer-songwriter and producer, Ninety (real name Alabo Tuwonimi Tuonims).
“It’s a beautiful thing making music and telling stories, but it’s more beautiful when you have people listening to the music, and can resonate with the stories I tell. That connection is unmatched, and it’s why I’m excited to be selected for Apple Music’s ‘Up Next’ programme,” he told Apple Music.
Born in the bustling city of Port Harcourt, Rivers State in Nigeria, Ninety started writing his own music at the age of 15, learning how to play the keyboard and the drums shortly after. It was after he completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology from the Accra Institute of Technology in Ghana, that Ninety returned home and enrolled in a music production and audio engineering course in 2016. The confidence he gained from this music training was the impetus for him to build his own studio from the scratch, where he began to hone his musical talents.
His debut EP, ‘Rare Gem’, released through FreeMe Music and available to stream on Apple Music in Spatial Audio, weaves together the multitude of genres that Ninety draws from to construct his own genre called New Wave Music, an amalgamation of Afro-fusion, Afrobeats and Afropop. Over seven tracks, he traverses Amapiano styles, jazzy tones and even choral melodies as he introduces his sound to a worldwide audience.
As the newest ‘Up Next’ act to be spotlighted in Nigeria, Ninety will be featured across Apple Music’s ‘Up Next’ playlist. The curated ‘Up Next’ playlist features a dynamic class of new and emerging artists, thoughtfully hand-picked by Apple Music editors from around the world. The playlist is genre agnostic and represents a line-up of artists their global editors are passionate about and eager to expose to a larger audience.
Ninety joins Young Jonn, T.I Blaze, Browny Pondis, Ajebo Hustlers, Jaido P, Wavy The Creator and SGaWD as Apple Music’s growing stable of ‘Up Next’ artistes from Nigeria.
The vast global Up Next roster of past talent includes Grammy-nominated and critically lauded talent like 6lack, Daniel Caesar, H.E.R., Greta Van Fleet, Khalid, Amy Shark, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Claudio, Sigrid, Mr Eazi, Stefflon Don, Bad Bunny, Juice WLRD, Bazzi, Jax Jones, NCT 127, Summer Walker, Tierra Whack, Dean Lewis, Pink Sweat$, Koffee, Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy, Clairo, Lunay, Jessie Reyez, Orville Peck, Victoria Monét, Ingrid Andress, Conan Gray, Don Toliver, Rema, BENEE, Holly Humberstone, Natanael Cano, Givēon, beabadoobee, Arlo Parks, Tate McRae, Foushee and Tems.
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