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Award-winning South African rapper Nasty C has signed an exclusive deal with Def Jam Recordings through a joint venture with Universal Music Africa.
Nasty C has been the No.1 most-streamed South African artist on Apple Music for four years in a row.
Announcing the signing, Def Jam Recordings interim chairman/CEO Jeff Harleston stated, “Nasty C is a unique and forward-thinking artist who is at the forefront of a new generation of rappers emerging from Africa.”
“Def Jam is a globally recognized brand synonymous with excellence in hip-hop, and we are excited to welcome Nasty C - an international star with real vision and talent - into the family.”
“It’s powerful to be a part of the Def Jam family,” added Nasty C. “It’s an iconic record label and has made the careers of many of the artists I look up to.”
With over 120 million streams, Strings and Bling was the most streamed South African and African album on Apple Music in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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The album spawned three multi-platinum singles: King, Jungle, and the radio smash SMA as well as the platinum title track, Strings and Bling. A further 14 songs off Strings and Bling were certified gold.
The rapper’s career began in 2012 with the release of his first mixtape, One Kid, A Thousand Coffins. Second mixtape Price City and debut album Bad Hair in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
Since then, Nasty C has won several music awards including the South African Hip-Hop Awards' Best Freshman prize and four Metro FM Music Awards, as well as being nominated in 2019 for a BET Hip-Hop Award in the best international flow category and an MTV Europe Music Award.
To top up his milestone, on Thursday, March 26 2020, he made his official U.S. debut after his new single There They Go premiered on Apple Music Beats 1 with Ebro Darden.
Filmed in Nasty C’s hometown of Durban, South Africa, the song’s video was directed by Andrew Sandler (Lil Wayne, Chris Brown).
The Cxdy produced There They Go is the first taste from the 23-year-old rapper’s upcoming album Zulu Man with Some Power.
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The South African rapper recently broke down the meaning of and the inspiration behind his 2019 single God Flow which featured fellow Durban rapper Crowned Yung.
"'God Flow' is really just about you being a god in whatever you feel like being a god in at the time," Nasty C pointed out.
He added that the song came as a result of him going through different beats and this particular one caught his attention.
Nasty C celebrated his 23rd birthday in February.
