Cruel Santino 114

Cruelsantino aka as Santi and Ozzy B is heating up the sound to Afrobeats and Nigeria’s music scene. He describes himself as ‘a creative who specializes in music and visuals and I represent the side and sound of Africa that needs to be heard.’

When speaking of his sound, Santi, ‘describe[s] it as the “New Africa.“ I say New Africa because I am not only one with a sound different from the norms on radio. There are a bunch of us who have been fortunate enough to be blessed with the knowledge of music from a foreign as well as a local angle and it is this mix that allows us to create the music we make and that’s why we are able to bend genres easily.

My music isn’t one particular genre, but I mostly refer to it as “world.” I grew up listening to all genres of music thoroughly, but the ones that influenced my sound the most are, hip-hop, R&B, reggae/dancehall, indie/alternative and the 1998-2004 UK dance era (the likes of Bonnie Bailey, Milky and Sunset Daze). I combined every thing I have learned from these genres and with the music and knowledge from my roots to produced my sound.‘ (OkayAfrica)