The UK based music collective NSG is gaining buzz in the streets of Ghana. Especially on university campuses, on the airwaves, and the web. As the collective’s popularity expands, listeners have grown curious about who NSG is, where they came from, what is the long term goal, to what does NSG even stands for. Hailing from Hackney, East London the collective consist of Papii Abz, OGD, Dope, Mxjib, Mojo, and Kruddz.
Over the past seven years, NSG has reinvented themselves countless times. From their early days as a pioneering Afrobeats groups where they carved a niche for themselves during uni raves and the parties, contorting their voices and deft one-liners to create unforgettable hooks, to their superstar-making, they have over the years been backed by sounds mostly engineered and curated by the able hands of the genius JAE5 since his J.O.A.T days.
Rockstars, as they call themselves, take pride in the fact that they did it all by themselves without any major handouts, they earned every bit of whatever fame and success they’re enjoying. Six young guys from the blocks in Hackney, that’s why they make no mistake in taking us back to those blocks in their music videos. “Charted but we still out here in the hood”. There’s only a handful of artists in the UK that will ever understand the NSG situation and why it may come across as cocky sometimes are always so full of themselves. If they don’t loud their achievements it gets swept under the radar, whereas other artists get the public to do it for them.
So it’s not by chance to have NSG get invited by Drake, Wizkid, and Future to perform on their sets on different shows in the year 2019. And also proceeded to sell out on their own OT Bop tour, all of this off three major singles at the time, Yo Darling which features Geko, a record that will solidify the chemistry between both parties, which the world is about to see more of. Options, the record that shot NSG into the top of the charts in the UK and arguably the song to have had fans anticipate it the most, OT Bop. That was a global smash. You know for a fact your song is a global hit when it gets rinsed in the biggest market in Ghana, Makola and gets spun in every night club and corner in Lagos and Abuja When your record transcends your regular target and trickles down to the regulars in the street, then you know you can talk that smash hit talk.
Slated to drop in 2020, NSG will explicitly underscore that their gifts on its behalf have been substantial. The NSG guys have a lot to prove and determined to show the mass that the young generation can do it and exceedingly well while at it. NSG has never doubted themselves. They’re very confident in their ability to turn deaf ears to friendly ones. They believe that what they do matters, and put in long extra hours of hard work daily behind those beliefs.
Unlike other groups that get put together by some talent agency or manager, NSG is cut from a different cloth. NSG doesn’t think of themselves in a group—NSG is family. People in the barbershops, corner stores, uni and the industry at large think that you’re going come out, be a one-hit-wonder, and finished. Looking to prove naysayers wrong at all cost so it’s still a Non-Stop Grind and Non-Stop Growth approach and attitude towards everything, NSG is really and truly a lifestyle for these men, it’s an infectious one.
Their latest single out, Ourself has garnered buzz with ease that you can tell the guys are on the verge of global recognition. They had the buzz from their hood, Hackney, London as a whole, the UK and now they’re everywhere in Europe and West Africa. Before the release of their first project, Grown Up? They were trying to take over city after city in the UK, and trying to take over Europe. After Yo Darling, Options, OT Bop, and Trust Issues dropped, Africa is growing more fond of the NSG sound. This past December, NSG headed to Nigeria and Ghana and was a well-received visit.
The collective opportunity to shoot parts of their Ourself tune in Akosombo, Blackstar square, Jamestown and Ridge all in Accra, Ghana where their trusted video director Kevin Hudson did bits again. Certainly looks like they’ll be back in Africa to work with Shatta Wale and Sarkodie who they have already recorded songs with. NSG is truly proud of its heritage and we are seeing global domination on the verge of skyrocketing.
Honorable mentions to the whole NSG Entertainment, Sheun, DJ Suuks, and Godwin Mackafui.
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