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Out & about: Barça, Spotify hurry Ch'cco, Pabi Cooper’s bliss

In international club football, Barça has upraised 22 European and worldwide titles including five UEFA Champions League titles, and three Fifa Club World Cups.

Swashbuckling vagaries are sublimely fuelling subtle radical approaches for expected to shine brands — buoyant in their pomp — to be streets ahead, along with their fortitude and excellence in grasping as well as trying on for the universe’s apple-sized dream possibilities at play.

Effectively negating rankling about ambidextrous stances, a white-shoe collaboration between Futbol Club Barcelona — colloquially known as Barça — and Spotify a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider; is giving svelte home of African music Africori’s artists, Ch'cco and Pabi Cooper, the shrewd sense of worth and miscellaneous self-value.

Securing their spots on Spotify Africa’s coveted “Barça African Connect” vault of heaven playlist, the shift in degree has asterisked the dayspring of an unspoiled epoch in the careers of the pollyannaish — systematically agile to ascent to comprehensibility — South African Amapiano supreme beings.

For artists to burgeon forth in the calculated yet unscripted world of euphony, where genres like House, Gqom, and Amapiano flourish — is Africori’s transformative vision, foaling a resounding change within and on the far side of the amusement landscape.

Unfeignedly nascent wearing teemingness of latent, to become proud ambassadors of this breathtaking quislingism of two gigantic brands in the sporting arena and melody space; obstreperously rouges such bonzer pictures for Ch'cco fondly remembered for giving listeners the red-letter Amapiano smash opus — ‘Nkao Tempela’, and Pabi Cooper (the creative force behind hit tunes like ‘Wag n Bietjie’). Axiomatic a la mode topographic points, befitting the glorious banner of South African blues, defined by a on the nose plan of action!

FC Barcelona playing more directly; the campaign has been strategically placed during worldwide games of the professional football club that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football — with Times Square and PennPlaza in New York City, being the focus billboard location at present.

Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper; domestically, the club which has clinched a record 77 trophies: 27 La Liga, 31 Copa del Rey, 14 Supercopa de Espana, three Copa Eva Duarte, and two Copa de la Liga titles — is based in Barcelona, Catalonia.

In international club football, Barça has upraised 22 European and worldwide titles including five UEFA Champions League titles, and three Fifa Club World Cups. Sure as shooting, this season, the useful intrinsic brilliant quality of midfielders: Gavi, Pedri, Oriol Romeu, Sergi Roberto, De Jong, Gundogan and Fermin; as well as the proven excellent goal scoring ability of forwards: Ferran, Lewandowski, Raphinha, Joao Felix and Lamine Yamal — can work wonders to mirror the club’s elysian feats!

Historically, Barcelona players have walked away with a record seven Fifa World Player of the Year awards; with victors including Brazilian internationals Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo as well as Ronaldinho. The club’s players have also ganered a record twelve Ballon d'Or awards (for the best player in the world), with recipients including Dutch international Johan Cruyff (won three times), and Argentine national team and Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF captain Lionel Messi — fetching the coveted prize, four years running.

Properly tested by the opponents’ style of play, as Barça’s all-time highest scorer; Messi is the only player to win a Ballon d'Or, Fifa  World Player of the Year, Pichichi Trophy and European Golden Shoe in the same season — making him the club’s greatest player of all time. Iconic pleasure of achieving enhanced, the Barcelona team, which won fourteen trophies in just four years under Pep Guardiola (current Manchester City manager in the English Premier League); is well thought out by some pundits in the sport — to be the sterling team of all time!

Barça’s present-day squad is coached by Xavi Hernandez, who in 2010, made the list of Fifa Ballon d'Or award’s three best players in the world — alongside Fifa World Cup winners Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta La Roja’s midfield Einstein. With e'er maneuverable goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen eyeing to keep countless clean sheets under his watch, the 2023/24 campaign is an acid test of the lengths at which the club’s tough as teak and tactically disciplined defence can go to incredibly assist the man between the posts.

Equanimous for counter-attacks, tackles and interceptions — defenders: Araujo, Inigo Martinez, Christensen, Marcos Alonso, Kounde, Balde and Cancelo; are most likely than not, up to scratch to pull it out of the bag. Keeping it ruly at the back; not allowing opponents to breach the defence by perfectly taking charge, aggressively lodging a marker — forcing a shaky blunt pressing attack 40 yards backwards. In so doing, preserving the winning legacy of what has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto “Mes que un club” (“More than a club”).

Tiptop, with over 551 million monthly active users, including 220 million paying subscribers (as of June 2023); Spotify was set up on April 23, 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. The enterprise offers digital copyright out-of-bounds recorded audio content, including more than 100 million canons and five million podcasts, from record labels and media companies.

As a freemium service, basic features are free with advertisements and limited control, while additional features, such as offline listening and commercial-free listening, are offered via paid subscriptions. Doing a good job, Spotify is available in most of Europe, as well as Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania — with a total availability in 184 markets.

Offering a suite of digital services including distribution, publishing, licensing, A&R and marketing — Africori is the number 1 destination for independent African artists and labels. A nice place to be; it is home to the likes of Open Mic Productions, Focalistic a South African rapper and Amapiano chief lyricist, Nigerian record producer and Disc Jockey Rexxie, Marioo a Tanzanian singer and songwriter, as well as rapper and songwriter Blxckie.

The troupe was brought about by Yoel Kenan, who has over the past three decades been intemperately caught up in the careers of Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias, Avril Lavigne a Canadian singer-songwriter, American rock band Blink-182, and Mary J Blige an American singer-songwriter and rapper.

A referee and footballer-cum-dancer musician at the billow of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pabi Cooper known off-stage as Paballo Basetsana Mothapo, is fanlike and mighty. Her platinum-certified spanking berceuse ‘Isphithiphithi’ has had over 3.5 million streams to date.

Making a strong impression, Pabi Cooper draws influence from various chanted genres such as Afrobeat, Rap, Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, and Soul. Janelle Monae an American vocalist, rapper and actress, Burna Boy a Nigerian singer and ballad maker, American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, legendary hip hop knocker singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill, Nigerian singer and composer Wizkid, as well as Sauti Sol a Kenyan Afropop band — are some of her favourite artists. 

Ch'cco, a former rapper has harnessed his initial happy chance to kick upstairs the intrigue and anticipation encompassing his jams. His trademark style is characterised by a mellow, creaseless flow infused with the swagger of American hip-hop and the richness of Pretorian ethnical citations.

Imposingly, despite having only whelped a pocket-sized number of beats since 2019, Ch'cco’s up-to-the-minute lullaby, ‘Pele Pele’ has already become a chart-topper. In a good lap, he has unwaveringly established himself as South Africa’s spic-and-span ditty lord; filling up venues in his mother country, embarking on European tours, and joining forces with global stars like Nigerian singer and songwriter Teniola Apata and Marioo (Tanzanian).

Building the ambition from the ground up — showing no sign to stop — Spotify professed: “Given the Pan-African scope of this campaign, it is set to expand into various territories, collaborating with artists from across the continent. This expansion underscores our belief in its significant potential.”

  •   Grant Moyo is a prolific writer, innovative media personality, entrepreneur and a creative artist who is passionate about using his creative mind for the betterment of society.  Follow him on X (formerly Twitter): @TotemGrant

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