Burna Boy and AKA team up for Loerie Awards’ official song

The track, entitled ‘NO!’, is a collaboration between award-winning South African rapper AKA, Nigerian superstar Burna Boy and popular South African producers DJ Clock and Timo ODV. It echoes the ‘How many NOs’ campaign created by local advertising agency King James to illustrate a creative’s daily frustration of having work turned down and the determination and perseverance it takes to win one of these prestigious awards.

The track’s heavy-hitting collaborators jumped at the opportunity to be part of this exciting project, with Burna Boy flying in from Lagos on short notice and AKA setting his fatherly duties aside to add his weight to the project after recently welcoming his first child with partner DJ Zinhle. The artists’ eager involvement shows that it’s not just advertising creatives who are faced with constantly having to hear the word ‘no’. Artists across the creative world - from musicians to painters to writers and dancers - all have to endure their fair share of rejection from record labels, publishers and studios before getting a ‘yes’. The ‘How many NOs’ campaign celebrates this as part of the creative process. Getting work turned down encourages creatives to hone their craft and improve their skills, and ultimately leads to award-winning work.

The track was produced by Songstruct, a platform created by Universal Music to bring African artists and creative agencies together in order to create memorable campaigns with local talent. Ryan Hill, managing director of Universal Music Publishing, explained: “Creating the song ‘NO!’ was a hugely successful adventure and we look forward to more. We’ve created Songstruct especially for creatives, and our involvement with the Loeries offers us the ideal platform to reach out to this very important audience.”

YFM, the official broadcast sponsor of the Loeries, was given the opportunity to debut the song on South African radio and has exclusive rights to play the track for the first week. To purchase the track on iTunes click here. For more info on the Loeries, see the full programme on their website.