Tanzania’s Platform is Apple Music’s new Up Next Artist in East Africa

“I’m incredibly proud to be Apple Music’s Up Next artist for East Africa this month,” Platform said. “It’s a unique opportunity for me and I can't put into words what it means to be one of the first East African artists to receive this accolade.

“I’d like to thank Abbah Music, Africori and the Apple Music team for giving me this opportunity. It gives me the strength to do more. I will fight hard to give my fans the best and dedicate this win to them!”

Platform’s debut EP Above & Beyond, available to stream on Apple Music, is a fusion of bongo flava, reggaeton and Afropop brought alive by his trademark smooth vocals. Incorporating expertly placed features from Marioo, Jux, Darassa, Maua Sama and Tommy Flavour, the EP showcases Platform’s knack for integrating multiple styles within his unique sound.

As one of Tanzania’s brightest up-and-coming talents, Platform, real name Mukami Kaaria, followed up the success of ‘Fall’ (2022), his first collaboration single alongside Marioo, with the EP’s first downtempo single ‘Ananipenda’ that has earned millions of streams and views.

Apple Music’s Up Next artist development programme has had a fruitful history of spotlighting the next wave of creative talent since it was established in August 2017. Nigerian Grammy Award-winning superstars Burna Boy and Tems, were the first two African artists to be spotlighted on a global scale in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

As the latest Up Next act to be spotlighted in East Africa after Kash Kaaria, Platform will be featured across Apple Music’s Up Next playlist. The curated Up Next playlist features a dynamic class of new and emerging artists thoughtfully hand-picked by Apple Music editors from around the world. The playlist is genre-agnostic and represents a line-up of artists Apple Music’s global editors are passionate about and eager to expose to a larger audience.

The vast global Up Next roster of past talent includes Grammy-nominated and critically lauded talent like 6lack, Daniel Caesar, H.E.R., Greta Van Fleet, Khalid, Amy Shark, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Claudio, Sigrid, Mr Eazi, Stefflon Don, Bad Bunny, Juice WLRD, and more.