SA: ByLwansta named Apple Music Up Next artist

The programme features emerging artists from around the world, who are added to a genre-agnostic playlist curated by Apple Music’s global editors.

The announcement coincides with the release of ByLwansta’s four-track EP SPIJØNGET (Chapter Three). The project was released under his label NORMVL and concludes the EP trilogy he began with SPIJØNGET (Chapter One).

“For many years I’ve had the people that believe in me confidently tell me that ‘you’ve got to be next’ or that I’m ‘next up’,” the 26-year-old ByLwansta told Apple Music. And while the trajectory has always been upward with every stride, it’s been very gradual. So I guess they just kept getting the words mixed up, maybe if they said ‘you’re up next” instead. Shout out to Apple Music for saying the magic words.”

ByLwansta, born Lwandile Nkanyuza, is the first South African artist to feature on COLORS, an influential YouTube channel that showcases exceptional talent from all over the world.

To live out his dream of becoming a bona fide rapper, he relocated to Johannesburg from KwaZulu-Natal and blazed his own trail. He performed at Berlin’s Pop-Kultur Festival in 2017 and 2019, while also making his mark on local festival stages.