Even the most forward-thinking hip-hop heads could not have foreseen the rap climate we now live in, where auto-tune is welcome, mumble rap is fashionable and a singing rapper has the whole world’s attention. Drake’s dominance atop Billboard charts has birthed a generation of artists unafraid to express their more emotional side through melodic singing performances. Loti’s new single, “Talk Too Much” borrows from the cadence of singing-rap, slinking between boastful and threatening lines aimed at competition and lines about his relationship woes. Over the bouncy trap beat, his literate rap verses build to a swinging hook where his vocals swell capably. And despite his best effort at wryly self-aware lyrics like “They Say That I’m Scum”, “Talk Too Much” listens like a bop.
You can stream Loti’s “Talk Too Much” below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/rnbloti
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DaRe’s new single, “Mystical”, featuring July DRama and MOJO gives new meaning to the phrase, ‘make love to the beat’. The beat clatters along with a syncopated, thudding drumbeat bedded beneath synth lines and a piano harmony so soothing, it forces all unpleasant thoughts out of the mind.
July Drama sets the sultry tone for “Mystical” with his smooth vocals coasting over the beat, singing “And I Bet You Make Love to the Track till your Pussy Ring Stuck in your Lingerie”. DaRe and MOJO contribute verses each to give more specific and graphic descriptions of their lover’s love making prowess. And though the song’s most obvious allure lies in the sex driven narrative, the dynamic blend of the ambient lo-fi synths and Afropop swing is what makes it such a delight for sonic palettes and a must have if you’re into mood setting music to knocking boots to. Prettyboy D-O also contributes vocals to add to the song’s charm.
You can stream “Mystical” below.
Featured Image Credits: Soundcloud/itsdare
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Nigerian producers had no issues embracing EDM enthusiastically—and successfully—during the genre’s heydays atop Billboard charts. While the genre itself is slowly getting reshuffled back into the fringes of niche sonic appetites, Masterkraft’s latest single, “Charged Up” fuses Afro-house drum riffs to the glucose-coated synthesizer lines he produces. “Charged Up” features a hyped up DJ Cuppy who contributes vocals to really set the party tone the beat already inspires. It’s easy for her energetic performance and the cuts of vocal DJ samples to seem a bit overboard, but it feels right in the moment as the let the beat do most of the work. Audiences at festivals would be grateful that their need for a steady paced beat isn’t sacrificed for any sort of theme.
Avalon Okpe direct the music video with a school setting that asides hinting at the song’s target audience, allows Cuppy play dress up as a cheerful school girl.
You can watch the video for “Charged Up” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/MasterkraftVEVO
This post was updated to accommodate the recently released music video*
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Despite being a brilliant Afropop song, the success of Naira Marley’s “Issa Goal” has largely been credited to the World Cup season and the star power of Olamide and Lil Kesh. For his new single, “Japa”, he discards the braces, allowing him to take the glory for himself as he delivers another Afropop number for dancefloor fascination.
Inspired by the recent events in Nigeria, Naira Marley sings over a mid-tempo beat showing a consistency with trendy Nigerian lingo and making dance music. He also interpolates Adewale Ayuba’s lyrics from the 90s to speak on the recent insurgency at the over-policing of youth in the country as he sings, “If You Want To Fire Me, Fire Me Make I Die/ I Will Never Follow You To That Station”. However, the music video for “Japa” takes a more foreign direction as it is set in the UK, where Naira Marley is shown in a goofy chase with the police.
You can watch the music video for “Japa” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Naira Marley
*This post has been updated for the music video
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In case you don’t already know, global media is calling this era a renaissance for African pop culture and things are only getting better. Take for example, this simple yet compelling music video for “To The Max”, a single released by Drake-collaborator, Nana Rogues back in August to very little fanfare. But the newly released minimalist and colourful music video is set to capture more audiences and perhaps elevate the song to sleeper-hit status.
For most of the video, the trio are shown delivering their ghostly ballad against a minimalist backdrop of the “Hotline Bling” inspired set designer. But while the video also features cuts of women in all black dancing, the ever smooth Shaku dance move rescues Wizkid and Not3s from imitating Drake’s embarrassing dance moves. Despite being just a tad bit derivative, the Silent Tapes-directed music video for “To The Max” is thematically apt as it depicts the song’s breezy mid-tempo harmonies and the catchy Afropop bounce through the oceanic imagery and well-choreographed dance routines.
You can watch the music video for “To The Max” by Nana Rogues featuring Wizkid and Not3s below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/NanaRogues
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The love affair between Wizkid and Tiwa Savage may have hit an abrupt snag with the release of D’banj’s new single, “Shake It”. The raunchy vibe she evoked during her cameo in the music video for Wizkid’s “Fever” had most people convinced she and Wizkid were an item, but the equally convincing partnership with D’banj on his new single might actually break the spell blinding fans from the simple fact that music video’s are typically more performative than real.
Spellz produces “Shake It”‘s catchy mid-tempo beat with just enough spunk and flair for D’banj to do what he does better than anyone else in Afropop; be a sexually positive man in 2018. And with a responsive verse from Tiwa Savage to stoke the flames, “Shake It” instantly listens like a classic from a time when things were simpler and the word ‘Cringe’ wasn’t such the buzz word it is today. Sesan directs the music video with similar intentions with a retro theme that highlights D’banj’s fashionable sensibilities and captures the eternal youth of Tiwa Savage’s romantic life.
You can watch the music video for D’banj and Tiwa’s “Shake It” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/DbanjVEVO
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Duncan Mighty is responsible for some of the most distinctive highlife melodies we’ve heard in recent years. Either through his own hit singles or the numerous sample references from Davido and Tekno, his signature mid-tempo guitar led harmonies dominated the sound space for the most part of this year. However, on his latest single, “MiekeRasSo”, he reminds fans—and the new audience that came with the hype off Wizkid assisted “Fake Love”—that he is more than a one trick pony.
“MiekeRasSo” is produced by Spellz and his blend of Caribbean influenced guitar riffs with a synth backdrop and percussion harmonies leans away from the highlife sound that has defined Duncan Mighty’s music. But his smooth vocals, caressing the soft guitar harmonies, match the more accessible Caribbean harmonies with expert precision. His pseudo-romantic lyrics, addressed at a particularly attractive fan tells a fascinating story, but it’s his catchy melodies that charm the heart.
You can stream Duncan Mighty’s “MiekeRasSo” below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/duncanmighty
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If 2018 were a benchmark year for popular music in Nigeria, Davido has had a pretty good run at being one of the most prolific artists of the time. Skales whose new superpower appears to be keeping an eye out for good collaborations features Davido on his new single ‘Currency‘.
“Currency”, produced by Princeton is your regular pop song with its entire premise is the availability of funds in the artist’s pocket is sold on a catchy hook and Davido’s more believable verse. The video, directed by Bash EM panders to the pedestrian idea of what a life of luxury looks like (no surprise there). Bright lights intermittently illuminate the prosaic mix of scantily dressed women and loads of money.
After releasing her ‘This is Me’album debut a year ago, Niniola has continued to build on her reputation as the life of the Afro-house party, putting out subsequent single releases to keep things interesting in the Afro-house scene. She got back to her sexually mischievous ways for “Bana”, released in September and has now followed up with the release of the music video directed by Clarence Peters.
Over the length of her career, Niniola’s music videos have set some modern guidelines of its own, offering a never-ending succession of GIF-able tableaus, color-coordinated outfits, and highly stylized dances. Her video for “Bana” has all of those same qualities with the colorful and flower decorated set design and well choreographed positioning and movements from the entire cast of the video. Singing “Banana to ni pon ni”, her sexual lyrics mean the more violent shaku dance can be put to good use conveniently while also showing off her love interest’s baby-oiled chest. The video has enough aesthetic precision to mirror the sexual intentions of a song to obsessive extremes without damning the innocence of younger audiences.
Watch the music video for “Bana” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/officialNiniola
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Mr Eazi’s strategy has been clear since the singer toured the world last year with Lagos to Accra, performing small to medium scale venues in Europe and America. His third project, ‘Life is Eazi Vol.2 – Lagos to London’ is celebration of his growth to global renown since his last project, ‘Lagos to Accra’. The Banku music singer has made his rounds around the globe, preaching his ‘Life is Eazi’ gospel through his world tour and international collaboration with artists like Major Lazer and Riton.
‘Life is Eazi Vol.2 – Lagos to London’ is a new chapter in Mr Eazi’s ‘Life is Eazi’ adventures, a linear continuation of the story that began in his last project. Lagos to Accra was built around his success in Ghana despite being Nigerian, life is still easy but a lot has happened in between, and this has already reflected in the new project’s marketing. Earlier today the singer posted the picture of a red London bus, branded black and yellow like Lagos Danfo, a YouTube sponsored ad for his new project. This is a strong signal of how Mr Eazi has taken advantage of the digital era for global music he has found himself since his SoundCloud days.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp7SLErnlsa/
‘Lagos to London’ is a 13-track tape that takes listeners through Mr Eazi’s diverse sonic palette, fusing Afropop, highlife, Reggae, dancehall, disco-pop and even hip-hop. He pulls off this heterogeneous sound through a wide array of guest features from 2Baba, Burna Boy, Giggs, Mi Casa, Slim Case and others, as well as productions from the top beat makers Africa and Europe have to offer. With Simi’s songwriting credits, you can expect to hear traces of her romantic sentiments on the project.
Though Mr Eazi already debuted the music videos of tracks from the project, he unveiled ‘Lagos to London’ with the music video for “Chicken Curry”. The video is set in London but also has some Indian influences portrayed through dancers and a cameo from internet sensation, Just Sul. Mornix directs the gleeful music video that ends in a playful dance-off between the Africans and Indians.
You can watch the music video for “Chicken Curry” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Mr Eazi
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If there’s any common denominator that stretches across the expanse of Idris King’s music, it’s his knack for idyllic imagery. “You’re Looking Jiggy in Person. I’m Idris King, Nice to Meet Ya” is the type of phrasing that could seem overly simplistic or trite in clumsier hands, but not in the soulful way Idris King does it on “Jiggy”. The self-directed music video for “Jiggy” serves as one of the most striking, though not unexpected, videos he’s put out in a long time.
The video visually expands on the track’s lyrical themes with his attempt to woo a love interest (played by filmmaker, Ifeoma Chukwuogo) via a televised appearance on a TV screen featuring in true inception fashion. We watch the video escalate from sweetly romantic to violent when he sings, “I Don’t Play with the Cash” and proceeds to beat up a midget with his gang. But even his gun wielding gang roughing up a midget can’t save Idris King from his delightful ways as it all ends in a party.
Watch the music video for “Jiggy” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Idris King
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PatricKxxLee has maintained a more cordial relationship with his fans than most artists can pull off. While on a radio show earlier this month, fans called in to thank him for his inspiring and helping them get through their depression with his emo-confessional releases. However, the Zambian artist has held back on the release of his promised album, ‘Nowhere Child’, saying, “I Make Music for You and I Don’t Want to Give You Anything But the Best.”
PatricKxxLee teased the tracklist on his Instagram last month with a picture, wearing in a white Tshirt that advertised the 12-track album. His quot read “#NowhereChild Tracklist out & merch loading | HMU in the DMs for pre-orders”. After months of waiting, he has finally announced ‘Nowhere Child’ will be released on the 29th of November on Soundcloud and the 30th for other digital platforms.
You can see the post along with the full tracklist for ‘Nowhere Child’ below.
The young Nigerian producer-rapper makes a triumphant return with a sprawling, independent short film.
DAP the Contract is playing the long game, and it seems to be paying off.
In the last two years, he has shown an admirable work-rate, with a steady stream of releases, including hisTwo Roads EP last year and his impressive summer series of Contract Thursdays.This is not to mention his production credits on the Ajebutter22 album What Happens In Lagos, and his MVP-showing on the title-track to Odunsi The Engine’s rare.But on Everybody Falls In The Summer, something is markedly different. In the fully independently-shot and produced visual album, he sounds laser-focused: his rapping is tighter, he is showcasing more of his vocal range in his singing, and as always: the beats are one of a kind.
He more or less tells The NATIVE just this via email:
“While I really appreciate Two Roads and Contract Thursdays…in hindsight that now looks like a transitionary period. As I say on track 2 (the first substantive track on the album), “swear now I’m feeling like myself again, I’m feeling myself”. That’s what turning 25 felt like. That’s what earning my first check felt like. That’s what this album feels like. This is truly me. This is an honest representation of my truth as a young 25 year old black Nigerian man living in the privileged NY melting pot of so many different cultures, my fears, hopes, and dreams. “
The 16-minute long short film chronicles the upcoming trials on the mind of the young rapper: turning your hobbies into professions, finding true love and getting married, raising children. DAP feels these pressures vividly, as he takes watchers through the mind of a 25-year-old coming to grips with his responsibilities. Balancing back-to-back Ivy League education experiences with music has always been a large part of who he is as a person, and it’s no different in the inspiration behind this album.
Musically, DAP has been through the various different experiences, which may have turned some against the industry. Unreleased songs with Mark Ronson from Abbey Road, disappearing managers who promised the world and more, and everything in-between. DAP has channeled those energies into this short film.
Closing with the phenomenal “Vibrate”, with images that harken back to Outkast’s “Hey Ya”, DAP turns in his most impressive vocal performance of his short career thus far. A cry from the artist to the rest of his generation to put down their phones for a minute and enjoy the moment. It’s a thought he says dawned on him when contemplating raising his own children. “Conceptually and sonically, I wanted the album to feel like outdoors.” He tells The NATIVE exclusively. “I think that’s what I miss most from my childhood and what I think will be one of the greatest detriments to future generations because of technology, especially social media.”
DAP is reflective but not preachy, and this visual albums showcases an artist that has truly found his pocket. So far, his music career has been consistent but perhaps not in overdrive – and DAP wants this album to connect with both old fans and new.
“This album is for old fans to realise that we grow and change and see different thing sin life that shape how we perceive the world and perceive ourselves, but is also the perfect introduction to me as an artist because it covers my entire personality. It is an album for Everybody.”
DAP has worked in silence, but consistently and powerfully. Now, he’s ready to make some noise.
You can watch Everybody Falls in the Summerexclusively on The NATIVE below.
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Prettyboy D-O released the cover art and tracklist for his coming project, ‘Everything Pretty’, on his Instagram earlier this week, a prelude to the release of the project today.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpz2m8Qlmmo/
The record features a collaboration with Sugabana on the track called “Terminate”, Santi on “Pull Up”, Escojay Luciano on “Rabba Man”, July Drama on “Pata Pata/ No Drama” and Falz on the album version of his pre-released single, “Chop Elbow”. ‘Everything Pretty’ is Prettyboy D-O’s debut project and boasts of 12 tracks with “Chop Elbow” and “Itty Bitty” being the lead singles.
Stream Everything Pretty here:
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/prettyboydo
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Off his forthcoming Run Forest, comes New World Ray’s latest single, “Infatuation” featuring rapper, Kida Kudz, whose latest single “Again” is already gaining steam. On “Infatuation”, New World Ray is unwilling to let go of a love without purpose despite his awareness of how unhealthy the relationship might be. After September’s bass-heavy self-motivational single “Get Right”, “Infatuation” is a welcome taste of what’s to come from New World Ray, melody-wise.
DJ Spinall just recently put out his 4th studio album, ‘Iyanu’, with high-profile guest features that builds on and creates a bigger version of the party-fueled music that has turned him into Afropop’s definitive DJ and music curator of the last four years. One of the album’s standout tracks, “Omoge” featuring Dotman celebrates the lavish lifestyle of successful artists as Dotman promises to spend money on dancers. The vibrant music video Mex Films directs with bright colored sets and models dressed in colorful attires to match the orange and yellow backdrops, adds depth to the concept of flashy show off. The colorful set, using a row of disposable cups is certainly one of the most creative use of props to embellish a beverage ad incentive music video in recent memory.
You can watch the video for “Omoge” by DJ Spinall and Dotman below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/DJSPINALLVEVO
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Sometimes collaborations inspire artists to push one another to new lyrical and sonic heights, and sometimes it’s just fun to hear people with clear chemistry go on cruise control and flex a little. “Looking For You” by DJ Kentalky falls more in the latter camp, as the trio of Skales, Yemi Alade and Harrysong take turns stunting with impunity. DJ Kentalky sets all three artists lose on the mellow DXL produced beat with Caribbean and Reggae influences. While Harrysong takes the first verse and chorus bragging about the potency of his songs on dancefloors, Skales admits he just enjoys making music and Yemi Alade embodies both sentiments as she performs a fun verse where she flaunts her skill while having a good time, interpolating Speed Darlington’s “Bang Dang Bang Dan”.
“Looking for Me” saves fans the stress of imagining what a team up of Skales, Yemi Alade and Harrysong would listen like. You can stream “Looking For Me” below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/djkentalky
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Bisa Kdei’s album ‘Highlife Konnect album’, created a web of varying sounds, all pointing back to his indigenous highlife influences. And though he was assisted by his mix of Nigerian and Ghanaian guest features, “Pocket” stood out of the 15-track project for its gripping story on the turbulent climb to fame. In classic Bisa Kdei style, the single is performed in a mix of English and Twi, leaving some of the story to the imagination of those hindered by the language barrier. However, the recently released video fills out whatever gap left by the song.
The video opens in a support group setting where Bisa Kdei explains how “The bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us”. The rest of the video however follows the tale of a boy who has a rough childhood, discovers his talent for singing but is surrounded by haters. While we watch the boy’s growth, the video also offers clips of Bisa Kdei and featured artist, Sarkodie, performing their lyrics at convenient intervals. The boy’s talent is eventually discovered by a talent scout and the video ends with him driving through his old neighborhood in a fancy car and gives money to his seemingly unproductive haters.
You can watch the video for “Pocket” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/BisaKdeiOfficial
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Fuse ODG earned cross-continental acclaim off of his “Azonto” hit single and has since continued to release music for his culturally aware fanbase. He announced earlier this year that his coming album will be called ‘New African Nation’, offering hints to the album’s direction. And with the release of the album’s lead single, “Bra Fie”, featuring Damian Marley, he seems set to contribute to the social political discuss on slavery. “Bra Fie” which translates in the Ghanaian language, ‘Twi’, as “Come Home” is delivered as a message for the diaspora African community.
Singing “African Man in England/ Don’t Forget Where You’re From” over the Afrobeat-inspired beat, he speaks to those struggling with the loss of their identity and subjugation in a foreign land. Damian Marley contributes a verse to help emphasize the message and the video offers a visual reflection of the timelines of black history from the slave trade era to the current racial discrimination Africans face in Europe and America.
You can watch the video for “Bra Fie” here.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/OffDaGroundTV
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Just weeks after featuring the La Meme Gang for his ghostly, “Homicide” single released last month, Sarkodie is returning the favor with his feature on the Ghanaian hip-music group’s new single, “Know Me”. Though Nova’s eerie synth production served as the highlight for the group on “Homicide”, their new single highlights the depth of talents in the group.
$pacely’s baritone on the song’s hook establishes the offensive direction of the “Know Me”, saying “Now You Don’ Switched Up, Niggas Acting Like They Know Me”. Kiddblack, KwakuBs, Darkovibes and RJZ also contribute their verses, bragging about their growing prominence and the verse from Sarkodie slinks in, authenticating their claims.
You can stream La Meme Gang and Sarkodie’s “Know Me” below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/lamemegram
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After the success of their collaboration on “Said”, it was only a matter of time before fans began asking for more features from the two artists and they teased snippets of “No Permission”. They have finally released the official single as Runtown’s debut under his Soundgod producer tag moniker. But unlike the more bubblegum pop intentions of “Said” single, “No Permission” shows off the dynamic sound of Afropop while also highlighting how Runtown is on the brink of successfully manoeuvring around whatever contractual obligations his former label still has on him.
The problems between Runtown and his former label, Eric Many reached its peak when the label demanded the arrest of the singer for colluding with his manager to scheme off performance fees among other revenues sources without the label’s knowledge. Though Runtown seems ready to leave the issue in the past with ‘Sound God Music Group’, the reoccurring nature of the dispute has him taking preemptive measures to ensure his releases are free from the label’s claims. The convenient switch to releasing his new song under his popular Soundgod pseudo-name will let him keep his reputation as Runtown without contending its ownership with Eric Manny.
As if pulling off the career heist wasn’t enough, Runtown also manages to embody Afropop’s dynamic interpolation of American pop by casually adopting hip-hop’s braggadocios with his Nigerian quirks and accent. After becoming a household name off of his sweetly romantic “Mad Over You”, released a year ago, cockily rapping “Going Kamikaze on These Muderfuckers/ You Don’t Have to Like Me/ Nigga, I Excite me/ Go the Extra Mile for my Fucking Money” lyrics on “No Permission” shows hip-hop’s dominance on international music chart has influenced Afropop.
Though Non-African artists get accused of culture appropriation whenever they explore dancehall and Afropop, Afropop has always been inspired by the global pop sound since we ditched live recorded music and discovered electronic music production. Artists have always adopted the prevailing template of commercial-yet-indigenous sound with the synth-based production fueling Afropop through the R&B inspired P Square era, D’Banj’s venture into EDM, and Wizkid’s Caribbean inclined melodies. It guaranteed a wider appeal for artists, telling their Nigerian stories through the internationally acclaimed sound.
But rather than attempt to follow in the path of Wizkid and Burna Boy’s EDM, Caribbean and Reggae influences, Runtown is turning his attention to hip-hop with the genre’s recent dominance in music conversations around the world. And though it’s not the first time a Nigerian artist is delving into hip-hop, Runtown’s stubborn retention of his Nigerian cadence while rapping over the trap beat is what makes the vague religiosity of the chorus, “Sold a Million So They Said I Sold my Soul”, an ideal blend of Nigerian quirks and the biggest genre in the world.
Hip-hop has evolved through DJ sets to auto-tune, trap music which initially felt like gimmicks forever on the brink of falling from public rotation. But rather than fade into obscurity, these sounds have become more entrenched in the mainstream soundscape. Runtown’s dexterity with neo-highlife and hip-hop might birth a whole new era of Afropop. He has certainly proven his international pedigree since he was announced to be working with Rihanna on her coming project, ‘#R9’. The cosign from an international celebrity like Rihanna, tracing over his hip-hop fueled Afropop verse might give the sound global penetration and even staying power.
Some might take “No Permission” as yet another example of the potent Midas-touch of Runtown and Nasty C’s collaboration because it is, but it also serves as a marker of the prevailing sound of hip-hop and it’s commercial potential in the hands of Nigerians pop artists like Runtown. With the genre modulations we’ve experienced over the years, we’d hear songs that don’t sound like anything we know, but are inspired by everything we’ve known.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Runtown
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