Music

Kygo

Whether behind the piano in his studio or headlining a sold-out festival, Kygo quietly reaffirms his status as a prodigious talent, forward-thinking producer, dynamic DJ, and influential global superstar. The Norwegian musician born Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll first introduced himself in 2013 and quietly became one of the most ubiquitous hitmakers in the world while emerging as Spotify’s “Breakout Artist of 2015.” “Firestone” ft. Conrad Sewell and “Stole the Show” ft. Parson James help cement Kygo as “the fastest artist to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify.” In the wake of his chart-topping 2016 full- length debut Cloud Nine, he delivered memorable performances on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Plus, he notably performed “Carry Me” during the Closing Ceremony of the Rio Olympics. In 2017, he earned one of his biggest hits with the multiplatinum “It Ain’t Me” [feat. Selena Gomez], going Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and clocking nearly 1 billion Spotify streams. He maintained his momentum on the Stargazing EP and second album, Kids In Love. The ensuing Kids In Love Tour canvased four continents and sold out arenas. In 2019, Kygo unleashed “Higher Love” with Whitney Houston and generated another 1 billion combined streams and views in addition to leaving his imprint on a classic. He heralded his 2020 third full-length album Golden Hour with the anthems “Like It Is” and “I’ll Wait.”

Alone

Song · Alan Walker

Dhun (From "Saiyaara")

Song · Mithoon, Arijit Singh

Die Antwoord

Emerging from Cape Town, South Africa, the electronic hip-hop duo Die Antwoord struck Internet viral gold with their video hit "Enter the Ninja," but they're really conceptual artists <a href="spotify:artist:6j9tBH5lAmxHPGEwPMlEEG">Watkin Tudor Jones</a> and Yo-Landi Vi$$er presenting their "inner zef." Before assuming the roles of <a href="spotify:artist:6j9tBH5lAmxHPGEwPMlEEG">Ninja</a> and Yo-Landi for Die Antwoord, the two were involved with satirical projects like <a href="spotify:artist:6klB70v9fPkNc3IKDORAW7">MaxNormal.TV</a> -- which saw them wearing three-piece business suits and delivering motivational hip-hop -- and the Constructus Corporation: a hip-hop fantasy group based around a comic book called the Ziggurat. The idea for a more vulgar rave-rap group began in 2008, but it wasn’t until a year later that Die Antwoord -- which is Afrikaans for "The Answer" -- began playing live. Their early stage shows were outrageous, with Yo-Landi baiting and flipping off the audience, while <a href="spotify:artist:6j9tBH5lAmxHPGEwPMlEEG">Ninja</a> rapped and danced, wearing only his trademark Dark Side of the Moon boxer shorts. That same year they recorded their debut album, SOS, and introduced "Zef," which fused hip-hop, electro, and rave music. A year later, the videos they created for the tracks "Zef Side" and "Enter the Ninja" became viral hits. The latter featured Leon Botha, an experimental South African artist and one of the world’s oldest survivors of the premature aging disease progeria, who appeared as the group's DJ. "Enter the Ninja" cracked the British Top 40, and major-label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Interscope%22">Interscope</a> soon signed the group and released their 5 EP in July of 2010. That October, the label released a revised SOS with a world tour following. The group left <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Interscope%22">Interscope</a> the next year when the two parties couldn't come to terms on their next album's lead single. Left to their own devices, Die Antwoord chose "Fok Julle Naaiers" to lead up to their sophomore album, released by their own <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Zef+Recordz%22">Zef Recordz</a> and distributed by the <a href="spotify:artist:5fMUXHkw8R8eOP2RNVYEZX">Diplo</a>-associated imprint <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Downtown%22">Downtown</a>. The year 2012 saw the release of the non-album single 'XP€N$IV $H1T," while the singles "Cookie Thumper!" and "Pitbull Terrier" landed on their 2014 album Donker Mag, which topped the Billboard Dance chart and peaked at number 37 on the Top 200. The duo returned in 2016 with Suck on This, a mixtape intended as an appetizer for their then-titled LP We Have Candy. Featuring production by <a href="spotify:artist:4P0dddbxPil35MNN9G2MEX">Cypress Hill</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:7pDkjftAxiFHomWsPNkapS">DJ Muggs</a>, G.O.D. (aka DJ Hi-Tek), and the Black Goat, Suck on This included the single "Bum Bum" and the rave-house "Gucci Coochie" with <a href="spotify:artist:5p2DOkwlRuUgPuHNUp9ZKz">Dita Von Teese</a>. Later that year, they released Mount Ninji and Da Nice Time Kid, their fourth full-length. With production from G.O.D. and the Black Goat, the LP featured appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:4P0dddbxPil35MNN9G2MEX">Cypress Hill</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:5CjSfZN385ZURm90nUeGsN">Sen Dog</a>, Lil' Tommy Terror, and <a href="spotify:artist:0qpMYTgbXRi1ZcX6vend3T">Jack Black</a>. ~ David Jeffries & Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi