Apple Music on 3rd September 2021, announced the latest featured artist in its Africa Rising artist development program as 19-year-old Kenyan-born pop singer-songwriter, Nikita Kering’. She is the first Africa Rising artist from East Africa.
As the youngest ever nominee, winner and performer at The All-Africa Music Awards in Lagos, Nikita’s noteworthy accolades include being named Afrima Revelation of the African Continent (2019) and Afrima Best Female Artist in Eastern Africa (2019), as well as being included in Mr. Eazi’s Empawa Africa Top 10 artist program.
"I'm so excited for this new chapter! I’ve always wanted to stand out in Africa and the world as a whole, so being selected as Apple Music’s newest Africa Rising artist is definitely an awesome start. I can't wait to see what's next.” she said.
Having been featured in over 100 TV and radio shows, including a prominent feature on The BBC when she was 16, Nikita’s ultimate dream is to build a Talent Academy in Kenya for disadvantaged African children.
Her debut 7-track EP A Side Of Me (2021), available to stream on Apple Music, was arranged by Nikita herself, as she lyrically broaches universally relatable themes by attempting to put herself in her listeners’ shoes.
Capitalizing on the enormous success of her single “Ex” (2021), A Side Of Me is the songstress revealing a lesser-known part of herself to her audience so they can better identify with her, a theme she’s championed since the release of her debut ballad “Happy With You” (2018).
The latest music from Nikita along with that of Africa’s hottest new artists, is available now on the Apple Music Africa Rising Playlist Africa Rising Playlist.
And she also part of the Soul September Campaign.
Nikita Kering’ Tells Apple Music about performing at such a young age "“It's been cool. It's definitely been a lot of fun and I've been geeking all over of it. I think all I'm doing is just trying to learn as much as possible from the experiences that I have and to just try as much as possible to keep growing as an artist through those experiences.”
Nikita Kering’ Tells Apple Music about what encouraged her to start singing "“My folks did. My mom was a big part of that as I was growing up. My mom didn't get to do what she wanted to do when she was younger. And so, I guess when she got a child who could sing, she was like, "Do it." And yeah, they ended up supporting me through it. There's no one else who's musical in the house, maybe my brother a bit, but no one else sings. So, I think this was also a new thing for them. We were all guessing through it. And we are still guessing through it. And I guess it's working out. So, I just keep praying. That's the why it's working out.”
