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UnitedMasters is partnering with Nigerian producer Sarz on his 1789 imprint that aims to discover, develop and empower the next generation of African artists and producers, Billboard can exclusively announce today (June 13).

Sarz (real name Osabuhoien Osaretin) has produced records for some of the biggest African artists, such as Wizkid, Burna Boy and Tiwa Savage, and is responsible for spreading the Afrobeats sound to the U.S. and U.K. charts with hits like Drake, Wizkid and Kyla‘s “One Dance,” which became the most-streamed song on Spotify in 2016, and Lojay and Sarz’s “Monalisa,” which received a Chris Brown remix and has amassed 297.3 million official global on-demand streams through June 8, according to Luminate. He also won the producer of the year award at The Headies last year.

LV N ATTN, the parent project of “Monalisa” that Lojay and Sarz released in 2021, as well as WurlD and Sarz’s I LOVE GIRLS WITH TROUBL from 2019 fall under Sarz’s 1789 imprint, which he established in 2018 to discover and develop African artists and producers. (It symbolizes his birthdate: March 17, 1989.) Now, UnitedMasters is coming in to amplify the work Sarz has already been doing by providing its cutting-edge label services and digital distribution technology.

“Sarz, for the last five years, has been developing some of the biggest producers on the continent that have gone on to produce for the Wizkid’s, the Burna’s, the Tems’, the Lojay’s, etc. We wanted to be able to say, ‘How do we add value to you guys and help give you resources so that way you can ultimately develop the talent on the ground?’” David Melhado, vp of music at UnitedMasters, tells Billboard. “You can see why he’s able to spot talent when you hang out with him. His energy is infectious. He’s just doing what he wishes he had. There’s something so powerful in that where he’s like, ‘I’m paying it forward to these producers.’ He’s really creating a movement.”

“I met with David and Julian McLean [director of producer relations/editorial at UnitedMasters], and it just felt right. I could tell we shared the same vision and we’re very passionate about emerging talent,” Sarz tells Billboard, adding that he hopes his new strategic partnership with UnitedMasters will bring “more opportunities to the continent, bring more opportunities to Afrobeats artists and producers globally. I hope to be the bridge between an emerging artist and everything they desire globally.”

Those signed to 1789 will be able to access “everything that you would get from a major label, from marketing to digital marketing to playlist pitching and, when the time is right, we can scale up and do radio campaigns,” says Melhado. He adds that the partnership will also provide artists and producers “transparency around the money they make” through UnitedMasters’ mobile app, where “they’ll be able to see their streams in real time,” as well as “brand partnerships with some of the world’s biggest brands [NBA, ESPN, WhatsApp], and they all have ambitions to be a part of the global music conversation.”

Adds Steve Stoute, UnitedMasters CEO/founder, in a statement: “We are extremely excited to be in partnership with Sarz and 1789. Sarz, a true hitmaker, has a keen ear for talent and has proven that he cares deeply about the artist development process. Our shared mission in supporting artists from Africa through education and resources will empower them to unlock their true potential.”

United Masters began discussing how to enter the African music conversation two years ago, when Stoute sent Melhado Billboard‘s 2021 feature on Wizkid following the global success of his Tems-assisted smash “Essence.” Melhado told Stoute, “‘When it’s time for us to go expand to Africa, I got a big network there.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, you should go in December,’” Melhado recalls with a chuckle. Melhado and McLean ended up traveling to Nigeria in December 2021, where the two were hosted by Melhado’s good friend Bizzle Osikoya, a Nigerian A&R expert and music executive who founded the talent management and music services company, The Plug. “We went out to really see what the culture was, the music, the food, the fashion, the art, and really engulf ourselves in the community there but really try to figure out, ‘Where can we add value?’ We didn’t want to just go to Africa and throw money at it. We wanted to not be opportunistic from a perspective of, ‘Let’s just go sign some artists,’ but we wanted to be able to make sure that we were going to be really impactful and additive to the music scene there. We wanted to be able to find the right partner, and that’s ultimately what we did with Sarz.”

In 2015, the 34-year-old producer founded The Sarz Academy, a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating African artists and producers and helping them launch successful careers. “I’ve always been passionate about helping people’s journeys, even unofficially I’ve mentored so many producers in the Afrobeats space before I thought about starting an academy,” he says. “It took me at least 10 years just grinding in the industry to find my position. And I thought, if I can mentor these guys, they could probably do it in two years or three years.” The academy’s esteemed alumni includes Kel-P, Legendury Beatz, P.Priime and Tempoe, who have gone on to work with Wizkid, Burna Boy, Rema, Fireboy DML, CKay, Angélique Kidjo and Teni, among many others. “I plan to break out of Africa. I am doing it for global Afro music,” P.Priime, a 2018 graduate of The Sarz Academy, told Billboard in 2020. Two years later, he was a part of the #YouTubeBlack Voices Songwriter & Producer Class of 2022 and earned credits on Wizkid’s Made in Lagos deluxe album that went on to receive a 2022 Grammy nomination for best global music album. Another 2018 graduate, Tempoe, went onto produce CKay’s “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)” the following year, which has since garnered 2.46 billion official global on-demand streams and spent two weeks at No. 1 on Rhythmic Airplay.

After meeting Sarz through their mutual friend Osikoya in March 2022, Melhado and McLean traveled back to Nigeria this past October to witness The Sarz Academy firsthand. “He had producers and artists from all over Nigeria. There were artists that flew in from London, from Costa Rica, to Nigerians who came from Canada to be a part of this experience. They all lived in a house. And they just created some of the most amazing music that I’ve heard in a long time. The collaboration, the desire to get on, the hunger — all these kids had that. It was inspiring overall,” says Melhado. “At that moment, I knew that we had the right partnership and the right partner.”

Sarz says the music coming out of last year’s Sarz Academy will be compiled into an album that will be released next month. Three singles — “Jam One Kele” by Sarz, Millymay_pod, Gimba and Fxrtune; “Good to Me” by Sarz, Perfext and Gimba; and “Body Wicked” by Sarz and Millymay_pod — have already been packaged as The Sarz Academy Presents: Memories That Last Forever 2 and released under 1789 and UnitedMasters on DSPs last week. One of the artists, Gimba, was also recently featured on the single “Blessings” with DJ Tunez and Wizkid.

UnitedMasters’ partnership with Sarz includes supporting his endeavors at The Sarz Academy, as education is one of the company’s core missions, according to Melhado. “We didn’t just come into the business trying to tell everybody they needed to be independent. We had to walk them through what it is like to be independent, and for artists on the [African] continent, we want to be able to help artists with those tools and educate them,” he explains. “Our ambition is to be able to support these artists, see them at the beginning of their career and ultimately take them to global superstardom.”

To kick off 2023, Billboard launched a new, monthly Afrobeats column to keep you up to speed with the fast-rising stars coming out of the African continent and soaring across the globe. Burna Boy, Tems and Rema performing at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game halftime show in Salt Lake City, Utah this past weekend is proof that African artists will only continue to expand beyond their borders and push beyond Afrobeats’ traditional boundaries — incorporating hip-hop, amapiano, R&B, jazz, soul and just about everything else into a melting pot that, for lack of a better overarching term, we’ll still refer to as Afrobeats.

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We’ve highlighted 10 of our favorite new Afrobeats (and related) songs that’ve come out within the last month. Love’s certainly in the air this season, from Pheelz’s feel-good, romantic jam “Pheelz Like Summer” to Khaid’s sweet ode “Jolie,” and decisions on what to include or not have been particularly tough — Rema, for example, just dropped two new tracks, though neither made the list here. Check out our Fresh Picks, and don’t forget to tap into our Spotify playlist below so you can catch a vibe with us.

Tyla, “Been Thinking”

Epic’s latest signee Tyla clearly has love on the brain, as evidenced by her latest single “Been Thinking.” The 21-year-old singer’s otherworldly pop and R&B sensibilities blend with her native South African amapiano in this slinky earworm that’ll have you wishing you were grinding on the love of your life in the middle of the dance floor before going home with them. “I’m just praying that [African music] keeps going the way it’s going. I feel like all eyes are on us right now,” Tyla told Billboard earlier at the Recording Academy Honors Black Music Collective event. “It’s a huge opportunity for us to now take it and run with it. We’ve been wanting this for a long time, so it’s about time.”  

Pheelz, “Pheelz Like Summer”

Fresh off the success of his single “Finesse,” Pheelz delivers his Warner Records debut EP Pheelz Good, which is precisely how it makes you pheel. On the highlight track “Pheelz Like Summer,” the award-winning Nigerian producer-turned-singer gushes over a girl whose radiant smile makes him feel so warm inside that it reminds him of summer – even if it’s still only February. The sensual sax intro and buoyant beats evoke the warmer season, while Pheelz ushers in a season of love every time he coos, “Ooh-ooh-ooh/ Ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh.”

Stonebwoy, “More Of You”

Def Jam’s latest signee Stonebwoy begs his girl to give him “More of You” in his sultry latest single. The Ghanaian Afropop/reggae artist clearly can’t get enough of her, pleading with her to dance with him to a spellbinding rhythm – courtesy of Grammy-nominated producer Supa Dups – that we can’t get enough of. Ultimately, Stonebwoy becomes so mesmerized by her beauty in the animated visual that he succumbs to her like the Biblical forbidden fruit and ends up naked in a garden like Eden.

Tayc, “Success”

The Cameroonian-French crooner makes listeners swoon with dreamy scenarios and explicit rendezvous details that just roll off the tip of his French mother tongue with his latest album, ROOM 96. On the highlight “Success,” Tayc reflects on a woman who can’t handle his success and its side effects (like extra eyes on her), continuing to assuage her with sweet nothings that’ll make anyone’s ears tingle. Yet the ultra-sexy production of “Success” glosses over Tayc’s biting outro: “You’re just not ready for this, you should let me know/ ‘Cause, um, basically my life ain’t gonna change for you/ I, I love my life/ I love my place and I’m not gonna move anything for anybody.”

Michaël Brun feat. Oxlade, “Clueless”

Haitian DJ/producer Michaël Brun teams up with the “KU LO SA” Nigerian singer on the infectious Carribbean-Afro-fusion collaboration “Clueless.” Oxlade delivers a chant-worthy chorus with his enunciation of the track’s title, while he toys with the idea of loving a girl who’s equally his “antidote and poison” over Brun’s laidback beats. “Working with Oxlade was such an honor,” Brun says in a press release. “The operatic elements of his voice and the ways in which he uses harmonies and layers are what make Oxlade who he is — a true legend.”  

Asake, “Yoga”

Asake has been on a heater for almost a year now, peaking with his debut album Mr. Money With the Vibe last September — and he hasn’t slowed down his output since, with “Yoga” his latest single to make waves. There’s a comfortable, soothing vibe to the track that comes across in his vocals and belies the lyrics, which stress the need to protect against things that will disrupt your peace — and the hook is a balm to alleviate such stresses. “Yoga” is the calm in the midst of a firestorm, a perfect song for imperfect times.

Khaid, “Jolie”

More than a simple love song, “Jolie” has melodies that pile on top of each other to get stuck in the mind and get stronger as the track goes on. Relatively new to the game — his first project of any kind was a six-song EP from last year, titled DIVERSITY — Khaid is still a teenager, and still developing as an artist, but “Jolie” shows there’s a lot of promise and talent that’s already there, with a world of possibility ahead of him.

Spinall feat. BNXN & Stefflon Don, “Oshey”

First things first — this DJ Spinall album has been spinning out phenomenal singles for about a year now, including his collaborations with Adekunle Gold (“Cloud 9”) and Asake (“Palazzo”), both of which initially came out last year. Now that the full project, titled Top Boy, was released Feb. 17, there’s more to dig into, with this collaboration with BNXN and Stefflon Don a particular highlight, showcasing all the different styles that weld together this diverse and compelling project. (But seriously, listen to “Cloud 9” and thank us later.)

BNXN, Kizz Daniel & Seyi Vibez, “GWAGWALADA”

A reference to an area of Nigeria, “GWAGWALADA” brings together three of the most intriguing Afrobeats artists from the country in BNXN, Kizz Daniel and Seyi Vibez, each bringing their distinctive vocals and styles to mesh seamlessly over the laid back, feel-good production by Sarz. BNXN has thrived in the last few years via collaborations with the likes of Wizkid, Burna Boy and Pheelz, and “GWAGWALADA” adds another flawless team-up to his growing discography.

Young Jonn feat. Olamide, “Currency”

Young Jonn has stepped beyond his producer title and has been dropping a series of infectious singles of late; “Xtra Cool,” released last October, probably should have been in this column last month, but “Currency” is another worthy entry. Longtime collaborator Olamide comes through to switch up the vibe, but it’s all additive, making this another insistent earworm of a record.