KiDi signs major label deal with Universal Music Africa

KiDi, the Accra-born singer whose blend of highlife, Afropop and R&B has made him one of West Africa’s most commercially consistent artists, has signed a strategic partnership deal with Universal Music Africa that will see the major label handle global distribution, marketing and touring support for his future releases.nnThe deal, announced jointly on Tuesday, covers three studio albums and makes KiDi the second Ghanaian artist on Universal Music Africa’s roster after Sarkodie’s affiliate deal signed in 2024. Financial terms were not disclosed.nn”This is not about giving up control. I retain full creative ownership of my work,” KiDi said at a press conference in Accra. “This partnership gives me the infrastructure to reach audiences in markets where I know the music would connect but where I couldn’t build the relationships on my own.”nnUniversal Music Africa CEO Sipho Dlamini said KiDi’s work occupied an important space in the African pop landscape. “He has shown consistent ability to evolve — from ‘Say Cheese’ to ‘Touch It’ to his most recent material — without losing the audience he built. That is rare.”nnThe singer’s 2025 album Gold garnered over 300 million streams on Boomplay and Spotify combined and won Album of the Year at the 3Music Awards. His collaboration with Cameroonian artist Blanche Bailly, “Tomorrow,” topped pan-African radio charts for eleven weeks.nnKiDi’s next single, produced in Los Angeles with Afrobeats producers P2J and Killertunes, is set for release in October ahead of an album expected in the first quarter of 2027.