Etana Drops Fire Collab ‘Proppa’ With Stonebwoy, Teases Another With Vybz Kartel
Reggae artist Etana has teamed up with Ghanian Afropop sensation Stonebwoy for her brand new single, Proppa. The single and lyric video dropped today via Etana’s record label, Freemind Music.
The Grammy nominee says that she is “locked and loaded” with even more new music, including a collab with the World Boss, Vybz Kartel himself, which will be released soon as the second single from her new album, Pamoja. “The song is a love song called All My Love with the Teacha himself, the World Boss on a sexy Afro pop rhythm. Trouble de de!” Etana said.
On Proppa, Etana, which means ‘Strong One’ in Swahili, says she was enthused about working with the Ghanaian superstar, Stonebwoy.
“I had met Stonebwoy a couple times, and the last time I was in Europe, I remember saying that ‘I liked his spirit, he’s real’ to my husband. So I had always wanted to do a song with him, so we reached out and when he got the track, he was ready, and we got back the track in less than a week, quick quick!” the 2018 Grammy-nominee said.
The song was mixed and mastered shortly thereafter and Stonebwoy gave it his stamp of approval. The club banger perfectly blends elements of Dancehall and Afrobeats to create a sexy scorcher to thaw out fans in what has been a chilly winter.
“Working with IGAD Stonebwoy was cool, I love his energy! I also feel the love from Bhim Nation on this one! Sending my love straight out to you all,” she said.
The song was instantly added to DJ playlists around the globe, and both stars are now preparing to release the official video for Proppa in the days ahead.
“I wanted to shoot the video in Ghana but when I reached out to him, he said he was in New York, so we flew there in the middle of the pandemic, and the directors rented a venue where we had to have temperature checks, we had to wear things on our feet inside the venue, the makeup artiste had her own room, the artistes had their own rooms and the director had to have his own room. We were very careful but we made it fun and knocked it out,” Etana said.
Proppa serves as the lead single for Etana’s upcoming eighth studio album, Pamoja (Swahili for ‘together’) due for release this spring.
“The concept for the album is that I am trying to bring all African people together, to bridge the gap across the diaspora, to encourage unity, and keep the black African family together,” she said.
Last year, Etana released her Gemini album in a year that was largely decimated by COVID-19.
“The album had three top ten songs in iTunes charts worldwide with songs like Truly, Bubble and Hundred on the Highway; and the album is doing well, still streaming,” she said.
The Strong One took full advantage of her hiatus to shore up her business interests and broker new deals.
“I used the time off during the COVID-19 pandemic to close deals and to set things straight in terms of business and to do great music. I think that when things return to normal, and they open the world for business, and shows start again, I will have a lot of things to do because I have a lot of well-produced music,” she said.