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Toya Delazy - Due Drop

Highly acclaimed new SA artist Toya Delazy's debut album, 'Due Drop', includes seven tracks produced by one of most the creative production forces in the SA music industry, Jax Panik; and a further three songs produced by exciting Joburg based production duo Octave Couplet. Due Drop also includes 'With You', a duet with local acapella sensations The Soil, as a bonus 'Intro' track to the album.

Based on the success of the album's first two singles 'Pump It On' and 'Love Is In the Air', 'Due Drop' looks set to raise the bar for locally produced albums.

Playlisted immediately on SA national youth station 5FM in October 2011, the gritty pop anthem 'Pump It On' has been added on all major SA radio formats, appealing to both urban and contemporary audiences, and broke new crossover ground when it was added to SA National Urban format station Metro FM. With over 1400 plays since its launch, 'Pump it On' quickly made its way into the Top 10 of both local and international chart shows, and continues to impact.

The impact 'Pump It On' has made at SA radio has been helped in part by the success of the music video - over 59 000 YouTube views and climbing. Conceptualized and shot by Star Productions - director Tristan Holmes and Producer Adam Thal - the video has taken South African music videos to the next level with high rotations on key Pan-African Music Channels Channel O, MTV Base & Trace TV.

Similarly, second single 'Love Is In the Air' climbed the 5FM Top40 and was added across regional radio country wide. The video went straight onto high level rotations on Channel O, MTV Base & Trace TV. Conceptualised and directed by Justine Puren for Velocity Films, the video captures the vibrant, colourful and youthful essence of the track.

Fans of the first two singles will not be disappointed with what 'Due Drop' offers musically. The powerful production and boisterous songwriting is a trademark throughout, with the gritty anthemia of 'Pump It On' referenced again in the rocking 'Heart' and the massively produced 'Yeah Hell Yeah (With You)'. The post-intro album opener 'Are You Gonna Stay?' is a personal introduction from the artist herself and 'Jai Lover' sees Delazy singing in isiZulu over a deep house groove. The moving ballads 'Love Takes Time' and 'Memoriam' remind listeners of the piano playing singer-songwriter Toya started out as and the Octave Couplet produced 'It's All Good' has definite hip-hop roots.

Says Toya: "I am ecstatic to finally be dropping an album...fans are in for a celebration, I can promise you a winning high with J.E.H.P. (Jazz Electro Hip Pop) - custom made to funk you from cradle to grave. It's about to get charming!"

The striking photographs that make up the album artwork were conceptualized and shot by acclaimed Joburg based photographer Ross Garrett. Most well known for his recent images of Die Antwoord, Garrett jumped at the opportunity to shoot Toya Delazy and created a visual aesthetic that perfectly matches the music and personality of the artist.

Signed to Sony Music Africa in 2011, the talented young singer-songwriter Toya Delazy trained as a jazz pianist but Toya's more recent influences lie somewhere between the more contemporary genres of Hip Hop, Electro, Dance, Alternative and Pop.

Toya describes the single 'Pump It On' as a representation of living "life in the fullest" and is "a message you can carry in your heart to push you through till the beat stops..." This is a philosophy that caught the attention of Reebok South Africa and Toya Delazy was named Reebok Brand Ambassador for 2012.

One of her break through moments of 2011 came in the form of a solo performance at the 2011 Africa Concert, filmed live in Johannesburg and broadcast across the continent. Toya's biggest live performance to date saw her share the stage with Baba Maal, Habib Koite, The Mohotela Queens & Tumi and The Volume. "It was an amazing moment in my life," she says "from the Winston Pub in Durban to an International stage. It felt priceless."