New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Breaking out in hip-hop is hard. It means countless hours grinding in your basement studio, creating fire beats and perfecting your signature flow. It's not just some hardest-working-artist hyperbole, it's fact. AXE understands this and has teamed up with SoundCloud - the world's largest, open audio platform - and artists
Lil Yachty and Zaytoven to launch AXE the LABEL, giving emerging rappers and producers an opportunity to co-create with Yachty and Zay and rise from anonymity to stardom.
AXE the LABEL is the newest project from AXE, and the first in the U.S. under the new AXE
Music platform that brings to life a long history of investing in aspiring artists who pour their hearts and souls into expressing themselves through music.
The first-of-its-kind contest, which allows for two phases of collaboration directly on SoundCloud, kicks off October 1 with the release of a new "ANARCHY" track from Yachty. Visit AXEtheLABEL.SoundCloud.com to hear the track, learn more details, and submit your best work.
"The old way of coming up in the game is over," said Lil Yachty. "If you got the talent and the drive, there are ways to get noticed. True music fans are on that platform, cause that's where the new wave lives. I got on when 'One Night' blew up on SoundCloud. Someone heard my track, used it in a meme and I haven't looked back. So to continue my partnership with AXE and take it back to SoundCloud is like a homecoming."
Phase 1 of the contest (running October 1 - October 28): Fans can enter for a chance to win the first phase of the contest by submitting their best lyrics for the hook of Lil Yachty's newest track "ANARCHY" using the SoundCloud commenting feature. One winner will be chosen by
Lil Yachty and will receive a co-writing credit on his track.
Phase 2 of the contest (running October 29 - November 16): GRAMMY-award winning producer Zaytoven will share two instrumental tracks, "GOLD" and "PHOENIX," giving rappers the opportunity to flow over either track for a chance to win. Producers can enter to win by using the associated beat and stem packs to create brand-new tracks. Two rappers and seven producers will be selected by Zaytoven and a panel of music industry insiders to be featured on the playlist. Winners will receive a production credit on their final collaboration with Zaytoven.
All winners will be announced mid-November to mid-December having earned their spot on the AXE the LABEL playlist on SoundCloud, and receive their very own custom can of AXE Body Spray.
"At its core, AXE is about helping young people confidently embrace and express their true selves, so investing in aspiring creators who devote their energy to that same pursuit is something we've always been passionate about," said Dawn Hedgepeth, Vice President of Men's Grooming, Unilever. "Hip-hop artists have never settled, never confined themselves to the limits of convention, genre, or process. They've always experimented while staying true to themselves. That's what AXE the LABEL is all about."
"What's next in music is first on SoundCloud because of the incredible community of emerging creators and super fans powering the platform," said Chris Blackburn, Head of Global Sales and Partnerships, SoundCloud. "We're thrilled to partner with AXE to offer both fans and creators a unique opportunity to help create new music with two of the biggest artists in the world by leaning into the inherently social nature of SoundCloud." To learn more about AXE the LABEL, visit AXEtheLABEL.SoundCloud.com and www.axe.com. Follow @AXE on SoundCloud, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and share your #AXEtheLABEL moments with us.
About Lil Yachty
Miles Parks McCollum, known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American hip-hop artist. Yachty first gained widespread recognition in August 2015 for his singles "
One Night" and "Minnesota" from his debut EP Summer Songs. His mixtapes Lil Boat and Summer Songs 2 were released in 2016, followed by his debut studio album, Teenage Emotions, in 2017, and the mixtape, Lil Boat 2, which dropped in early 2018.
