Alex Boye, renowned singer and performer, uses crowd-funding source for his debut pop music CD, ‘Africanized.’
Los Angeles, CA, June 22, 2013: Paul Simon did it with his multiple Grammy winning trip to Graceland in the 80s. Elton John drew us all into his “Circle of Life” with The Lion King in the 90s. Now, with nearly 25 million total views and counting, YouTube sensation Alex Boye is making the pop landscape Africanized once again, infusing the explosive rhythms and various languages of his ancestral continent into a highly anticipated upcoming debut pop album—a dynamic collection that perfectly embodies the singer’s belief that “music has no passport.”
Embracing his rich heritage after years of successful recordings as a gospel artist, the charismatic, London born, U.S.-based vocal powerhouse is having a breakthrough year as a mainstream pop artist, scoring over 17 million views alone for “Peponi,” the “Africanized” version of Coldplay’s “Paradise” with ThePianoGuys, and recently making his debut at the Royal Albert Hall opening for Olivia Newton John.
“The success of the ‘Peponi’ video has been the biggest response to any of the music I had ever done, and it’s exciting to see so many people responding to pop with an African twist. Africanized is unlike any project I’ve been involved with, a unique merging of different worlds and cultures, blending the very familiar with the exotic.”
With funding as one of the major obstacles to getting any CD project off the ground, musicians have had to become more innovative in their fund-raising tactics, and the fan community has embraced sites like Kickstarter.com.
In keeping with Kickstarter.com guidelines, artists have a set number of days to raise the entirety of the funds, or the project receives nothing. Boye’s CD has a 14-day fund-raising window to raise the allotted budget ($28,000US), and if the total isn’t raised before July 6, all pledges are cancelled and the CD will not be funded.
“Kickstarter is a wonderful way to spread the word quickly, and keep fans updated on the status of the project,” Boye says. An added advantage is that Kickstarter’s merchant partner is Amazon.com, which enables each project the convenience of receiving funds from anywhere in the world.
Alex is gratified by the response to his Africanized versions of pop songs and the commercial opportunities they are opening up. “I think above all, people respond to an artist’s honesty and integrity, and I feel like I am being true to myself in a way I have never been before,” he says. “The ultimate goal is to make people feel good and give them a memorable—even life-affirming—musical experience.”
Boye expects to have the CD completed by Fall of this year. To learn more about the project, readers can view the pitch page here:
www.AlexBoye.com/Kickstarter
