Downtown Music Publishing has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with 20-year-old, British singer-songwriter Hamzaa, following the release of her new single “London” and its accompanying music video, as well as a performance at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Middlesbrough, England.
Hamzaa first caught the nation’s attention with a memorable debut TV performance on the BBC’s Later… with Jools Holland. The rising star and her music have since been featured on tastemaker radio platforms like London’s Reprezent, BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Introducing, and Julie Adenuga’s Beats 1 show on Apple Music.
“I’m so excited to create and bring to life not only my world but others’ too,” said Hamzaa. “Downtown felt like family from the start and I’m so ready to go on this journey with them!”
Following her sold-out headlining debut at the St Pancras Old Church in London last November, Hamzaa began 2019 with another sold-out show — which, as The Line of Best Fit attested, “proved that she is the real deal.” It also received a four-star Evening Standard review that called her performance “beautifully minimalistic” and said, “It’s rare to see such confidence and soulful vocal precision from an artist so young, but Hamzaa has both in abundance.”
“It's more difficult than ever to attract and maintain people's attention because of the enormous amount of content constantly being uploaded into the system. As a result, two long standing principles are more important than ever: composition is king and extraordinary is where the bar should be set,” said Andrew Gould, Downtown’s Senior Vice President and Head of North America A&R. “Hamzaa is extraordinary — as an artist, songwriter, and human being. All of us at Downtown are beyond excited to be her publishing partner.”
“Hamzaa’s ability to paint vibrant pictures with such honest narrative truly sets her apart,” added Downtown A&R Manager Davina Merchant. “It is a tremendous honor to welcome her to Downtown, and we are thrilled to work with such a promising new artist — as well as her management team, Ella-Bonai Gordon and Zeon Richards at Renowned.”
With more new releases soon-to-be announced, Hamzaa’s summer performance lineup continues at the iconic Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts in June. She will also headline Behind Barn Doors Friday at the Barn on the Farm Festival in Gloucester, England this July.
