YO MAPS’ SO MONE HITS 20 MILLION YOUTUBE VIEWS IN 18 MONTHS, FIRST ZAMBIAN SONG IN 10 YEARS TO DO SO
Eighteen months on since the release of top Zambian artist Yo Maps’ SO MONE hit single – the song’s music video has gone on to accumulate over 20 million YouTube views in 18 months and 8 days(556 days) making it the fastested and the only other Zambian song after Luyanna & Mampi’s Walilowelela to achieve the said milestone.
The song’s video also becomes the most liked music video by a Zambian artist on YouTube with over 117,000 likes. Yo Maps’ SO MONE had creators at the center of its success with TikTok users suing the song’s sound over 250,000 times.
The song which had an unexpected feature as veteran Malawian artist Tay Grin picked up the call to deliver his vocals on the record was received with skepticism but was soon accepted and like COVID-19, it spread toping Radio, TV and DSPs charts.
At the epicenter of its spread is the message it carries – Yo Maps talked about how he was looked down on by his partner, but now he is doing exceptionally well. Therefore, he calls on his ex partner to come and see as he is now on TV and further asks how she feels seeing him successful in the television.
Tay Grin’s bridge lines in the song stood out, setting out controversy and social media discussions. The singer sang, “So chili bwa(x2), nagula nyumba ku 43, aneba anga ni azungu, ndalama zanga niza chizungu,” lines which people felt he was praising the white people.
Yo Maps’ SO MONE music video was directed by top Zambian videographer Director Lo. A combination of the stunning video set designs, costumes, and Director Lo’s amazing videography skills turned the whole project into something thrilling to watch, hence partly accounting for its high click rate.
Since Yo Maps’ breakthrough in 2018 with his finally hit single that featured rapper Macky 2, the singer has continued setting records and trends. And now, the singer has the most(4) videos with over 10 million YouTube views for a Zambian artist, which includes Confirmation, Try Again, and Pick It Up.
Ten years ago, it was only a dream for a Zambian artist to accumulate 20 million YouTube views as the most hit songs then would struggle to hit a million views in the first year of release – with most of then settling for tens if not hundreds of thousands.
Yo Maps’ achievement of 20 million YouTube views in one year and 6 months represents an astronomical growth in the way Zambians consume local music and its influence on non-natives. This achievement is truly one worth celebrating not only for Yo Maps but the industry at large as it signifies that it is heading in the right direction.
