Chocolate City CEO, Abuchi Peter Ugwu, discusses one year of music business leadership
It may be difficult to lead a team of over 250 people. It is reasonable to anticipate both successes and failures when leading a well-known music company such as Chocolate City.
Summarizing his journey so far Ugwu says, “It has been a wild ride with its successes, failures, learning experiences and exciting challenges. COVID, lockdowns, EndSARS and other upheavals disrupted the music business income streams across the entertainment industry. The battle to position our music and talents became a lot tougher, as we found ourselves competing not just with other talents and labels within Nigeria- but across the world. Thankfully, one thing has remained steadfast through all this- the commitment of our team to deliver excellent results and create positive impact.”
Chocolate City has added two new artists, Noon Dave and Young Jonn, under his leadership as the company continues to grow. One can imagine the pressure on Ugwu to produce another worldstar as the CEO of Chocolate City, the record label that discovered and produced one of Nigeria’s biggest music exports, CKay. Discussing some of his major highlights after 365 days in office, Ugwu said,
“Blaqbonez, an energetic and versatile artist who dropped his debut album “Sex Over Love” under the label. This album gained the #1 position on Nigerian album charts, 70 million plus streams, and Rolling Stone feature naming it one of the best albums of 2021. He commenced 2022 by selling out his first show in Lagos with over 4000 people in attendance.
“CandyBleakz, another prolific artist under our roster is a female rapper and singer-songwriter who strives to inspire young people with her story. Her recent single “Tikuku” is currently the number 5 most shazamed song globally with over 2 million streams on all platforms in less than a week”, he added.
“We also signed and unveiled Noon Dave, an Afro R&B artist with the voice of an angel. He released his breathtaking single “Brunch” and this song has captured hearts and has become a fan favorite.
“We unveiled popular producer Young Jonn as an