Apple Music today announces Ghanaian-Nigerian singer, rapper, and songwriter Haeven as the latest artist to be featured in its Up Next artist development program in Ghana.
Hailing from the vibrant streets of Enugu, Nigeria, and the seaside rap hub of Tema, Accra, Haeven is forging a distinctive lane that fuses hip-hop grit with soulful introspection. Her artistry was born from profound personal loss and resilience, transforming grief, anger, and uncertainty into sonic narratives that challenge, console, and connect.
Her latest project, Gated Community, is an alternative hip-hop body of work exploring transformation through destruction. The project confronts themes of resilience, grief, anger, strength, and rebirth, reframing survival as self-protection and self-definition. At its core, Gated Community interrogates society’s expectations of composure from the wounded and gratitude from the dispossessed, while asserting autonomy, vulnerability, and unapologetic existence as acts of power.
“It represents years of pushing through rejection and uncertainty and betting on myself even when nothing else around me really made sense,” Haeven tells Apple Music about the project. “And as a neurodivergent baby in West Africa, being selected as Apple Music’s Up Next artist for Ghana is such a validating moment. I feel like it helps people like me to feel seen, understood, and appreciated,” she continues. “It’s also powerful fuel for what’s coming next in 2026. I’m delivering new tracks and an EP that push against social norms and contribute to sparking the big, difficult, and necessary conversations we need to have as a society.”
Haeven first captured widespread attention following her viral live performance of “Bite The Bullet,” a raw and defiant monologue on integrity and self-worth, and further solidified her rising status with an explosive performance at the Revival Concert alongside Kweku Smoke. Her growing influence has earned recognition from industry heavyweights, including Don Jazzy, Sarkodie, Alec Boateng, and Richie Mensah.
As the latest Up Next act to be spotlighted in Ghana, Heaven will be featured on Apple Music’s Up Next playlist https://apple.co/3eITdJd. The curated Up Next playlist features a dynamic class of new and emerging artists, thoughtfully hand-picked by Apple Music editors from around the world. The playlist is genre-agnostic and represents a line-up of artists our global editors are passionate about and eager to expose to a larger audience.
The vast global Up Next roster of past talent includes Grammy-nominated and critically lauded talent like 6lack, Daniel Caesar, H.E.R., Greta Van Fleet, Khalid, Amy Shark, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Claudio, Sigrid, Mr Eazi, Stefflon Don, Bad Bunny, Juice WLRD, Bazzi, Jax Jones, NCT 127, Summer Walker, Tierra Whack, Dean Lewis, Pink Sweat$, Koffee, Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy, Clairo, Lunay, Jessie Reyez, Orville Peck, Victoria Monét, Ingrid Andress, Conan Gray, Don Toliver, Rema, BENEE, Holly Humberstone, Natanael Cano, Givēon, beabadoobee, Arlo Parks, Tate McRae, Foushee and Tems.
About Apple Music
Apple loves music. Apple revolutionized the music experience with iPod and iTunes. Today, the award-winning Apple Music celebrates musicians, songwriters, producers, and fans with a catalog of over 100 million songs, expertly curated playlists, and the best artist interviews, conversations, and global premieres with Apple Music Radio. With original content from the most respected and beloved people in music, autoplay, time-synced lyrics, lossless audio, and immersive sound powered by Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, Apple Music offers the world’s best listening experience, helping listeners discover new music and enjoy their favorites while empowering the global artist community. Apple Music is available in over 165 countries and regions on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod mini, CarPlay, and online at music.apple.com, plus popular smart speakers, smart TVs, and Android and Windows devices. Apple Music is ad-free and never shares consumer data with third parties. More information is available at apple.com/apple-music
