Sony/ATV Music Publishing has signed rising UK rapper Yungen to a worldwide deal.
 
The South Londoner made his Top 10 breakthrough last year with “Bestie”, which has now surpassed 600,000 equivalent UK sales, and he is currently charting with the hit “Bad” alongside Steel Banglez, Mr. Eazi, MoStack and Not3s. The agreement covers his entire catalogue as well as future releases.
 
Sony/ATV Head of A&R, UK David Ventura said: “Yungen represents a new generation of artists and songwriters. He is a true talent who we had to work with and bring into the Sony/ATV family. Excuse my French but his lyrics are de la balle! Everything he has achieved is impressive and it is only the beginning of his journey. We are all very excited to have him on the Sony/ATV roster.”
 
Sony/ATV Senior A&R Manager Alex Sparks said: “Having been a fan of Yungen for a long time it is a real pleasure to have him join our family as his talent is indisputable. He has had a great start to his career and his continued drive to be the best is inspiring. We are incredibly excited to join forces with his team and help him achieve his ambitions.”
 
Yungen said: “I’m excited to be working with such a reputable team who are equally as excited about me and my music. All I want is to create great music, for it reach all corners of the globe and to achieve success with those who believe in me. Sony/ATV felt like home from the first time I walked in the building.”
 
Yungen’s manager Isaac Kyerematen said: “When it comes to publishing, it’s important to get the right team involved for each particular artist. With Sony/ATV we felt the guys were right to expand with and broaden our A&R team. Alex and David showed passion, knowledge and enthusiasm to continue to strengthen Yungen’s growing career. We can't wait to get started!”
 
Inspired by acclaimed homegrown rappers such as Giggs and Wretch 32, South London talent CJ Brooks aka Yungen started rapping at an early age and in 2010 uploaded his first video “Hometown” to YouTube. He then caught the attention of the underground scene when he put out “F64” on SB.TV and recorded a Warm Up Session for the hugely-influential online urban music channel. The exposure brought him more than 1 million YouTube views and word spread further with the releases I Ain’t Even Started, Topic Of Discussion and Project Black & Red, which features guests including Krept & Konan, Sneakbo, Stormzy and Wretch 32.
 
After being nominated for Best Newcomer at the MOBO Awards, Yungen signed a recording deal with RCA Records in November 2015 and was shortlisted at the beginning of the following year on BBC Radio 1Xtra’s One To Watch list.
 
His single “Bestie” came out in June 2017 and during a lengthy chart run climbed to No. 10 on the Official UK Singles Chart. The platinum-certified single featuring Yxng Bane has been streamed more than 55 million times and achieved 600,000 equivalent sales in the UK where it also became one of the biggest airplay songs of last year, making the A-list at BBC Radio 1 and being playlisted at Capital and Kiss.
 
He has since released “Chosen”, “All Night”, which features Mr. Eazi and which has been streamed more than 3 million times on Spotify, and “Bad”, which he recorded with Steel Banglez, Mr. Eazi, MoStack and Not3s and which returned him to the UK Top 30 in January. It has been streamed 20 million times in the UK. Last month Clean Bandit issued a “Yungen Remix” of their recent top five hit “I Miss You” featuring Julia Michaels.