There are a few myths in music that I do not share, both in thought and belief, and one is, “If your music is good, it will speak for itself,” or more accurately, “If your music is fire, it will promote itself.” Wow! That could perhaps be the biggest misconception artists tell themselves. Music has never been just about the music, and gradually, it is hitting home. Making music is one thing; getting people to care is another.
The whole space is flooded with good songs that never left the group chat. In 2025, we have seen this hit home enough. How good you are with your music is just the entry ticket. The real game is “Visibility“. Now, no one is waiting for a label to hand it to you while we watch the “Do It Yourself” (DIY) phase.
The idea that one hit song can change everything is not a myth. But it is not magic, either. In the grand scheme of things, the space does not care if your lyrics are deep or your beat is groundbreaking. Well, it matters, but if people can’t find it, it may not exist.
The days when artists just dropped a track and waited for DJs or blogs to take notice are far gone. Today, artists are PR managers, content creators, meme architects, and stunt coordinators, all while making the music.
Still, the idea of “self-promotion” makes some artists cringe. Maybe it feels desperate. Maybe it sounds like too much work. But for a growing list of emerging acts, pushing your own music should not be about ego but survival. It is a way to show the world you believe in your art enough to champion it yourself. You’re not begging for attention, no! You are only building context, curating stories, and, best of all, meeting your listeners where they already are: ONLINE. This is not to say there is an absence of an effective team behind the scenes but to demonstrate the need for artists to own their works and carry their weight.
For the essence of this subject, this writer would love to explore the viral success of MOLIY with her “Shake It To The Max,” RCee’s “Knees and Bend,” and Jubed’s “Ruwa.” These artists adopted different approaches, but they shared the same principle: be seen, be heard, be shared, be remembered. What followed was visibility, virality, and real results.
MOLIY
Ghanaian pop darling MOLIY set out a digital fire with the release of her global hit, “Shake It To The Max“. This follows the 23-year old’s appearance on the border-breaking hit with “Sad Gurlz Luv Money”. The first week of release saw “Shake It To The Max” bubbling across East Africa. A couple of weeks later, the song was gaining traction in Jamaica and eventually, across the Caribbean region.
As evidenced by a true artist who means business and understands the value she has earned, what did MOLIY do? She gave meaning to the phrase ‘’follow the money’’. She had already set the “Shake It To The Max” challenge in motion, which was racking millions of content and reactions across social media, from TikTok to Instagram.
Hi @billboardcharts @billboard pic.twitter.com/O5h953nS96
— MOLIY (@moliymusic) May 29, 2025
She went full throttle, amplifying the song’s dance craze with her signature move, the now-iconic “waist shake.” Even more impressive was how effortless celebrities, influencers, and star artists joined the challenge. The drama saw people climb chairs, some dancing in markets, in the middle of the streets and random places while “shaking the waist”.
The virality of the song coupled with its early 2000s dancehall sound led to a remix featuring Jamaican music titans Shenseea and Skillibeng. The result is what we wake up to on social blogs, with the recent feat being her second Billboard Hot 100 entry. Not bad for a record that started off as a regional bop. Prior to the release she had amassed over five million monthly listeners on Spotify and now by end of May 2025 she stands at 17 million.
Her physical presence also mattered, showing up in the Caribbean, meeting fans, making rounds, and earning her spot on the big stages including a live performance with dancehall icon Vybz Kartel. She didn’t wait for global recognition but sent it to the doorsteps. One key thing that anchored the success of ‘’Shake It To The Max’’ was Moliy’s deliberate scheme at promoting a snippet of the song and dance months before the song was actually released. The song and dance generated curiosity, anticipation and attention among a section of the online populace making its virality and subsequent attention unsurprising.
RCEE
Before the song was released or the intentionality at promotion, RCee was not a recognized voice or face. For the budding Ghanaian star, RCee’s significant break came with a side of trolling. When he first posted a clip of “Knees and Bend“, many online were not sure if he was serious. Typically, he was ridiculed and dismissed by a number of people due to his dance moves – swinging his knees and momentary bends – and ‘’pimpinis’’ fashion sense. [‘’Pimpinis’’ refers to a fashion style where trousers are raised above the stomach rather than the waistline].
I know landlord @sarkodie will fit this song.
‼️No Birds were harmed in the making of this film
“KNEES AND BEND”https://t.co/E8oZctDpEH#SupremeCourt #sarkodie #partey pic.twitter.com/qIIoSO2yHM— Big CEE (@rceeofficial_) October 18, 2024
The trolls and ridicule could have easily deterred a promising talent on the rise. But not RCee. He remained unfazed, releasing more video contents to support his release ultimately leading to the change of mind and hearts of those who initially dismissed him. “Knees and Bend’’ carries an urban highlife feel- the production is urban with the song structure reflective of Ghanaian highlife songs.
RCee adopted a thematic approach in his promotional videos. One version featured older men grooving to the song while the other contents had “baddies” joining the fun. The video clips were playful, refreshing, memeable, and unescapable, making the song hard to ignore or forget.
And then came the smartest moves of all: tagging Joey B, a cult favourite with his own flair for highlife fusion. Whether it was fan manifestation or calculated promo, it worked. They dropped the remix earlier this year. Suddenly, the same people who were mocking the dance became the promoters of the dance moves and the music. RCee didn’t wait for validation but treated “Knees and Bend” like the jam of the year, even before anyone else did.
Jubed
“Ruwa” from Jubed was not trying to be a crossover hit. In fact, it was very specific from the onset. He crafted the song as a nod to the Hausa-speaking, mostly Muslim audience courtesy the song’s sample “Sun Kira Ruwa” by MK Baagi . The title, “Ruwa”, in the Hausa language translates as ‘’Water’’. It also means different things in different languages, but for the burgeoning Afrobeats star, it meant beauty and bloom. He leaned in as the early rollouts reflected the cultural aesthetic.
🕋EID MUBARAK..RUWA is OuT and Blessing the streets…… pic.twitter.com/ZcB22b9kVU
— JUBED👽 (@iamjubed_) March 30, 2025
But Jubed knew that great songs move beyond intention. He began rallying TikTok creators and skit makers. The numbers grew as “Ruwa” hit over a million content on the platform.
We saw him take the song to the city’s nightlife doorstep, a real cultural plug. He appeared on a couple of nightlife hotspots, notable one being the iMullar Sound System. These platforms gave “Ruwa” life beyond the phone screen. And he did what many overlook: he showed his face at events, interviews, and small gigs. Jubed made himself visible. For those who knew the song but not the artist, there was no more guessing.
You could argue that these artists got lucky for all other reasons, but luck does not occur in a vacuum. It needs momentum to yield results. For Moliy, RCee and Jubed, there was a convergence between that ‘’luck’’ and preparation. They did not sit around hoping their music would propel them to where they expected. Rather, they were aggressive, deliberate and unconventional in their approach. MOLIY moved where the crave was. RCee owned his ridicule and flipped it while Jubed zoomed in before scaling out. So, dear artists, show us you are proud of the work you put out for music that has never spoken for itself.
