MUMBAI: Saavn, South Asia's audio and music streaming service, in collaboration with electronic music artist, Sickick, announced the release of Sickick’s newest single, ‘No Games.’ The song marks the second original release under Saavn’s Artist Originals (AO) repertoire, a program launched in February to empower artists, songwriters and producers in South Asia and to connect East-West talent and fans.

Saavn’s initial Artist Originals launch saw the release of ‘Azaad Hu Mai,’ a track produced with Indian hip-hop star, Naezy. The song garnered 500,000 streams in the first week, reflecting India’s burgeoning interest in hip-hop and its assimilation into South Asian pop culture. With Artist Originals, Saavn has become the first streaming company to conceptualize, produce and distribute new music with independent artists in India.

Canadian artist, Sickick is well-known in the underground music scene for wearing a mask at every show and every public appearance, a decision he attributes to his laser-focused commitment to the music, rather than the need to promote an identity based on physicality, ethnicity, race or culture. His masked appearance makes a powerful statement about stereotypes and music genres. His song, ‘No Games’ is now available to stream in India and is the latest in Sickick’s own genre ‘Sickhop’ -- a blend of hip-hop, R&B and melodic dance music.

Behind the mask is a multi-faceted artist and instrumentalist with a unique vocal tone and serious production talent. He opened for R&B and Hip Hop artist Drake last year and is making waves with 15M+ views on YouTube.

While Sickick’s real identity remains an industry secret, the lyrics and production of his latest track ‘No Games,’ reveals he might just be like the rest of us. The song is a melodic ode to a relationship challenge we can all relate to.

With ‘No Games,’ Sickick is releasing new music through a streaming service for the first time, having released his previous work independently.

“Sickick's goal is to spread the sickness to as many people as possible with his music and message, which comes down to: ‘everyone has a dark side, find the beauty in yours.’ Saavn opens up an entirely new audience, and we’re excited to release this single on their platform," said Sickick’s manager Nish Bhargava.

“Social media has democratized culture in India, meaning the youth want more music from international artists and genres beyond Bollywood. The independent music scene is heating up, creating new opportunities for artists across the world to engage with Indian artists and fans. At Saavn, we want to make sure our AO program reflects the global company that we are, as well as the global nature of music,” said Saavn associate A&R director Neal Sarin.

He further added, “There are many independent acts, like Sickick, who are looking for a new way to release their music in markets like India, while receiving maximum exposure and retaining creative control over their art. Sickick is the prime example of a multidimensional talent with a bold brand, and we’re excited to introduce him to a South Asian audience.”

In India, the track will be exclusively distributed by Saavn. Globally, it will be promoted and distributed through The Orchard, the leading music distributor across digital and physical channels in 25 international markets. This allows for Sickick to be one of the first indie artists in the West to tap into a South Asian fanbase through the largest possible digital channel.

"We built AO on the Saavn platform to enable independent artists to reach consumers with organized distribution and economics,” said Saavn co-founder and executive chairman Paramdeep Singh.

“We are working with artists to develop their music, brand, and provide them with real-time data. Through our partnership with The Orchard, we are able to deliver these AO music releases to consumers across all major streaming services," he added.