Big Drop

A new single from Cruel Santino, with Zaylevelten, and the door into the album that follows.

Listen now

Cruel Santino in a leather jacket at dusk, standing under string lights.

Subject · Santino

A still from the Big Drop video: two men at a dining table against a brick wall, one standing with a knife over his face, one seated in a grey headwrap and sunglasses.

Video still · Santino and Zaylevelten

01 · Cruel Santino

Cruel Santino, known as Santi, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist, widely recognised as a defining voice and a builder of alté worlds rather than a stack of songs. British GQ wrote, “It was obvious that Santi was going to be a star.” Rolling Stone wrote, “Cruel Santino is building worlds and melding cultures.” The projects behind that acclaim include Mandy & The Jungle and Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN. The work runs across music, film, animation, gaming and digital media.

02 · Zaylevelten

Zaylevelten, also known as TENSKI, is a Nigerian rapper, singer and producer from the new wave. The label frames the pairing as one of the architects of Nigeria’s alternative sound with one of the brightest voices of that wave, two generations of the movement side by side.

“Big Drop speaks for itself. It’s the first record Zaylevelten and I have made together, and I wanted it to feel like a fun musical journey through different sounds and scapes. There are four producers who worked on this asides myself and I had fun sound designing the whole track. There are loads of audio candies splattered inside the song alongside OctobersRich intro as well as the outro. It’s a proper song that describes the album.”

Cruel Santino

Mid-track switch

Cross-generational anthem

Both of them deliver on their verses, and the record turns halfway through. That switch is the point the label keeps: a song built to be heard across generations, changing sound in the middle.

K.O.T.B – The Bomberman Chronicles

The album is due 6 November 2026 through NATIVE Records and Warner Records. Santino calls the world “spy lore meets royal regalia, James Bond meets Final Fantasy.” It is set 3,000 years in the future and follows a company that supplies household weapons against the sea creatures terrorising the community.

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Pre-order the album

Earlier in the file

“Big Drop” follows “International Collector” and “Oz.” International Collector pairs Santino’s understated melodic delivery with atmospheric production and fluid percussion, the global perspective that has defined the work. Its video looks into the larger narrative of the album.

Watch International Collector and Oz

“Oz” reunites him with longtime collaborator and producer Vic Reagan and features Nigerian rapper Jeriq, a collaboration fans have been waiting on. “‘Oz’ represents one of the original foundations of what I call the bounce,” Santino explains. “It goes back to the sounds and energy that inspired this journey. Vic is one of my closest friends, and having Jeriq on the record made it feel complete.”

Cruel Santino

Zaylevelten

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