Davido and Prince Gyasi Celebrate Afrobeats Collaboration With Martell

Maison Martell is tapping into contemporary culture and Afrobeats music’s impact in an artistic way. To stay on the pulse of the genre’s wave, the cognac house teamed up with Nigerian star Davido and Ghanaian visual artist Prince Gyasi to launch limited-edition bottle designs for its new Martell VS and XO Afrobeats collection.

On Wednesday night (Oct. 28), Martell and the artists reunited at New York City’s Bathhouse Studios to celebrate the milestone with a private event. As attendees enjoyed specialty cocktails like Nigerian Swift Sour and Accra After Dark, tastemakers and creative voices across music, art, design, and culture were welcomed to a night highlighting creativity, artistic performance, and conversation.

Martell Culture Ambassador Adesope “Shopsydoo” Olajide hosted a fireside chat with the collaborators about their partnership with the cognac brand and played creative visuals for attendees, including Davido’s latest “Already Falling” music video. Both videos were at Château de Chanteloup, Martell’s historic estate in Cognac, France.

“It’s been a blessing to help push the sound of Afrobeats to the world. Five years with Martell, and we’ve built something really special for this launch,” Davido said. “Bringing Prince into the mix to connect the music with his creative vision took it to a new level. I’m grateful to work with partners who have a shared goal of pushing African culture forward.”

Gyasi talked about using the Martell bottles as canvases, translating the movement, emotion, and energy of Afrobeats into visual storytelling. “When I hear music, I experience it visually. With these designs, I wanted to capture the feeling of Afrobeats – the movement, the joy, the confidence, and the way it connects people across the world,” he said. “Davido brings that energy through music, and I wanted to translate it through color, movement and emotion.”

The night concluded with Davido joining Nigerian DJ Ecool on the decks, bringing the music at the center of the collaboration to the launch experience. The Martell VS and XO limited release marks the first major product expression of Gyasi’s role with the Maison.

The Martell VS Afrobeats bottle is available nationwide at fine spirits retailers and online for $35. The new XO expression will be released across Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. See more pics from the event below.