Nigeria’s Cruel Santino Returns With ‘International Collector / Oz..’

Nigerian artist and alte pioneer Cruel Santino has released a two-track package, ‘International Collector / Oz..’, as the first preview of his long-teased project ‘Kings Of The Bounce’.

New singles and production credits

The first track, ‘International Collector,’ was previously previewed in a snippet and soundtracked a recently released trailer that introduced the world built around the project. Produced by longtime collaborator Tochi Bedford, the song moves between melodic passages and rapid rap cadences over a bouncy instrumental.

The second track, ‘Oz,’ pairs a similarly upbeat beat from Vic Reagan with a guest verse from rapper Jeriq. Both songs point to the sonic direction of ‘Kings Of The Bounce’ and build anticipation for the follow-up to ‘Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN’.

Visual world and fan theories

A trailer for the music video highlights Cruel Santino’s work as a director, combining surrealist imagery with gaming and fashion references to create a textured universe for the new era. Fans have responded with theories that this arc may be his most cinematic yet, and with attempts to connect the cryptic First Heaven Corp to the larger Subaru World he introduced in 2022.

Recent activity and collaborations

The latest arc has been four years in the making. During that period, Cruel Santino has released the ‘Trilogy’ two-pack with Vic Reagan, who is positioned as a key collaborator in the new sonic world, and the conceptual Subaru Live Radio, which includes unreleased originals and flips of popular tracks.

His interactive livestreams have featured established names and emerging artists, including:

• Davido, Slawn, Zerry DL and Jeriq
• Emerging acts Mavo, Zaylevelten and Luwa.Mp4

Those streams have also served as a platform for emerging talents before they reached wider audiences, reinforcing his reputation as a tastemaker in alternative music.

He has also appeared on ‘Attack’ from Adekunle Gold‘s latest album and on Genio Bambino‘s ‘Wait’. With ‘International Collector / Oz..’, the focus returns to his own universe and sets up a project he has positioned as his most ambitious yet.