JZyNo drops visuals for viral hit song, “Butta My Bread”
Lasmid. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
“Butta My Bread” became JZyNO’s breakout record. After the Clarence Peters video came out in August 2023, the song reached No. 16 on the UK Official Afrobeats Chart and was nominated in several categories at the 2023 MTN Liberia Music Awards. In September 2024 it was played in a UEFA Champions League stadium in Monaco. The Liberian singer released his six-track EP Liberian Boy that same month, and by 2026 he was putting out collaborations, including features with other Liberian acts.
The video: Clarence Peters directs, Lasmid co-stars
Award-winning Liberian artist JZyNO (pronounced Jeh-Zee-No, real name Jonathan Lee Pratt) released the official music video for his viral song “Butta My Bread” featuring Ghanaian singer Lasmid. Nigerian director Clarence Peters shot it.
The single first came out in April 2023, with distribution through Universal Music Group. By the time the video arrived, the song was among the top trending tracks on Spotify Ghana. The launch materials said it had already passed 5.4 million views in about three months. Those numbers come from mid-2023. The song has grown well beyond them since.
Check out the Brand New Music Video “BUTTA My BREAD” from two of AFRICA’s 🌍 Young Talents 🎤@jzyno__ 🇱🇷 featuring @lasmidofficial1 🇬🇭.Shot on the 🎥 #sonyvenice2 Location Lagos Nigeria 🇳🇬 Video Now Out on YouTube 😎🔥https://t.co/DtjGkDbIw6 pic.twitter.com/bF3gYcfTHH, Clarence.A. Peters (@ClarenceShotIt) August 4, 2023
The flags in that post tell the story of the record. JZyNO is from Liberia and Lasmid is from Ghana. The video was shot in Lagos, Nigeria, on a Sony Venice 2 cinema camera. So you have three West African countries behind one song. JZyNO was living in Ghana at the time, which helps explain the Liberia and Ghana pairing.
What the video is about
The video is an emotional piece that celebrates the beauty of African women.
It tells a love story looking back in time. A young high school boy falls for a girl, and later he promises he can protect her whatever happens. In everyday slang, the title phrase points to the person who makes your life richer and sweeter, and the video builds on that idea of devotion and care.
What happened next for “Butta My Bread”
After the video, the song went from a West African viral hit to a record with a UK chart run, award nominations and a stadium moment in Europe.
Chart run
The song made the UK Official Afrobeats Chart, published by the Official Charts Company, where the label is listed as JZYNO Network.
| Chart | Peak | Run |
|---|---|---|
| UK Official Afrobeats Chart | No. 16 | Four weeks, chart dates 25 November to 16 December 2023 |
| UK Official Afrobeats Chart (re-entries) | Below peak | Single weeks and two-week runs in early 2024, for 11 weeks in total |
JZyNO’s own YouTube channel now says the song has passed 280 million streams. That figure comes from the artist, not from a chart publisher.
Awards
“Butta My Bread” was one of the leading records at the 2023 MTN Liberia Music Awards. The ceremony was held on 25 November 2023 at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Monrovia and covered releases from August 2022 to July 2023. JZyNO was nominated in seven categories, and the song was in the running for Afropop Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Collaboration of the Year. Nuchie Meek won Artist of the Year. Music in Africa’s winners report listed JZyNO among the night’s biggest winners, with three awards.
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | MTN Liberia Music Awards | Afropop Song of the Year | “Kpan Kpan Me” | Won |
| 2021 | MTN Liberia Music Awards | Album/EP of the Year | Brown Sugar EP | Won |
| 2023 | MTN Liberia Music Awards | Seven categories, including Afropop Song, Video and Collaboration of the Year | “Butta My Bread” and other work | Three wins (Music in Africa) |
Management, remix and Monaco
In August 2023, the same month the video came out, JZyNO signed with Vth Season, a South African artist management company. The deal covers Southern, Eastern and Central Africa.
Liberian newspaper FrontPage Africa later reported plans for a remix with South African rapper Nasty C. Streaming listings show a “Butta My Bread (Remix)” credited to JZyNO and Nasty C, featuring Lasmid.
In September 2024, the song played over the speakers at halftime of a UEFA Champions League match at Monaco’s Stade Louis II, Liberian outlet GeeZ Liberia reported. For a song by an artist from Liberia, a country with a small music market, that was a rare moment on a big global stage.
JZyNO after “Butta My Bread”
JZyNO used the hit to build a full project and a wider network of collaborators. Some of the coverage below comes from Liberian entertainment sites and fan-run pages, so the details vary in how reliable they are.
- September 2024: He released the six-track EP Liberian Boy. GeeZ Liberia reported more than 2 million Audiomack streams in its first 30 minutes. That claim comes from a local entertainment site, not from Audiomack.
- June 2025: He publicly asked the MTN Liberia Music Awards to consider his 2024-25 work for nominations, GeeZ Liberia reported.
- 2025: He worked with Ghanaian rapper Amerado on the Afro-fusion track “Asor.”
- June 2026: GeeZ Liberia reported that he started a plan to work with local artists and chose Yo B as the first act to get a free feature. Apple Music lists “Go Easy” by Yo B featuring JZyNO and Big Baby as a 2026 single.
He has also been the subject of false stories. In 2024, the Nigerian fact-checking organisation Dubawa rated as false a blog claim that he had bought a $50 million mansion in Lagos.
FAQ
Who sings “Butta My Bread”?
“Butta My Bread” is by JZyNO, a Liberian singer whose real name is Jonathan Lee Pratt, and it features Ghanaian singer Lasmid. It came out in April 2023 and was distributed through Universal Music Group. A later remix adds South African rapper Nasty C.
Who directed the “Butta My Bread” video and where was it shot?
Nigerian director Clarence Peters directed it. He shared the video on August 4, 2023. It was shot in Lagos, Nigeria, on a Sony Venice 2 camera.
Is JZyNO Nigerian or Ghanaian?
Neither. JZyNO is Liberian and comes from Buchanan. He was living in Ghana when “Butta My Bread” broke out, which is why people often take him for Ghanaian, and the video was filmed in Nigeria.
Did “Butta My Bread” chart?
Yes. It reached No. 16 on the UK Official Afrobeats Chart, with a four-week run from the chart dated 25 November 2023 to 16 December 2023. It came back for single weeks and two-week runs in early 2024, and the Official Charts Company lists 11 weeks on the chart in total.
Did “Butta My Bread” win awards?
At the 2023 MTN Liberia Music Awards, held on 25 November 2023, the song was nominated for Afropop Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Collaboration of the Year. Music in Africa reported that JZyNO won three awards that night. JZyNO had already won Liberia Music Awards in 2020 and 2021.
What has JZyNO released since?
He released the six-track EP Liberian Boy in September 2024 and the track “Asor” with Ghana’s Amerado in 2025. In 2026 he has been featuring on other artists’ songs, including Yo B’s “Go Easy.”
Sources
- Wikipedia: JZyNO (biography, discography and awards)
- Official Charts Company: “Butta My Bread” by JZyNO and Lasmid, chart history
- notjustOK: JZyNO releases visuals to single “Butta My Bread” ft. Lasmid
- Music in Africa: MTN Liberia Music Awards 2023, all the winners and all the nominees
- Music in Africa: JZyNO joins artist management company Vth Season
- GeeZ Liberia: “Butta My Bread” played at Monaco’s stadium during a UEFA Champions League match
- GeeZ Liberia: Liberian Boy EP streaming report
- GeeZ Liberia: JZyNO picks Yo B for a free feature
- Dubawa: fact-check of the Lagos mansion claim
- Apple Music: “Go Easy” by Yo B featuring JZyNO and Big Baby
About this article
- Fact-checked before publication.
- Published · Updated
