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killakam
Apr. 04, 2014 02:10PM EST

Weekend Burners: The Best Tracks & Music Videos Of The Week

Stream and download the best African music videos and tracks that came across our desks this week.

Image by Katarina Voloder & photographer Jo'lene Henry [via Studio Africa]

In Weekend Burners we highlight our choices of the best African music tracks, videos, and mixes that came across our desks throughout the week. Stream & download them below, straight from the Okayafrica bunker, and click on the track titles for more info:

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Cameroonian Rapper Jovi's ‘Kankwe Vol. 1′

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Fela Kuti & His Koola Lobitos ‘Se E Tun De’ For Record Store Day [Exclusive Stream]

[audio:http://www.okayafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/11-Se-E-Tun-De.mp3|titles= Fela Ransome Kuti & His Koola Lobitos "Se E Tun De"]

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Buraka Som Sistema's Branko 'Broken ft. JSTJR'

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Tunde Olaniran's ‘The Highway’

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Kae Sun ‘Weh Weh’

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Uganda’s Luga Flow Legend Babaluku

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Tony Dangler ‘No Manners’ (Produced By DESERT_HEΔD)

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Okmalumkoolkat 'Bhut’yangchaza (Muzi Remix)

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Mop Mop 'Let I Go Ft. Anthony Joseph' (Clap! Clap! Remix)

african music weekend burners
Audio
(Youtube)

7 Gengetone Acts You Need to Check Out

The streets speak gengetone: Kenya's gengetone sound is reverberating across East Africa and the world, get to know its main purveyors.

Sailors' "Wamlambez!"Wamlambez!" which roughly translates to "those who lick," is the cry the reverberated round the world, pushing the gengetone sound to the global stage. The response "wamnyonyez" roughly translates to "those who suck" and that should tell you all you need to know about the genre.

Known for its lewd lyrics and repetitive (often call and response) hooks, gengetone makes no apologies for belonging to the streets. First of all, most artists that create gengetone are grouped into bands with a few outliers like Zzero Sufuri riding solo. The songs themselves often feature a multiplicity of voices with screams and crowds coming through as ad libs, adding to this idea that this is definitely "outside" music.

Listening to Odi wa Muranga play with his vocal on the track "Thao" it's easy to think that this is the first, but gengetone fits snuggly in a history of sheng rap based on the kapuka style beat. Kapuka is onomatopoeically named, the beats have that repetitive drum-hat-drum skip that sounds like pu-ka-pu-ka-pu. Artists like Nonini were asking women to come over using this riff long before Ochungulo family told them to stay home if they aren't willing to give it up.

Here's seven gengetone groups worth listening to.

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