The 13 Songs You Need to Hear This Week
The best music of the week featuring Davido, DJ Tira, Moonchild Sanelly, Novalima, and many more.
Every week, we highlight the cream of the crop in music through our Best Music of the Week column.
Here's our round up of the best tracks and music videos that came across our desks, which you can also check out in our Songs You Need to Hear This Week playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
Follow OkayAfrica on Spotify and Apple Music to get immediate updates every week and read about some of our selections ahead.
Davido, Duncan Mighty & Peruzzi "Aza"
Duncan Mighty, Davido, and his newly signed artist Peruzzi, link up for the colorful music video for their collaborative track "AZA." The Port Harcourt-shot video, shows the beauty of the city and its people as the Nigerian trio go about the city celebrating, traveling on boats and enjoying a traditional Igbo ceremony filled with dancing, wrestling and masqueraders. The colorful video was shot by popular afrobeats video director Clarence Peters.
Afro-Caribbean: Zouk & Konpa Starter Kit
Michael Brun is on a mission to push a contemporary Haitian sound forward through his music, while waving its iconic flag proudly. That can't happen without knowing one's music history. The Haitian-born artist touched base with OkayAfrica to give us an introduction to the zouk and konpa tracks that laid the foundation of the fresh sounds coming from that genre out of Haiti, Guadeloupe and across the Caribbean.
Listen to the playlist on Spotify here
Moonchild Sanelly, DJ Tira, Patoranking, DJ Neptune & Eternal Africa "Osikapa"
This collaboration, "Osikapa," brings together South African and Nigerian artists, Moonchild Sanelly, DJ Tira, Patoranking, DJ Neptune and Eternal Africa. The latter produced the song. "Osikapa" is highly likely one of the heaters we will be dancing to this summer in South. The song, which leans towards gqom, is fast-paced with airy pads and the customary big drums.
Santi "Freaky" featuring Nonso Amadi & Bridge
Genre-bending Nigerian artist Santi shares the music video for his latest single "Freaky," featuring Nonso Amadi and Bridge. We'd say that the track is just as "badass, laid-back and highly addictive," as the track itself. The musician pays homage to the highly-dramatized Nollywood horror films of his childhood in the grainy, self-directed visual, in which Santi plays and exorcist looking to cast a demon out of a possessed young woman who is out to get collaborators Amadi and Bridge. Santi's version of an exorcism is far more mod than your average—him and the crew rock all black and stylish vintage frames throughout the video.
BigStar Johnson 'Me & Mines'
In his debut album, Me & Mines, South African rapper BigStar Johnson pays homage to the music he grew up with—kwaito, R&B; and jazz. "There's music that we had back in the days that I feel like we can't just give up on," he tells a room full of journalists during the album's listening party a few days before its release. "There's sounds that we created as a people, as a country. I feel like we can't give up on those sounds."
Ajebutter22 "Ghana Bounce" Remix feat. Mr Eazi & Eugy
Ajebutter22 first dropped "Ghana Bounce," the biggest hit from his What Happens In Lagos album, last year. The addictive Studio Magic-produced track is now getting a welcomed revisit with the additions of Mr Eaziand Eugy. The pair hop over the butter-smooth original beat to deliver their own new verses, both of which are succesful in adding new rhythms, flavors and vocal cadences to this already solid hit.
Novalima "Agua"
For 15 years, Novalima have been spearheading the fusion of music from the often-overlooked and discriminated Afro-Peruvian community with modern electronic sounds. The Grammy-nominated band is now readying the release of their upcoming full-length album, Ch'usay (which translates to 'voyage' in the Incan language of Quechua). "Agua," which we premiered, is a hypnotizing track built on a blend of Kenyan-inspired rhythms and Afro-Peruvian percussion instruments. The song also features help from Cuban rapper Kumar, as well as Peruvian legend Lucho Reyes.
Siwo 'Stretch'
Siwo is the project of Barcelona-based Mozambican producer/vocalist/beatmaker Simonal Bie. The artist describes his sound as "Electro-Afrofuturism with touches of hip-hop, punk, soul and afrobeat," all of which are clear in the outstanding track and music video for "Stretch." You can find the single on Siwo's new EP, Stand For, which is available now.
A-Reece, Wordz & Ecco "Welcome to My Life"
South African rappers A-Reece, Wordz and Ecco just released the visuals to the song "Welcome To My Life," which appears in their stellar album L3 (Long Lost Letters), which came out in June. We observed that the album plays out like a reality show depicting the rappers' "lit" lives, and the video does exactly just that. The video shows the trio and their goons living the life they tell us about in the albums.
Blaqbonez 'Bad Boy Blaq'
Bad Boy Blaqis the the debut album by Blaqbonez, one of the new wonder boys of Nigerian hip-hop. The 10 songs on Bad Boy Blaq showcase the breath of Blaqbonez' preoccupations and talents for song making, as heard on album highlight "Play." The record also sees Blaqbonez as a hard-nosed trapper ("Accomodate" and "Denied"), a slick seductor ("Mamiwota," "Consent"), unrepentant hustler ("5am"), and an emo-G grappling with emotional vulnerability ("Tosin's Song")—all of which contribute to one of the most accomplished debut releases of 2018.
Umlilo & Sean K "Emoyeni"
In their collaborative song, "Emoyeni,"Umliloand Sean K sing about the changing of the seasons and it coming with a change in one's life. In the video, which is directed by Jono Kay, the artists can be seen in rehearsals, studios sessions and flights. The visual documents a project titled Press Play: Shapeshifters, in which the two artists and the producer of the song, Yogin Sullaphen, came together to make music and perform in Johannesburg (Tennis Club) and Windhoek (The Loft).
Zoocci Coke Dope 'HE-ART'
South African rapper, singer and producer Zoocci Coke Dope recently released a 3-track EP titled HE-ART. The project comes approximately a year since the artist released his debut EP Morning Star. "Runaway," the opening song of HE-ART sees King ZooLoo experiment with a higher tempo rhythm. "FWM" and "Trust Issues" are Zoocci as we've grown to know him—with minimalist trap production and sincere lyrics and delivery.
Yungloon Taliboom "SY?NZ"
In their latest music video for the song "SY?NZ," the duo Yungloon Taliboom (rapper YoungstaCPT and producer Maloon TheBoom) give you a field trip into the Cape Flats. The video plays like out like a documentary of some sort about the gangs of the Cape Flats.