The Songs You Need to Hear This Week
These are the best songs that came across our desks this week, featuring Sampha, Vybz Kartel x Wizkid, Kendrick Lamar and more.
At the end of every week, we highlight the creme of the crop in music and round up the best tracks and music videos that came across our desks throughout the last few days.
Check out all of the "Songs You Need to Hear This Week" in our extended Apple Music curator playlist and read about some of the selections ahead.
Wizkid x Vybz Kartel
Last month, Wizkid and Vybz Kartel dropped a banger in the form of their single “Wine to the Top.”
The music video for the dancehall-infused track arrived this week. Though it doesn’t feature either Wizkid or Vybz (naturally), the video stays fairly true to the lyrics, as it shows a group of girls “whining,” not only to the top, but in pretty much all directions.
Sampha's Tiny Desk Concert
Sampha's new album, Process, speaks to the necessity of vulnerable Black masculinity. The singer visited NPR's Tiny Desk Concert where he played stunning renditions of album standouts "Plastic 100°C," "(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano," and "Blood On Me."
Konono N°1 x Batida
Congotronics meet Angolan rhythms in Konono N°1 and Angolan/Portuguese producer Batida’s collaborative album. A new video from the project for the highly-energetic "Yambadi Mama" dropped this week.
Stream our ‘Songs You Need to Hear’ playlist on Apple Music, updated every Friday.
Kendrick Lamar "The Heart Pt. 4"
Kendrick came through and "handed out body bags," as Okayplayer puts it, with his new single, "The Heart Pt. 4."
The devastating track is rumored to be the first single from his upcoming album, which the rapper has hinted is coming April 7 (K.dot tells other rappers they have “until April 7th to get their sh*t together” on this new track). Listen to it on iTunes.
Legendury Beatz x Vanessa Mdee
Production duo Legendury Beatz master every shade of afrobeats in their latest mixtape, Afropop 101. They're joined by Tanzania's Vanessa Mdee for "Duasi," one of the catchiest, hip-hop-leaning club tracks on the mixtape.
