The 10 Songs You Need to Hear This Week
Featuring Juls, Busiswa, Davido, Nasty C, Olamide, Ethic, Bobi Wine and 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 our SONGS YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS WEEK playlist on Spotify here and Apple Music here.
Check out all of OkayAfrica's playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
Juls 'Soweto Blues' feat. Busiswa and Jaz Karis
Heavyweight Ghanaian-British producer Julsshares his first offering of 2020, and it does not disappoint. The producer enlists South African music star Busiswaand London's Jaz Karis for the jazz-inflected "Soweto Blues," which also boasts elements of South Africa's dominant electronic sound, Amapiano. The slow-burner features airy vocals from Karis who features prominently on the 3-minute track, while Busiswa delivers a standout bridge in her signature high-energy tone.
Nasty C 'There They Go'
Nasty C has inked a deal with Def Jam Recordings. The South African rapper signed exclusive deal with the legendary hip-hop label through a joint venture with Universal Music Africa, Nasty C's home in South Africa. To announce the signing, the rapper and the label released a new single by the lyricist. Titled "There They Go," is the first single from Nasty C's upcoming album Zulu Man With Some Power.
Davido, The Flowolf, Peruzzi, Dremo 'Mafa Mafa'
Now is a better time than ever to take in new music, and thankfully, some of our favorite artists have been delivering. Nigerian stars Davido, Peruzzi, Dremo and The Flowolf inked up for the new collaborative track "Mafa Mafa," under Davido's record label DMW, which launched back in 2018. The song features mostly rapping as the artists trade verses back and forth in Yoruba. "Mafa" is a Yoruba saying that loosely translates to "don't pull it."
Ethic 'Quarantei'
Trust Kenya's Ethic Entertainment to turn a world crisis into a club-ready banger. The Gengetone's collective released their new single "Quarantei" a few days ago and it certainly encourages us to continue partying while we stay isolated at home.
Bobi Wine & Nubian Li 'Corona Virus Alert'
Ugandan artist and activist Bobi Winereleased a song to raise awareness around the growing coronavirus outbreak. He teamed up with fellow Ugandan musician Nubian Li to spread the message of the importance of personal hygiene and social distancing. In the song Bobi Wine sings, "The bad news is that everyone is a potential victim but the good news is that everyone is a potential solution/Sensitise the masses to sanitise/Keep a social distance and quarantine."
MUZI 'Sondela Forever'
"Sondela Forever," the remix to "Sondela" from MUZI's current album ZENO, features keys by Chris Martin. Muzi fell onto Chris Martin's radar after the South African producer and artist released a remix of Coldplay's "Orphans" in 2019. The Coldplay frontman then sent MUZI a short piano rendition of "Sondela" which is one of his favourite songs on ZENO. MUZI then added vocals and sent the track back to Martin who loved it so much he suggested the song be released.
Dice Ailes 'Pim Pim' feat Olamide
Dice Ailes comes through with a hypnotizing head-nodder in "Pim Pim," featuring fellow Nigerian act Olamide.
Simmy 'Ngihamba Nawe' ft. Sino Msolo
South African singer Simmy, real name Simphiwe Nhlangulela, has just released her latest single "Ngihamba Nawe." She features fellow South African artist Sino Msolo on the track which is a follow-up to her 2018 debut album Tugela Fairy. The now gold-certified album featured chart toppers including "Umahlalela", "Ngiyesaba" and "Lashona Ilanga."
Johnny Drille 'Something Better'
Mavin Records singer Johnny Drille has released his first single for the year 2020, titled "Something Better." The song is an uplifting pop progression for your days indoors.
Sound Sultan '8th Wondah'
Sound Sultan recently dropped his 8th studio album titled 8th Wondah. The 17-track album is the follow-up to his 2016 album titled "Out of the Box" and features fellow Nigerian artists 2Baba, Wizkid, Teni, Falz, Mr Real, Olu Maintai, Peruzzi, Small Doctor and Johnny Drille.
