Elaine 'Elements'
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/us/album/elements/1481660085"></iframe><p>R&B singer <strong>Elaine</strong> has dominated streaming charts with her youthful dynamism since the release of her <em>Elements</em> EP. Her 7-track offering is one of the biggest new independent releases in South Africa, having reached the top of Apple Music's Album Charts. It subsequently earned her recognition as the platform's New Artist Spotlight for Sub-Saharan Africa in November.The Pretoria-based singer offers a mellow blend of trap-soul and R&B with incisive explorations of adolescent love. With tracks like "You're The One," she sets the world alight over production by <strong>Clxrity</strong>. <br></p>
Sio 'sbtxts'
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/za/album/sbtxts/1471022723"></iframe><p>Straddling spoken word, house and electro-soul, <strong>Sio</strong> offers deeply reflective art on her debut album <em>sbtxts</em>. Over production by <strong>Daev Martian</strong>, <strong>Julian Gomes</strong> and <strong>Atjazz</strong>, the Johannesburg native delves into both romantic and melancholic themes across the album's 17 tracks. Sio has an ability to marry the groove of house music with introspective songwriting, owed largely to her poetic delivery.<span></span><br></p>
Refentše Solo 'Genesis'
<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/683334876&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><p>A sultry voice over soulful, emotive production sums up Pretoria native <strong>Refentše Solo</strong>'s alluring sound. Fusing Northern Sesotho and English on her debut EP, <em>Genesis</em>, she's as poised as her music is moving. "New Moon" is a standout song on the EP that takes on the angelic tone of its spiritual lyrics, hinting at a vocalist finely in tune with her songwriting.<br></p>
Kim Venty 'Practice Room'
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/us/album/practice-room/1464286368"></iframe><p><em>Practice Room</em>, by Cape Town's own <strong>Kim Venty, </strong> is an aptly named 7-song EP. The release is an exploration in two senses: that of self and that of different sounds. With a jazz background and palette for pop music, Kim occupies a space that is influenced by the diversity of her taste. With her take on alt-pop, the singer's open to experimentation as is evident on her <strong>Gina Jeanz</strong>-produced single "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L_MGTjs_Uk" target="_blank">For You</a>."<br></p>
Ayanda Jiya 'Ayandastand'
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/za/album/ayandastand/1472645651"></iframe><p>The soulful <em>Ayandastand,</em> an R&B project invested in the love of self and others, serves as <strong>Ayanda Jiya</strong>'s debut album. While effortlessly displaying her vocal range on "The Sun" and across the entire album, the singer also taps into her longstanding hip-hop roots through collaborations with <strong>A-Reece</strong> and <strong>Stogie T</strong>.<span></span><br></p>
Ami Faku 'Imali'
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/us/album/imali/1475478685"></iframe><p>A project both youthful and timeless, <strong>Ami Faku</strong>'s <em>Imali</em> is a refreshing take on Afro-soul. The singer-songwriter grapples with dream chasing, finding love and the solace of home over the eclectic soundscapes of these 11 tracks. In the truest sense of the word,<em> Imali</em> reimagines a traditional sound and infuses it with an infectious sprightliness.<span></span><br></p>
nalu luvdust 'Tacenda'
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/za/album/tacenda/1470342739"></iframe><p>Cape Town-based singer <strong>Nalu</strong>'s <em>Tacenda</em> EP is a deeply engrossing listen. On it, she offers honest interpretations of sexuality and relationships while her lyrics are cocooned between R&B-meets-soul rhythms and lo-fi ambiance. The standout quality of <em>Tacenda</em> is its marriage of acoustic riffs and soulful bass, as embodied by the <strong>Hanna (the nigist)-</strong>featuring "Bedtime Confessions." A distorted interpolation of 50 Cent's "21 Questions" on "Kitty" is also a big EP standout.<span></span><br></p>
Valerie Omari 'Therefore I Am'
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/in/album/therefore-i-am/1481569056"></iframe><p>With her <em>Therefore I Am</em> EP, <strong>Valerie Omari </strong>announces herself to the scene as the quintessential R&B artist. Over palpably raw, echoic production, the Democratic Republic of Congo-born singer traverses the sensuality, heartbreak and addictiveness that comes with relationships. Valerie is at home with the more traditional R&B aesthetic though she comfortably leans towards fusion on the latter part of the EP. This is a voice destined for greatness.<br></p>
lordkez 'Revenge Season'
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/ca/album/revenge-season-ep/1460128504"></iframe><p>Kimberley-born singer Keziah Zoë Meyers explores a range of emotions through the lens of a revenge-wielding scribe on her 6-track debut offering. Deftly floating over instrumentation owed to the trap-soul wave, the <em>Revenge Season</em> EP sees <strong>lordkez</strong> tapping into themes of love, vulnerability and deceit—all the while with a score to settle. Lordkez's strength is her versatility as an artist, as she unveils layers of her vocal range alongside rhythmic flows that make you nod as much as her soundscapes make you feel.<br></p>
Thandeka Dladla of Unity Band 'Fabric'
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/za/album/fabric/1453805842"></iframe><p>The singer <strong>Thandeka Dladla</strong> serves as the lead vocalist of the Cape Town-based <strong>Unity Band.</strong> The Unity band was formed by South African College of Music graduates <strong>Lumanyano Mzi</strong>, who also serves as a drummer for trumpeter <strong>Mandisi Dyantyis</strong>. 24-year-old Dladla fronts the eight-piece outfit, which blends elements of pop, funk and hip-hop while keeping jazz at the crux of their sound. Thandeka adds an arresting lyricism to the band's explorative ethos and compliments their unique African take on jazz fusion with her isiXhosa vocals. If the band's debut release <em>Fabric</em> is anything to go by, the young vocalist will be a great addition to South Africa's jazz scene for years to come.<span></span><br></p>