The African Music You Need to Hear This Week

Every week, OkayAfrica highlights the top African music releases — including the latest Afrobeats and amapiano hits — through our best music column, African Music You Need to Hear This Week.

Read ahead for our round-up of the best new African music tracks and music videos that came across our desks this week.

Omah Lay - "Don't Love Me"

“Don’t Love Me,” declares Omah Lay, an instruction, self-loathing encompassed in a single phrase. “I don’t feel nothing, I don’t feel like I’m alive,” he confesses, turning darkness into golden bars. His delivery is a blazing flame that rips into an unfulfilled life, diagnosing fault lines, spitting in the face of conformity, and opting instead for blatant honesty. This is the sound of numbness. “I’m heartless, I’m broken,” he sings, his voice almost cracking under the heaviness, the unbearable weight of being. As for the beat? Tempoe unlocks a portal. Listen closely, and you might just hear and feel the future of Afrobeats.

Fredo, Burna Boy, Steel Banglez - "Birthday" 

Burna Boy’s R&B bag has unearthed classics over the years. On "Birthday," he links up with UK artists, rapper Fredo and producer Steel Banglez, for a song that throws it back to the golden age of hip-hop and R&B collaborations in the '90s. "I know you feel it, because it's written all over your face," sings Burna Boy, paving the way for Fredo to unleash his relentless lyrical attack. It's fierce in all the ways that are sweet and gentle. 

King Promise, Mr Eazi - "That Way"

Before the words announce themselves, “That Way” impresses with drums that knock and a bass line tucked neatly underneath for extra warmth. Then comes the guitar sample: a reworking of Backstreet Boys’ massive hit “I Want It That Way,” newly reimagined as an Afrobeats joint. King Promise and Mr Eazi’s chemistry has held its ground time and again, and here their direction ticks all the right boxes: a hint of R&B, a splash of dancehall, and impossible levels of bounce, courtesy of GuiltyBeatz and JAE5.

Naledi - "Meadows"

Naledi’s voice carries a tune with intent. She works the edges, sets the mood, then readies a swift attack, embracing world-building as craft. Her writing weaves tales that are at times whimsical, at times hard-edged and urgent, always grounded in meaning. “Meadows” arrives as part of her new EP, Darkness, my old friend. “Ke bophelo bofeng boo re bo phelang?” she inquires, questioning the life we are subjected to on this earth. It’s also a heart-to-heart, a beckoning of ancestors and creators alike. “Dlozi lam, Thixo wam, sondela,” she pleads, as the music — a lush, textured assemblage drawing from multiple jazz modalities — embraces her in return.

Shoday - " Bad and Bouje" feat. taves

Shoday transforms the phrase “bad and boujee,” lifting it from its Migos trap origins and guiding it through the endless maze that is Afrobeats. “You’re bad and boujee, and you’re looking sexy,” he declares, while the rhythm maintains a steady bounce that lets you know there’s no hurry here; this groove is built to hang in the air.

Dwson - "Sense" feat. Lusanda

Cape Town–based producer Dwson has been holding the torch for deep house music in South Africa for close to a decade. Over that time, he’s watched the sound grow and fuse with other strains of the country’s vast electronic ecosystem. It’s not a stretch to say his presence has been energizing, emblematic of the passion so many DJs and producers have poured into the genre’s expansion. His new LP, Nothing to Lose, arrives amid a global Afro-house boom, where debates around originators abound. On “Sense,” Dwson enlists the incandescent Lusanda, who embeds feelings of love and affection into an already immersive soundscape.

Mavimbs - "Love Drive"

As a bassist and arranger, Mavimbs’ hands have graced some of South Africa’s most memorable musical gems, shaping the contours of the country’s jazz landscape. About two years ago, he assembled a group of musicians, a work that has culminated in his forthcoming debut album after years on the sidelines. “Love Drive” arrives as its first single, a divinely timed intervention during the month of love. It’s affecting, even optimistic, in a world edging toward the tipping point daily. Sisonke Xonti’s alto saxophone guides the room, Keenan Ahrends shreds his guitar — each note a statement — while Teboho Kobedi on keys, Robin Fassie on trumpet, and Lungile Kunene on drums hold it down with elegant precision.

Asher Gamedze - "Air"

Asher Gamedze adds another striking entry to his trajectory with “Air,” a piece laced with protest and intellectual rigor, testing sound as a site of collective inquiry — where group theory yields cumulative power. The drummer anchors the composition, freeing the musicians to push the music into wild, exploratory territory. It opens with audio snippets — a kind of group discussion — textures brewing beneath the surface before dissolving into a groove that’s bright, warm, and enchanting. It recalls everything that makes creative improvisation a fearless undertaking. These artists aren’t afraid to stretch the canvas wider, moving so expansively they might just bend time.

Shabaka - "Eyes Lowered"

“Eyes Lowered” begins like a martial-arts epic. Shabaka tests the waters, injecting a distinctly Eastern sensibility into the music, as if a duel — the ultimate test of ascension — is about to unfold. He heightens this force field with spoken word, shifting the piece’s essence, recalibrating its frequencies, and plunging deep into the flute’s sonic temperament. The energy remains measured, enhancing the listening experience rather than overwhelming it. Somehow, it all works: you can feel Shabaka’s many sonic directions itching to break free, each gently released, one by one.