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.

Patoranking – "African Soldier" feat. Buju Banton

Patoranking comes in hot on "African Soldier," a sizzling reggae duet with the one Buju Banton. The Jamaican icon kicks things off soundsystem style, priming us for the lyrical onslaught about to be unleashed by the two. "I'm an African, an African soldier / seh boy better know, ah we run bout ya," cautions Patoranking, assured and firm in his status as one of the African continent’s foremost reggae artists. It’s a major link-up, another signal that gathers and reflects the enduring connections Black people at home and across the diaspora — and particularly along the trans-Atlantic slave trade routes, in this instance — continue to share.

Tinariwen – Hoggar [LP]

Today, Tinariwen releases their tenth LP, Hoggar, a feat that adds to the Tuareg desert blues band’s long list of accomplishments. The album arrives during a time of conflict at home and abroad and, for a moment, absorbs all the anxieties that uncertainty brings. Across eleven tracks, they entrance and bring joy; they dance and deride dreariness; they colour the edges and push toward the precipice. Astral, hypnotic, spectacular.

Maleh – Dithapelo [LP]

Maleh is back. After feeding us a fire run of singles throughout last year, the artist — an anomaly whose reach spans the breadth of Black music, from jazz to gospel, house, soul, and R&B — releases her much-anticipated album, Dithapelo. An ode to various aspects of her spirituality, the 16-track project feels like a reassuring hug. The growth in her artistry is on full display, and what a joy it is to live in her worlds.

North’Mob – "maatla, thata" feat. LaCabra

North’Mob is a rap collective coming out of Pretoria, consisting of emcees Trophy, Orieblxckmaestro, and MajorIcey. Their sound, a fusion they call trapcardi, mines elements of trap and barcardi house to imagine something truly exciting. They bring along LaCabra of The Qwellers for the ride, resulting in a flood of raps too expansive to box into a single genre.

Konstance & Seal – "Mama (Supa D & Maestro Remix)"

From his early days on UK pirate radio to the present moment, where he’s deep in the throes of music production, Supa D has consistently found interesting ways to push things forward. "Mama," an original by Konstance and the legendary Seal, channels a different energy in his hands: thumping, irresistible, uncannily pro-dancefloor. Put this on and lose yourself in the rhythm.

MoRoots – "Tulo"

"Tulo" is beautifully haunting, a peek into the creative magnetism of MoRoots, whose vocals could probably offset an active volcano. The sonics are molten lava, holding their own against the current while forging a new direction for her to flow in. Intriguing and expansive, this is the kind of sound on which futures are predicated.

Njerae – "Ingia Ndani"

Njerae is a storyteller. On "Ingia Ndani," she narrates a tale of love as old as time, weaving personal reflections about making space and time for her lover. She holds our attention throughout and delivers a convincing performance worthy of a rewind.