The African Songs 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.

Cruel Santino - "Oz"

Nigerian artist and songwriter Cruel Santino has released “Oz” and “International Collector.” These two electric tracks offer an intriguing preview of his upcoming album King of the Bounce, which he’s been teasing for almost three years. “Oz” in particular emulates the sound of Nigerian alté. The genre-bending movement, of which Cruel Santino is a pioneer, blends diverse influences into a distinctive experimental style. Santino says that the track “goes back to the sounds and energy that inspired this journey.” “International Collector” relies on a dreamy, looping rhythm and atmospheric bassline that absorbs the listener. "I started working on the song in 2022 and kept returning to it over time," says Santino. “I'm always creating across different mediums—music, film, visuals—and sometimes a song needs space to become what it's supposed to be.” - Eruteya Onyemelukwe

Linda Sikhakhane - "Indlela"

Linda Sikhakhane's second single in the lead-up to his forthcoming, self-titled album, Linda is out today. He substitutes the tenor saxophone we heard on the Omagugu-featuring "Days Begin To Sing" with the higher-pitched soprano, which leads the head with the artist's unmistakable tone, and a composition that demonstrates his gift for themes that stick. The rest of the band is cooking, too; Kabelo "Boy" Mokhatla's drums sound like they're breaking down frontiers, and the American duo of ... on piano and ... on bass lock, load, dump, and pick up insane runs, letting go and locking in according to what the direction dictates. Sikhakhane has spoken about the approach he's taken for this project, where, instead of coming in with fully mapped-out compositions, he had sketches that he then shaped under the watchful eye and brotherly guidance of Nduduzo Makhathini, who produced the project.

Darkoo - "That Girl" (feat. Asake)

Built on the same chord progression and beat pattern that made the Diwali riddim a global smash, versioned by everyone from Brick & Lace to Sean Paul, Bounty Killer to Anthony B, Darkoo's "That Girl" is a bridge between worlds. It's a song that could've also come out 20 years ago, which says a lot about how there are artists today who still study their predecessors and pay homage as a way of figuring out the way forward. "I might be the one to make the difference in your life," she sings, classic toxic romance as heard on R&B songs of old — a trope incidentally making a comeback in a major way. Asake finishes it off; "omo I really wanna rock your boat," he sings, taking his time, not rushing, being very careful to color outside of the lines with magnificent style and pattern.

Rema - "Tea"

"When you hear my voice, it's party time," sings Rema, sounding more like the voice of a call to prayer as dawn breaks than an innovator of the ages who abides by no one's rules. That phrase alone inspires a rewind; it hits you without warning, makes you feel no pain, and deserves another chance to be experienced anew, prepared to mash up the spot once the beat drops. "Tea" is an exposé that confirms how much sounds and scenes influence one another. There are the incantations of dancehall spread across two minutes — the beat that induces a whine, the deceptively simple melody that rings like recurring dreams; then, the influence of EDM via the drone-like bassline and the saw-like synths. Rema's imagination is prestigious, and it's essential that we're constantly reminded why he's one of the greatest doing it right now.

K-Trap - "Pressure" (feat. Oxlade)

K-Trap traverses lanes with the ease of someone dedicated to their art. Equally adept at the road raps that have made him a legend in the UK drill scene as he is at crafting these sweet, gentle rap songs about love and betrayal, he's a prime example that Black people, and Black men in particular, hold multiple realities that embody the personal and the universal. "Tell me when you're free, maybe we can do lunch," he raps, a journal entry about blossoming love. Oxlade applies further pressure, with precious melodies that don't so much float as they do course through the main vein of the beat.

Sakhile, TJ Zulu, INKINGA YOMHLABA - Kwasukasukela [LP]

The current wave of alternative Black artists operating on the ground in South Africa is rooted in recent history. "Cosi" has elements of Zoë Modiga and The Brother Moves On; it's anchored in the spirit of beat communities and vinyl junkies whose quest for the unknown and unheard is limitless; and in acknowledging the very recent history — itself an extension of histories before it — makes an auditory argument for a new way forward, hence the very title of the EP, which translates to 'once upon a time.' Here, time is atemporal, and exists in moments shared, connections created, feelings felt. Each of these three is established in their own right, so this is legit a supergroup for the here and now.

Honeymoan - Love Destroy Me [LP]

Honeymoan release their album Love Destroy Me today. The album is anchored by singer/songwriter Alison Stewart's lyrics, which use comic relief to explore the darkness within, resulting in vivid writing that reveals more than it tries to hide and an honesty in the craft that draws listeners in. The music has a lo-fi slant, shoegazing rock surfing on turfs relegated to the backrooms, the dilapidated innercity confines, and the deserted outercity edges. It's weird, and that's a great thing. Listen to this while doing something cute, like cutting the grass or sipping margaritas while lying next to a body of water.

Fireboy DML - "CLAAT!" (feat. Masicka)

"CLAAT!" is addictive. "Now the club can't contain us/ and the energy is contagious," sings Fireboy DML, attitude set on don't-try-me, talent oozing like it were as natural as breathing. He brings his A-game; he has to. Going toe-to-toe with one of dancehall's finest, Masicka, requires that one lift heavy weights — smol smol thing for Fireboy DML, who's been lifting heavy weights and dropping a bevy of hits through the years. Masicka fits right into the mix, ready-made and rolling like hills on this Ramii production. "Bomboclaat princess, dat ah what you make me shout out," toasts the artist, lust so soulful it adds complexity to the whole package.

Somi - "Throw Something"

There's a cool and an elegance with which Somi carries herself. That sure-footedness extends into the music, which is the sonic embodiment of how the spirit feels when the sun pierces the clouds after the rains; or when the rains flood the plain after a drought; or when experiencing healing after an extended period of loss. Her words are power, poetry woven into the coolest jazz composition on either side of the Black Atlantic. This is how she stamps her voice, how she lets us know she's a master at this and only getting better. "Throw something/ maybe try not to sing/ get rid of everything/ say that you've tried," she nudges, muted guitar chords accompanying her, then everything — piano, upright bass, drums — coming into place just in time to catch her instructing: "Kick the door/ maybe sulk even more/ stomp up and down the floor/ say that you're done." It's in how she modulates words that her power shows, small inflections in her vocal cords that make for a world of difference. Mastery.

Cleanblack Music, EESKAY, Erigga - North & South [EP]

Done right, joint projects are middle ground that allow for new ideas to emerge. The best of them allow artists to both remain in their comfort zone and break away from convention, resulting in a significant third space where magic occurs. Nigeria's Erigga and Eesskay are the best exhibits of this. On the scintillating seven-track collection, the duo does all but use up every word in the dictionary, riding Cleanback Music’s neck-breaking beats to discuss everything from their day-to-day ritual to the more braggadocious elements of wordplay that keep the culture close to the ground.