The Best Afro-House Songs Right Now

This month, we turn our attention to nearby scenes in South Africa and Eswatini, where heavyweights !Sooks, Zakes Bantwini, and Sun-El Musician continue to make their mark while innovating across the board; look further afield to Nigeria, where we find the Afro-infused sounds of Faith Martins; then cross over to The Hague, where South African jazz meets the hand of a rising producer in the European Afro scene. 

These are the best Afro-house songs right now. 

Zakes Bantwini, Sun-El Musician — "Impatient/You Never Know"

Zakes Bantwini and Sun-El Musician chose a Tuesday to release "Impatient/You Never Know," their debut for Anjunadeep. It could have followed the path of most music uploaded online: unnoticed, with little chance of discovery outside the streaming economy's playlisting ecosystem. But these are two of the most forward-thinking minds in African electronic music, artists and entrepreneurs who continuously strive to understand the evolving nature of their industry. The four-track EP features two original cuts and their extended versions. kisskisskiss, who appears on both the original and extended mixes of "Impatient," has no other traceable credits, which raises the question of whether the vocals are AI-generated. Digging into the songwriting credits, though, brings up London-based Anni Maria Kassmala, who performs as Dwara and has appeared on a range of music by herself and by other artist-producers. South Africa-born, London-based producer Jordan Arts' feature on "You Never Know" demonstrates Zakes Bantwini and Sun-El Musician's proficiency at building entire worlds around the vocal — worlds that augment rather than take away or take center stage. This is deep and soulful in ways we still haven't fully grasped.

Culoe De Song — Moonhound EP

Culoe De Song commands the dancefloor, reupholsters his stamp of authority, and uses it to mark the register. Afro's in safe hands, he lets us know. On the four-track Moonhound EP, his first for Crosstown Rebels, he produces one half and hands the reins to the legendary Manoo for the remixes; soul is communicated and vibrational. The producer and deejay occupies his own frequency. "The Spiker" has a recurring vocal chop suffused with outer-space synths and interrupted by piano chords that announce their presence with urgency matched by the tension he builds, then resolve as the drums make a comeback. Manoo's two remixes deconstruct its identity, building it back up bit by bit, adding elements that suggest what's to come, and using reverb and delay to give the feeling of multiple walls of sound closing in on the circle, each one offering comfort rather than exile from the self, upping the tempo slightly to suggest that what follows on the dancefloor is award-winning hip gyration. We're witnessing two masters at work, and what an incredible joy it is.

Faith Martins — "Dàjú"

A debate is currently brewing on the internet. It's about the state of Nigerian music: the apparent collapse of Afrobeats, and the attendant rise of variants either influenced by it or attempting to deviate from it completely. On "Dàjú," Faith Martins doesn't so much contribute to the discourse as shutter its limits. Labels are boxes, and there's a freedom here that suggests she doesn't need to fit inside them so much as use them to her benefit. She embraces the Afro-house sound and uses language to give a sense of locatedness. This one will be ruling dancefloors worldwide soon enough.

Quitesoul, Ishuu Twins — "Kancane" (feat. Lacole Rsa)

Ishuu Twins are Mbongeni and Siyabonga Ndlovu, a South African deejaying and production duo making captivating, Afro-inspired monuments to the dancefloor, tunes that nudge you toward the freedom that dance and movement unlock. Along with Quitesoul, himself an emerging producer with a slant toward the non-linear melodic lines that the drum unlocks, they've delivered a giant problem in "Kancane," which takes a 3Step format, adds piano flourishes that border on amapiano's love for complex key work, drags basslines from the pits of electronic music's deepest, darkest, and sweetest corners, and asks Lacole Rsa to take it all the way home. "Uyibambe kancane dali, thatha isikhathi sakho dali" — slow down, darling; take your time — he warns. Stay till the very end to hear the full wrath of the bassline.

Nduduzo Makhathini, Chalee — "Re-Amathambo" (feat. Anna Widauer)

By now, Nduduzo Makhathini's "Amathambo" is fast becoming an electronic music standard. The original appears on his major-label debut, 2017's Ikhambi; Makhathini reworked it as "Re-Amathambo" for 2022's In the Spirit of Ntu, where Austrian artist Anna Widauer's arresting vocals anchor it. FKA Mash's Afro-house rework of that version was nominated for Remix of the Year at this year's South African Music Awards, losing out to Kabza De Small's "Eningi." Now Chalee, representing the Netherlands, makes a compelling case with his Afro twist, centering the vocals and stealing bits of the trumpet played by Robin Fassie on the Spirit of Ntu recording for that extra injection of aura. This is where it's at!

!Sooks, J'Something — "Bring On The Night" (feat. King Dashnote)

!Sooks is an exploratory producer. Whether crafting original takes on the eternal beat that house music built, or using the sample template to unearth bangers from the archive, the Eswatini-born producer stays on his toes. "Bring On The Night" reimagines a song Sting wrote for The Police that became a classic in South African house circles in the early 2000s, through Cloudkickers' version and Rocco Rodamaal's TroDeep remix. This time, it's J'Something's vocals guiding us — a moment, considering his band Mi Casa are also South African music legends. King Dashnote's hand makes this a memorable burner in the making.

Prince Kaybee — "Veliry" (feat. Ben September)

On "Veliry," Prince Kaybee calls Ben September back for a rematch. After linking on "Breakfast In Soweto" and then "3 In The Morning," they're building a discography worth admiring, with Prince Kaybee most recently lending his producer's hand to Ben September's 7 Girls EP. "Oh I need ya, my baby, Veliry," sings the vocalist, percussive elements bent to the key of Afro showering down on his parade, insisting that he keep it classy. Check what the bass is doing here, swimming in the sonics, then commanding the center. These are two masters at work. Pay attention.