The Best Music From West Africa in October 2025

Enjoy the best mix of Afropop, neo-highlife, sleeper jams, and old tunes that have found a new audience in this month’s list of best songs from West Africa. The list culls music from Mali, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

The Cavemen “Gatekeepers” ft. Pa Salieu (Nigeria)

Ahead of their forthcoming album, neo-highlife duo The Cavemen offer a groovy critique of industry gatekeepers and know-it-alls with “Gatekeepers.” The Cavemen are not new to using their storytelling to facilitate frank social conversations, often utilizing direct, precisely crafted language to navigate love, existential tension, friendship, personal turmoil, and their view of the world around them. “Gatekeeper” follows in that tradition. 

With an unexpectedly compatible feature with Pa Salieu, the duo explores what it means to always be told what they should be doing and how they should be. It’s a refreshing look into the psyche of a music duo who are often vulnerable about everything else but rarely turn the gaze of that vulnerability directly on themselves. And when it happens in a record like “Gatekeepers,” what you get is a gorgeous social commentary laid over a buttery soft beat and rap lines structured like the opening to a fantastic conversation.

AratheJay “Timeless” (Ghana)

“Timeless” is the third-to-last track on AratheJay’s new album, The Odyssey. It’s a classic Afropop song, but calmer and less fervent. It could be easily mistaken for meditative or existential. The track’s defined by its easygoing form, and the push and pull of a romantic relationship. AratheJay infuses his music with a lilting softness that sometimes betrays his hard-edged lyricism. But it’s ultimately not a terrible combination, as they say, especially when you consider the great sentiment that opposites attract.

Oumou Sangaré “Kun fe ko” (Mali)

Oumou Sangaré first released “Kun fe ko” in 1996 as part of her album Worotan. The song, which investigates and captures the uncertainties of life, recently found new life on the Nigerian side of TikTok, inspiring a digital release (the track was previously unavailable to stream). Perhaps ironically or suited to the song, the vehicle through which “Kun fe ko” found vitality on Nigerian TikTok has nothing to do with the themes of the song itself, but with its familiar sonic language as well as its similarities to the Yoruba language. Sangaré sings in Bambara about leaving it all to God and coming to terms with divine will, but parts of her lyrics have been interpreted into the Yoruba language to mean that something isn’t worth crying over. Weirdly, that translation creates a metaphoric accompaniment to Sangaré ’s original context, reinforcing the understanding that life will happen, despite our resistance or dismay. 

Sangaré’s songs are not new to insane virality or significant cultural moments, but they’re also not always available on streaming platforms. The mostly young audience that has now discovered this song has created one of those cherished moments where Africans come to terms with our shared history, which appears through language, music, taste, and the agreed understanding that nothing ever stays the same.

Gemy “Salone Titi” (Sierra Leone)

Gemy is one of Sierra Leone’s freshly minted stars. He has a voice that’s attentive to the popular sounds of West Africa, while offering his own interpretations of them. His latest “Salone Titi” is a finely achieved blend of Ghanaian Afropop with hints of Nigerian street pop. In a landscape teeming with talent, Gemy is clearing a path for his eventual greatness.

King Dennis “Zowahlazo” ft MC Caro (Liberia)

Liberian artist King Dennis teamed up with fiery rapper MC Caro for a fiercely delivered track championing hustle culture and confidence. “Zowahlazo” is energetic, driven by local parlance and shimmering with the grit and talent present in Liberia’s budding music and creative industry. Present at the heart of this track, though, is an on-the-ground perspective of the sounds, lingo, dreams, and promises that drive youth culture in Liberia.

Kuami Eugene “Instagram” (Ghana)

Kuami Eugene knows how to craft a good hook. It’s what bolsters his previous tracks like “Take Away” and “Emotional” into the halls of all-time best Ghanaian Afropop songs. His latest, “Instagram,” isn’t any different. It’s packed full with memorable hooks, a sleek beat, Eugene’s signature playful writing, and a fun, exciting energy. As Detty December draws near, expect to hear “Instagram” blasting out of loudspeakers in cars, restaurants, clubs, and beach bars everywhere from Accra to Lagos. It’s also something Eugene is great at doing, creating timeless bops that color the best memories.

Lali x Lola “Fire On The Mountain” ft JODÉ (Ghana)

Genre-bending Ghanaian duo Lali x Lola teamed up with house music producer JODÉ for a future-leaning blend of Afropop and house on “Fire On The Mountain.” Lush and tender yet thrumming with energy, “Fire On The Mountain” might seem far off for an admittedly experimental musical duo, but Lali x Lola have come to occupy a fascinating mutability that allows them to shift through and fit seamlessly into any genre.