The Best Southern African Songs Right Now

September is here, signaling the beginning of Spring for us in the Southern Hemisphere. Summer is around the corner, the year’s nearly done, and fatigue has settled into irredeemable corners of our bodies. But the music is present, as always, knocking at distant corners of our existence, keeping stress at bay with every beat laced, every note played, every vocal stacked, and every moment sacrificed.

This month, we pack enough heat from across the region. Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Eswatini have strong contenders, showing the region's vast soniscape. These are the best Southern African songs right now.

Sampa The Great - “Simon Says” (Zambia)

One doesn’t include ‘great’ in their name for random reasons, and in Sampa The Great’s case, there’s an established tradition, a legacy of timeless raps that’ll do your head in any given day. Her more recent work has seen her tapping further into the lineage of Zamrock, unearthing gems that she then repurposes into the hip-hop format. “Simon Says” is dark and twisted, the perfect form of melancholy, dizzying and unpredictable. She’s real and raw, rapping: “The world revolves in loving yourself and your flaws/ I'm comfortable with all my claws, and none of it's true.” The cadence further proves she’s one of the dopest we have around, and that she should be protected at all costs. 

Nisha Ts - Tsigamugobo [LP] (Zimbabwe)

Nisha Ts is on a wavelength of her own. On her brand new album, Tsigamugobo, she holds her own alongside fellow artists such as Sylent Nqo, Holy Ten, and Jnr Spragga. Zimbabwe'sfully represented, and the dancefloor is open for the magic to happen. 

Easy Freak — "Don't It Feel Right" (South Africa)

Easy Freak makes music for spiritually fulfilled people. No worries, no complaints, just the constant light of one's own being. "Don't It Feel Right" brings the ‘70s and '80s to the doorstep and knocks relentlessly, refusing to give in. "I don't want to try if I don't have to," sings the duo, the decadence of drums, keys, bass, and strings wrapping their voices in a veil of perfection, a wondrous maze of discovery.

Nasty C, Tellaman — T's & C's Apply (South Africa)

Tellaman and Nasty C have a formidable bond, a brotherhood struck in musical notes, shared life interests, and a standing among the most outstanding gentlemen in modern music. One is known for his R&B output, the other for being the most bankable rapper around, and their combined strengths complement and supplement each other: melodies cross paths, half-sung raps morph into full-blown rhyme excursions, and life experiences, shared by the sharpest pens known to man, transform the listener, generating relatable preludes to the rest of our lives. This is the album you make when you know that you really can't be messed with. And these two? They've got it all.

Linda Sikhakhane — Linda [LP] (South Africa)

At nine tracks, Linda Sikhakhane's self-titled fifth album is a work of trusting the process so completely that it allows you to exist in the moment. It was conceived in a non-linear manner unfamiliar to the tenor saxophonist, one that saw him bring song sketches rather than fully fledged compositions to the sessions. Add to that the on-the-moment thinking of producer Nduduzo Makhathini, who recommended they take advantage of the Kabelo Mokhatla trio's trip to South Africa — Mokhatla on drums, and brothers Cameron and Conway Campbell on piano and double bass respectively — and the result is this offering. Guest contributions come from Sikhakhane's own brother, Thabo, a rising trumpeter and flugelhorn player in the South African improvised music scene; Zuluboy, a friend and collaborator of Makhathini's, and one of the last conscious rappers standing from his generation of emcees; Ovuyonke and Phila Dlozi, who bring a new wave of Zulu-noir into the cut; and Omagugu, whose feature on Sikhakhane's debut album still echoes through the hallways of the South African songbook.

Bab’ Dlamini - “Shimpilika” (Remix) (Eswatini)

“Shimpilika (Remix)” brings the best of Eswatini’s rap talent to the fore, showing what true collaboration looks like when it emerges from care and a desire to rise collectively. Featuring the likes of Oriiginelle, Grixxly and Thaifo Son, the song is reminiscent and futuristic, a true representation of where African rap is at this very moment. 

Young Gemini - “Amen” (Zimbabwe)

Young Gemini’s vocals are smooth, but there’s no half-stepping when it comes to the bars. She rides the beat, easing into the patterns and finding her footing, emerging steady on the other side. “Amen” is her latest release, a trap-centric sonic landscape teeming with hyper-local references. She represents the current wave of rap across the continent, and her journey has just begun. 

Jabulile Majola - Ipasi [LP] (South Africa)

On Jabulile Majola’s new album, Ipasi, the artist features vignettes from life: the live-show experience at the beginning of the Thando Zide-featuring “Sonke (EKapa),” the knees-on-the-ground grief embedded in “Mandla,” the disarming, soul-tinged sting of “Uze Wazi,” where Lia Butler joins him in doing the most, allowing the two to deliver their best rendition of ’70s soul-inspired balladry. The album drips with emotion; it reflects lived experiences, quotes stories from others, creates its own storage for later access, and suggests a better, unhurried listening tradition.