The Top African Songs You Need to Hear This Week: January 16, 2026

Every week, OkayAfrica highlights the top African music releases — including the latest Afrobeats and amapiano hits — through our best music column, African Songs 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.

Wizkid, Asake - “Jogodo”

Over the past few months, the internet has been flooded with top-tier Asake content. Old tweets from his early years as an artist resurfaced, offering fresh insight into his resilience. He headlined the Red Bull Symphonic in New York, and as 2025 drew to a close, a wide-ranging conversation between him and Wizkid surfaced on our feeds. “Jogodo” sounds like a conversation between two friends assured of their talents, comfortable enough to test the outer limits of their artistry in each other’s presence. Produced by Magicsticks, the track taps into the percussive drive of amapiano to create something magnetic, a groove laced with soul-stirring momentum, a moment in time that feels destined to inform what comes next. The track arrives ahead of their collaborative Real Vol. 1 EP, arriving January 23rd. This is what greatness sounds like.

Shabaka - “Marwa The Mountain” 

In 2024, much to the dismay of the music community, Shabaka announced that he was putting his saxophone down to focus his energies on the Japanese flute. The news, though surprising, aligned with his long-standing mindset: deeply focused and always testing the outer limits of his craft. In doing so, he risked alienating the community he built through projects such as Shabaka and the Ancestors, The Comet Is Coming, and Sons of Kemet. But 2025 shifted the narrative. Following the passing of his mentor, Louis Moholo, Shabaka was reminded of the energy and spirit the saxophone carried while preparing for a tribute concert. “Marwa The Mountain” marks a return to form, but also a step forward — exploring the tonal possibilities of both the saxophone and the flute. It’s energetic music, the kind that could soundtrack a full-body workout, leaving you drenched in sweat and fully locked in. The song appears on his forthcoming album, Of The Earth, out in March.

Igwe Aka - “Kapow” (feat. Tochi Bedford) 

Hip-hop continues to expand in exciting ways, picking up new sonic textures with each passing year while building on an archive of experiments that challenge convention. On “Kapow,” Igwe Aka taps into a sound popularised by artists like Brotherkupa and Zayleteven, riding sporadic snares, droned-out basslines, and 808s that rumble like man-made destruction. There’s no room for the destitute in this cypher. The raps are elite, the references acute — “I went Michelin star on the stove.” Gift yourself and tap into the wave.

Usimamane - “Racks” 

Usimamane’s dalliance with money — and his absolute disregard for anything standing in the way of getting it — deserves study. He broke out with “Cheque,” a kind of manifestation for the finer, more comfortable things in life. He followed that with one of 2024’s standout verses on Wordz and Mashbeatz’s “Cheque,” cementing his position as one of the youngins worth watching closely. “Racks,” from his recently released EP G-Wagon Music: Baby Tai, was teased sometime last year and arrives draped in all the glory money can afford. “I’m at the crib all alone / I pray for the sanity, pray for the soul / I pray for the pockets, I hate being broke,” he spazzes. The past is firmly behind him, the focus sharper, and the raps confirm he’s still a worthy contender in rap’s big leagues.

Ady Suleiman - “Ain’t Your Song” 

Ady Suleiman has been consistent with the drops leading up to his third album, Chasing, out today via AWAL Recordings. He’s built a solid base of quality releases, and “Ain’t Your Song” draws from the same river that neo-soul has long used to cleanse and feed generations of prolific creators. His voice is anything but ordinary: shaped by British and Tanzanian roots, steeped in both the old and the new, and intent on forging an identity entirely its own.

Trophy - “camp, chair” (feat. Focalistic, Orieblxkcmaestro, Carlow Picasso & Major Ice)

Trophy has been teasing this banger across his social media, and over the past week, pressure has been mounting in the comment section, with followers aggressively pushing for the song’s release. “Camp Chair” is South African leisure packaged in song form. Start with the beat: a seamless integration of modern rap elements and barcardi house, shaped by the Pretoria locale from which everyone featured here emerges. Then, inspect the flows: ridiculously precise and high grade. They stifle any negative energy and give weight to the celebratory lyrics, which reference Hennessy bottles beneath camp chairs set up on tarmac, instantly relatable tales for anyone who’s truly outside. 

Burukulyn Boyz - “Game”

Mr Right and Ajay are Burukulyn Boyz, a rap duo out of Nairobi, intent on building a dynasty through their music. With its drill-centric instrumentation, “Game” feels like a guided meditation on steroids. They never try too hard; laid-back flows are the order of the day. Lyrics spill out and recoil, tearing you apart before reconstructing something new. East Africa has something to say, and Burukulyn Boyz are ambassadors of a message larger than themselves.