"See I like Beyoncé, but she dey with Jigga / I like Nicki, her yansh is bigger..." // D'BANJ - OLIVER TWIST // afrobeats in the charts

2012 summer jam number one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQP-etYU1ps&ob=av2e

keep hearing this everywhere in public which makes it even better

first heard it on this mix

http://www.okayafrica.com/2011/12/13/audio-dj-abrantees-afrobeats-mixtape-ft-wiz-kid-ice-prince-dbanj/

had no idea it was gonna become a thing this summer but there it is in the top 10

Only know it through the Funkystepz remix atm.

So, Kanye's involved somehow(?) - think this has any traction stateside?

the funkystepz remix is kind of pointless

no idea about kanye's involvement though whenever an amazing song gatecrashes the charts out of nowhere there always seems to be something like that behind it (cf jepsen/bieber) so i wouldn't be surprised

I first heard of it via Dan Hancox's Guardian feature on Afrobeats in January. LOVE that it's in the Top Ten!

Sneakbo version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiMaW8kTF0k

Donaeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3iNJZ3Mqqg

I absolutely rinsed that Abrantee Afrobeats vol 1 mix a while back. He seems to have pissed quite a few people off by lumping so much different stuff under the Afrobeats tag, but what do i care, that tape was fantastic
http://soundcloud.com/djabrantee/sets/afrobeats-mix-vol-1

He seems to have pissed quite a few people off by lumping so much different stuff under the Afrobeats tag

really, like what? (and criticism from whom?)

as far as i recall the main flak abrantee copped from that article was to do with the misleading impression he himself invented afrobeats as a term and/or was one of its great originators in the uk

^ yeah you're right, that was the main beef people had with him (although i've never seen any criticism of Abrantee coming from the african artists themselves).

I suppose i was referring to a few people on the dissensus afrobeats thread, which quite depressingly turned into a moanfest about lumping together Naija, Hiplife, Boomba, kuduro etc, thereby misrepresenting these distinct musical styles/traditions etc...i suppose they have a point but slagging Abrantee seemed a bit cynical to me, he's doing a lot to promote this music.

this too
http://africasacountry.com/2012/01/27/the-whole-afrobeats-thing/

lol come on man, zhao talking out of his clueless backside is one of the stone tablets of the internet

yeah i've seen that piece too - first comment deals with it neatly

xp lol I knew you were gonna say that! Zhao, bless him...

still there is a controversy there, however tedious it may be, and I think these issues will keep cropping up as this afrobeats thing gets bigger i'm sure.

i agree the dude in the comments nails it for me

This is just wonderful. And thanks to Benny B. for posting that soundcloud link also.

SMELL MY ARMPITS YOU WILL LIKE IT!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb0BiSB4_aY

OH CALAMITY!

sup w kanye, big sean and MANNIE FRESH being in the "oliver twist" video

^ they're all on Kanye's G.O.O.D. music label I think

stands for 'Getting Out Our Dreams' apparently *pukes*

still, its a good look...

bit rich considering how many marcus 'natural artistic sounds touching you' sets you've heard in your lifetime :)

This thread needed to happen, there's so much good music coming out of this scene, I haven't been as excited for music since getting into UK Funky. This is my personal favorite atm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z4VrDu_ZYw&feature=related.

love that track! apparently atumpan is also a high school english teacher irl, which makes it even better.

in case anyone hasn't heard it, d'banj's previous single is also excellent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KIHJOLeyFk

Emmanuel Eboue ‏@TheRealEboue
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Blimey I had no idea that D'Banj was in the top 10, terrific song anyway, although this is my favourite of his:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWilwqonZ0Q

Can't be bothered with the laboured controversy (yawn unifying US and dancehall DNA throughout loads of this etc etc) but glad someone's pointed out the two-way traffic between funky and the Nigerian artists at least, probably others as well, cf this from a couple of years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c821wvSqrAc

Also lol at Donae'o popping up in the video for no apparent reason.

Heard this one on thesinglesjukebox a couple of weeks ago. As I said there musically reminds me of Paul Johnson’s Get Get Down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDwxhHwJ66M

RE: UK Funky/Afrobeats

Dotstars been on this thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MfEFe7Cbrk

always imagined this would fit nicely into a funky set (of yore, maybe not nowadays)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaduM38SFsM

Quite old and based on SA house more than Naija/Ghana i think, but this is an anthem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryVJ2MdTc2o

another old one but fits i think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP0MyfxT2y4

but Donaeo must be in his absolute element right now, I'm really pleased for him. He's come a long way!

A couple of years ago I heard 'Party Hard' on a dancefloor in Kampala and 'African Warrior' playing in some some random bar that was otherwise playing Nigerian and Ghanaian pop and the big US hits and it was a real penny-drop moment.

This ("Oliver Twist") was at first impossible to check out and then inappropriate to listen to for various personal context reasons for the past 6 days but OH SURPRISE it is in fact my favourite thing ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ1GYHZ_cTs

^^^ This is a couple of years old and corny as hell and has absolutely zero thematic development but is totally irresistible.

can't believe no one has posted this Azonto smash from Ghana here yet, could be the next "Oliver Twist" perhaps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTJ3bwDIyWc

more Azonto goodness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEtzKUvYnPo

and how about this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR5ItzlDhJc

killer track from Nigeria - a bit old, but new to me, and definitely still fresh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS9O7AIA7g8

^ follow this person's lead (re azonto)

yeah them EL tracks are biggles. I believe he produced that daft Eddie Kadi/Funny Face tune I posted upthread too.

Looking forward to giving this a listen soon
http://djneptizzle.com/download/

more Azonto:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCPfKBNILKw

^^ my undisputed #1 song of the year ^^

neptizzle is a fascinating character who i'm surprised the media havent really caught on to - a vietnamese dude from hackney and former grime dj who seemingly randomly picked up on afrobeats in 2007 and has become an international star

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4P-gOrdeZk. This is on that Neptizzle mix, very nice.

you can listen to EL's double album here: http://elrepgh.bandcamp.com/.
4 out of 25 tracks in, it's pretty great!

i was just listening to it as well... it's on Spotify, so fast!
(but really, putting that "this is crazy chale" thing in every single intro gets a bit annoying)

That Neptizzle mix is amazing, I can't stop playing it! There's some proper hard tracks, like the Dee Moneeey I put up above, or 'Bossu Kena', and some beautiful, sugar-sweet ones as well, like 'Big Momma', 'Onyame Ehyira', and 'Sweetio'. There's just something about the colorful synths, syncopated beats, autotuned african vocals, and the relentless, catchy fun of this that really does it for me.

Love the Neptizzle mix so so so much.

yes!

What's this about Bert Jansch? Ok. Leaving thread...

http://db8nv44adlng0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Empire-State-of-Mind-album-art.jpeg

based on the singles this album is shaping up to be really good! wizkid, banky w & scales

love everything about this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7_bpL4zSLw&feature=share

yeah that one's a belter

rhythmically fairly unique from what i've found too

(save el's 'kaalu' maybe-ish)

yeah, you mean with those 4x4 kicks coming in and out?

I am also pretty in awe of how stylish these dudes look tbh.

i love that neptizzle mix! what are the chances we can get marcus mixing afrobeats? he would be killing it.

"obuu mo" is absolutely my shit.

at the risk of being thick, what defines this "scene"? Like, what distinguishes "afrobeats" from other stuff? I don't want to be the genre police, I'm enjoying it, but it just feels like uk-funky influenced house?

rhythmically fairly unique from what i've found too

really?

the neptizzle mix just keeps on giving:

http://youtu.be/AktSWz4Gowg

i've gotta say i'm looking up these tracks from the neptizzle mix on youtube and i'm kind of astounded. every song i've looked up seems to be single with an HD video. it's like uk funky never died just moved to ghana and got popular! is this stuff actually influnced by the uk funky scene or it just happens to sound similar? so much of this stuff would fit perfectnly into a golden age marcus set.

i love that neptizzle mix! what are the chances we can get marcus mixing afrobeats? he would be killing it.

― hardhouse banter (tpp), Thursday, 21 June 2012 22:20 (24 minutes ago) Bookmark

ya tell me about it, i tried realising this big vision of a mix i had in my head but it turns out the required mak10/maximum type ninja skillz do not come easily to the relative traktor n00b :(

i mean none of the afro dj's i've heard have been actively bad exactly but idk it could just be so much more in the right hands

Despite the obvious similarities, I think its easy to overstate the UK Funky connection tbh.

As for DJing, Neptizzle seems pretty tight, Abrantee not at all. How much does it really matter though? Slapping the tunes on dancehall style seems enough for me.

yeah you could make a vague case for cross-pollination i suppose (uk funky djs were touring africa for a while right) but i'm firmly seeing it as a natural indigenous mutation of the usual hiplife via the azonto "dance" injecting the speed and purpose (sometimes a new name is all it takes) to make it dancehally

but i do agree a lot of the ghanaian stuff can be startlingly funky-esque. like i give world music tourism brutally short shrift and i feel as if this stuff has naturally come to me and my londoncentricism (rather than me towards it)

dancehall djing isn't "slapping the tunes on"!! ur bang out of order

cool ur boots man, I just meant short transitions rather than long mixes. Obv selection is key!

I think this thread has been mainly azonto so far so lets have some naija

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oa5KVZtAnU

right well yeah but even within short transitions you see the difference i'm making between neptizzle and co riffing through the tracks quickly and a then potential mak 10 grime style intensity bringing the best out of the material

seen

what pirates are playing this stuff incidentally. Maybe there is already some ninja djs out there playing this stuff we don't know about yet?

actually, this guy Wavy J is a good dj. Not Mak 10 levels or owt, but his AFROBEAST mixtapes are well mixed. Other than Abrantee and Neptizzle I haven't heard any other afrobeat djs tbh.

http://soundcloud.com/wavyj

i know its quite old, but did anyone see this horrible, mean-spirited and utterly stupid article in the Voice?
http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/step-back-afrobeatreggae-still-rules

ugh^

nice video this but the second track of her EP is better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h-ptJ-nZ7g

ut i do agree a lot of the ghanaian stuff can be startlingly funky-esque. like i give world music tourism brutally short shrift and i feel as if this stuff has naturally come to me and my londoncentricism (rather than me towards it)

Yeah this makes sense. Like this is a total assumption and possibly way off-piste but I'd guess a fair proportion of these guys come from relatively wealthy backgrounds and will have spent time in London including going to clubs and absorbing music from over here, including funky.

I mean that's not even taking into account the sort of cross-pollination you get from Youtube etc. Dunno about the Ghanaian artists but Don Jazzy, who's produced a shitton of Naija stuff has been living in London for a decade.

hadnt seen that voice article but i feel like that's not the first time i've come across butthurt jamaicans wait let me rephrase that detected a resentful antipathy from that side

basically a belated realisation of how faddishness works after years of telling themselves all manner of nice things to soothe why the early to mid 00s limelight went away. insert your own proud wifebeaten tart with a heart analogy

again i think it's partly a misapprehension born of sometimes inadequate, sometimes novelty-ish presentation; you never know how serious robbo ranx is with this stuff (can be slyly very cutting in the margins of geniality) but recently on his show he'd been pressganged into having (the pleasantly pointlessly avuncular) dj edu guesting as part of 1xtra afrobeats week and it was a crying shame listening to edu's miserable attempts to convince robbo with the most uninteresting blatantly dancehall-derived stuff, like dudes speaking in ja patois and so on, everything to back up the suspicion of afro as shonky facsimile dancehall. a revelatory opportunity missed

not that it particularly matters what robbo thinks of course. the most interesting thing is that edu was convinced dancehall was sounding more like afro! (with particular reference to konshens 'stop sign/gyal a bubble part 2' iirc). oh how you could hear robbo silently bristle at that

really hating the way that daytime R1 DJ's seem to be treating Robbo Ranx and this track as some laughable onetime breakout.

from the observer today - 'The impossibly infectious "Oliver Twist" was a calculated attempt to crack the market in the UK. "I thought we could do with a sort of funky house sound. I thought: 'It's not like the music is that different from the music we listen to here.'"'

The EL album is fantastic.

killer track from last year i just came across on youtube. Amanda's getting it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6WvHVHkM7I

plenty of freshness on this new Selecta Maestro mix

http://soundcloud.com/selectamaestro83/afrobeats-workout-session-vol

still haven't caught up with all the youtubes in this thread because i can't watch youtube any more on this laptop but here are a couple of amazing songs that are new to me that were played at the afrobeats somerset house show at the weekend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5u1w-tUxaM

"save the drama for your baby mama"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXgkI7bRFHo

mista silva has an ep on itunes called full vim, i recommend it

oh wait apparently "kele kele" was on that abrantee mix i've played about 50 times, had never noticed it before. see how great songs stand out so much more in isolation

this is on this weekend also:

http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/music/gigs-contemporary/tickets/the-ultimate-afrobeats-utopia-66326

finally on YouTube, the hottest bangingest track off EL's "Something ELse" album: Egbee Mli.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfoZT7WFW9I

EL is a brilliant producer, I love the synths on that one above, banging beat, too!

So many good productions on the E.L. album, it's a bit more fake-dancehall but I adore "Mame Wossop".

e.l is pretty good but making a big deal of him is v much like saying your fave funky producer is roska

LOL what a thing to say.

The new Roska album is good actually! Poor dude, he finally does something that might please the audience who initially threatened to embrace him, but they've stopped listening.

Re azonto etc. I'm not really in a position to think in terms of "fave producer" yet anyway.

new neptizzle mixtape!
http://mixtapemadness.co.uk/DJneptizzle/UltimateAfrobeats2012/552

and just realised that his weekly shows are archived here
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/24197216

My favourite producer is whoever made that Amanda riddim. Zigi himself? Or maybe Richie? Haven't been able to find out.

Here's the new remix of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lBPusVgJnU

according to google it is richie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richie_Mensah

well it doesn't mention that song on that page, but yeah i suppose it must be him.

Talking producers, I really rate Ball J who produced Lapaz Toyota for Guru.

This is like Lapaz Toyota part two
Guru - Karaoke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDJvbe_RpDQ

Obour ft. Mugeez - One people
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lBPusVgJnU

Nhyiraba Kojo (ft.Skrew Faze & Ball J)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7R5jMLPk1A

more goodness from him here (Today be Today by Black Cat is cool)
didhttp://www.bigxgh.com/artist/ball-j/

soz, fucked some links up

Obour ft. Mugeez - One people
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfZz5o0dBrc

Ball J produckies
http://www.bigxgh.com/artist/ball-j/

richie does all the production for lynx ents, it was on another page sorry

ball j is by far my favourite, i said already 'lapaz toyota' was my song of the year and 'karaoke' is just as good; him and his nu afrika posse seem particularly comparable to early-to-mid ward 21, the heavy rap influence and slight mad scientist auteur remove from the rest of the azonto mainstream whilst still being popular. guru is great too, love that low slung flow

rate you for putting the work in benny, good stuff

ah yes I thought ward 21 when i heard lapaz toyota too, if only because of the guy with the deep voice!

here's another great Ball J production

Aaah - Anomaba
http://archive.org/details/AnomaBa_AaahDaMusician

would have posted the youtube but the homemade video was just too hideous

"Karaoke" is brilliant!

I find it funny that there's a producer called De-Genius Selections too (dude did Raquel's "Sweetio" and Edem's "Over Again", two of my favourites from the first Neptizzle mix), they're making the dancehall comparisons way too easy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLJ6M-lmrxo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JK0azayEoA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvT4fIUuGQY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4i_SSx-3tA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H27ANlCrs6E

Already love "Twaame Lala"... Got some homework from this thread now.

all those are ball j

appietus, gafacci, guiltybeatz, killa beatz, krinkman are other consistently great 233 producers

wow, Ball J ftw then

i know it's been out for months and is top of the charts and is ubiquitous yadda yadda but can i just underline the fact that lapaz toyota is the craziest shit ever?? my god did it blow my head clean off.

Holy shit @ all these Ball J tunes! Each one seems crazier than the last.

Between "Lapaz Toyota", "Karaoke", "One People", "Gbaa Alert", "Wa Sei Bebia" and "Twaame Lala" I could totally crowd out my year end top ten with these.

lapaz toyota is siiiiiiiiiiiiiick

I love how both of those Neptizzle mixes end with these beautiful, super saccharine-sweet love songs "Sweetio" and "Am in Love With You Now". I'm glad to be proven wrong, but you wouldn't really get anything that girly/vulnerable in Jamaican Dancehall, would you? Lot's of amazing songs on this thread, btw.

you are wrong, you knew you would be wrong, you will not receive the remittance of being proven wrong

Dammit, I guess an apology wouldn't suffice now, would it? I'll go off now and search for some Ragga Dancehall as sweet and girly as 'Sweetio' or "Am Love with You". Everyone carry on posting links to crazy, mind-bending Azonto.

Nyame-K - Sa Saaaa Saa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4zi_cOcKJM&feature=related

^ that one's Ball J. Dunno who made this next one but its nuts

Fada Gran Pa - To da center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZxHXd_oUVs&feature=plcp

One of my favourite things about "Lapaz Toyota" on the Neptizzle mix is that it's one of the few tunes that gets a proper mix lead-in; every time I hear those stabs start to emerge I get really excited.

lord a mercy that nyame-k

http://w1.hulkshare.com/0747wkqslci3

this would seem to be the improved version

kinda late on this thread afaik

you can listen to EL's double album here: http://elrepgh.bandcamp.com/.

^^ that link leads to a dead end, i think? what's the name of the album?

so far, i've been listening to the first neptizzle mix posted here and it's great. considering the amount of links, i guess i have a lot of stuff to entertain me for quite some time. lovely homework.

i also love that 'tokota' tune that rob posted upthread. those menacing keyboards are sort of what i hoped from a kuduro intersection with stuff like 'onorthodox daughter' or 'ready fi de war' - which is subtly - if somewhat unknowingly - happening atm with some recent tunes from some of lisbon's upcoming kuduro producers.

This dewy number has rather grown on me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzW47so01EE

Woah, 'To Da Center' is nuts.

The disgustingly titled 'Vomit Me*' by Egudie Kwabena isn't on Youtube but is terrific.

*I am choosing to believe this doesn't mean what I think it means.

Also Naeto C is a long, long way from being the world's greatest MC but there's something quite sweet about this and the main hook has been in my head for weeks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFQ1fl8IGGM

Yaw Siki - One more flow
(not quite as good as 'Wup3 Dodo' as the chorus is a bit of a mess, but I like the beat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJbYlEEnXUs&feature=player_embedded

Flexy da don - Wo de taataa me(Tsofi Sausage)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-YGPnNIQI

Guru - Akonta Fried rice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pybVtWSu8tQ&feature=related

Joe B ft. Guru - Dongor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1KQMCER1F8&feature=relmfu

and some older guru/ball j tunes i like

Guru - Anything goes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruHayKi8u3w

You go fly - Agbeko ft. Guru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIIPOUtSOlA

I haven't got round to the last crop yet, but these Ball J tunes are all amazing. Like they pop off in all directions without ever coming unstuck. He's got a really good line in taking vocal effects (chipmunk vocals, cut-ups) and working them as percussive or textural tools that makes these tunes feel ravey in a way that a lot of this stuff, while fantastic, isn't*. Like the way he takes that frog noise on Wasei Babeiaa and works it like an acid line.

*Nor is a lot of ostensibly ravey US pop for that matter.

(I'm perfectly willing to accept that I'm doing a disservice to other producers here but that's because I'm actually now paying attention to Ball J in a way I'm not with any other afrobeats producers except Don Jazzy).

i resent the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day and between listening to stuff for work and the olympics that has left me with zero hours to catch up on this thread recently

"The Championship is not an option" - I Love Football off-season and transfer speculation thread 2012

mdc i cannot believe you gave this no love

I missed that due to being on holiday but I will react now:

!!!!!!!!!!!

Also Lex I could have sworn I posted my favourite Tiwa Savage here but apparently not:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oSY4CYfXV4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WSm_faUpOY

the best tiwa savage is this stellar, sinuous dawn richardesque number off don jazzy's label compilation which i have posted a fair few cuts off already

i part with it reluctantly

Is that the Mavin Allstars Solar Plexus one? That's pretty good, although I almost didn't listen to it out of the assumption it would be lesser than the sum of its parts.

eh how can a compilation be lttsoip

i think it's pretty great - 'take banana' and 'forever'! like ball j though to an extent you are always aware he is probably at the pointiest bit of afro westernization

Black Kat ft. Zador - To dey be to dey (prod. by Ball J)
http://smngh.com/audioplayer.php?id=554

eh how can a compilation be lttsoip

I'd initially thought it was one of those everyone-collaborates-together producer vanity projects. I have already bitchslapped myself for being wrong on this.

ok well no i guess it is that as well

i still wouldnt have had album level expectations about it though iykwim

that oma ga tune is fantastic, gorgeous intro on it.

You heard this one? Sounds like some sort of demented african hillbilly hoedown or something

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE-TrIwxybc

Feeling this uk-produced uptempo number from Victoria Kimani too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbfHgD9yE2A

smfh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCN6dyjAvEc&feature=player_embedded

This thread is a goldmine.
Here's another Ball J beat:
Praye - Kwatrikwa
http://youtu.be/kVnHSADPlYA

This Nigerian track (it's on one of the Neptizzle mixes) has had over 3 million YouTube views since February:
Bracket ft Wizkid - Girl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J018_g3TGxw

a couple more Naija songs, all from last year apparently, but they helped to make this summer for me...

KCee -Okpeketete

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOrAYZtAPco

the very exuberant Obianuju by Duncan Mighty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nho-FCsZXE

...and Nawti by Olu Maintain, which has been posted before (thanks Benny B!) , but deserves another shout out for being so gloriously and shimmery modern and timelessly classic at the same time - it reminds me a bit of Maxi Priest's Close To You in that regard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oa5KVZtAnU

KCee's track is called Okpekete, sorry.

NAWTI might just be the best song (and video) in this thread, its just perfect. I've been obsessed with it this year, and I haven't managed to find anything else quite like it.

Those little extra clips at the end of the NAWTI video: album previews? If so they sound very promising too.

One of the songs of the year for me, without a doubt. Close to perfection indeed. That's why the video was actually a bit of a bummer when I first saw it, like being rudely awoken from a very pleasant dream ( I have recovered since :-))) - But yes, that preview at the end, if that's what it is, does sound good.

yansh seems like a good word for pussy. wonder why it means butt?

Actually, D'Banj is not the only Naija artist to crack a major European chart this year. P-Square's African smash "E No Easy" has become a top 10 hit in France in a French version by Matt Houston called "Positif", which features the guys.

The original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFwBf6fvfTc

The French version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkk7wKHGFRI

Time for an Azonto smash now, I say...

"crack"!

"chart lingo"!

I was thinking of it in the context of "yansh"! It made me laugh.

your mind's a party

Itz Tiffany - Fake London Boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwwtG6RzMp8&feature=g-all-lik

^ This tune is actually two years old but the video is brand new FYI

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s278/dogyears_photos/nonfa.jpg

http://www.hulkshare.com/1rf5yfutds0g

Krynkman is a wicked producer, kind of a similar vibe to Ball J

D-Black ft. Joey B - VERA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNiswpSwFBo

Joey B - Azonto Bomb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CByWPLdZztk

^ Shit I didn't even know!
http://www.thefader.com/2012/06/27/lungu-lungu-mystery-of-the-fisherman-beat-maker/

The real talent behind 'Sokode' 'Aluguntugui' 'U go kill me''Obuu mo' and 'Kaalu'?

ok, makes sense that Ball J, Krynkman and EL (among others) all came up through the Accra rap collective Skillions/Rickaby productions. As far as I can tell 2010 seems to be have been the big bang moment when all these guys switched from straight hip hop beats to Azonto.

Case in point, this is what they were doing in 2009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygdx-4E5H1c

Im glad that Ball J seems to be concentrating more on producing now rather than rapping, his Jay-Z impressions are pretty cringeworthy.

African Jay-Z impressionists are unintentionally hilarious. There's a Nigerian rapper called Vector who's even more brazen about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luEZ1vTPwQM

I made a playlist of this kind of stuff:

http://open.spotify.com/user/awesomewells/playlist/3EuKYmZnaAkTao9NGXMPNB

Honestly this is probably the single most joyous playlist I've ever put together.

did you make it public big fella?

Should be yeah...

well spotify must be doing its semi-regular bork-out

---

502 Bad Gateway

nginx

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It should be working now, because someone's just subscribed to it.

It's working yes.

this mix is absolute solid gold, loads of Ball J/Krynkman/EL productions on here. I put a TL together for it

DJ RANDY - Azonto Fever Mix Tape Vol. 1 Supported by NuAfrika Records(Ball J Beat)
http://www.hulkshare.com/7nrrcgp8bu68

1. Agbeko ft Guru - U go Fly
2. Skillions (Ball J, Jayso, E.L., J Town, Frank P)- Hop To Da Beat
3. ???
4. Saucekid – Carolina ft Davido
5. Kwaw Kese - Let Me Do My Thing (Feat. Black Prophet)
6. Skinny Loso & Episode - Lets Party (Chicken & Beer)
7. Sarkodie ft. E.L. - Dangerous
8. Timaya - Shake your bum
9. Stay Jay - Prepaid girl
10. Dami Duro instrumental
11. Fiifi Selah - Survival ft Stone Bwoy
12. R2bees & Wizkid - Dance
13. T-Blaze ft. Ball J and Guru - Wa Sei Bebiaa
14. Mr Hm hmm - Non Fa
15. Yaw Siki - Jeggings party
16. E.L. - Kaalu
17. Keche - Aluguntugui
18. E.L. - On a long tin

then after this it starts repeating tracks for some reason and the mixing isn't too hot, great selection though.

Track three above is this should anyone care
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIQKu2RmMPE&feature=plcp

krynkman/Amadaa continues to impress
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-wRvtf-hk

There now appears to be a Fuse ODG album, which deserves a run-out this weekend.

i am so behind on this stuff i could cry basically

btw if someone sees a video that looks like a fake 'only girl in the world' filmed at the lambeth country show on brockwell park please holla cos i was sat looking at those dudes trying to work out who they were for ages (it wasnt fuse, they were def og african)

don't be sleeping on VERA and Azonto Bomb, seriously. Its awesome how many hits Krynkmans been behind over the last year.

Loving Antenna by Fuse ODG, where can i hear the album?

It's on Spotify, as is the EL album and, ooh, loads more.

The Fuse ODG album is delightful. He has so much charm that he manages to carry even the bits that that would otherwise be a bit ropey.

Heres a link to a handy youtube playlist of all the videos posted in this thread so far, stops your browser from crashing

http://www.youtuple.com/tuple?url=http%3A//www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet%3Faction%3Dshowall%26boardid%3D41%26threadid%3D92402%23msg3586140#

Theres like 60 of em or something!

btw, how do you post a youtube link on here without embedding it?

iirc, if you use the shortened links, they won't embed: http://youtu.be/MRWsmqZOksA

Cheers.

Couple of new ball j beats just appeared

Sun Rich - D33D3W.COM.
http://youtu.be/eDQQbMAeHII

Conzy - Megye hit
http://ghanandwom.com/music-conzy-megye-hit-prod-by-ball-j/

The Conzy one is particularly banging, classic ravy diva sample and huge kickdrums that swallow the whole track when they hit (could just be over-compression, but what the hey it sounds good)

If you've been listening to his stuff you'll know the template by now but I could listen to riddims like these all day, they're so full of detail. That 'Carry dey go' track I posted above is a nice example of his more tuneful side though, its really grown on me that one.

Also this is a hot beat but wtfs up with that name?!!

http://ghanandwom.com/music-hitla-k3-tsi-se-train-feat-snuupy-prod-by-oilcity-vybez/

Results of the latest Ball J binge. Enjoy...

Fiifi Selah (feat. Stoneboy) - Survival
http://youtu.be/TV3oasNjRwU

Nickmoah ft. Stay Jay - Head and shoulders
http://youtu.be/MB1A9i3Qcng

Gasmilla - Innit (UK-Zonto)
http://youtu.be/5VregwFPC5M

Nashay - Sea Side (feat. Guru)
http://youtu.be/uCIohdj2Q9c

Prodonz - Virgin
http://youtu.be/ILQFmSD16Eg

Not sure if these last two might not actually be Ball J but they sound like him

Konz - Baakor
http://youtu.be/P1XoOA1HyTk

Da little - This London Girl
http://youtu.be/XkzvomL3GLU

I'm aware I'm mining a pretty narrow seam with this stuff now but no one else is joining in!

Trust me your work is greatly appreciated.

I heard a full-on afrobeats power-ballad last night. Freeman Nawado & Slim Flex's 'One More Chance' is sadly not on Youtube and the song itself is no great shakes but the producer's willingness to employ ludicrous sci-fi orchestral bombast ensured I played it three times in the row.

Seconded - keep bringing those Ball J beats!

Well alright then!

http://www.mixcloud.com/bennybrassic/ball-j-beats/

Download
http://www.mediafire.com/?uhz9osdd1uw7s5v

1. Sun Rich - D33d3w Dot Com
2. Conzy - Megye Hit
3. Kwaw Kese ft. Black Prophet - Let me do my thing
4. Nickmoah ft. Stay Jay - Head and Shoulders
5. Guru ft. Edja- Lapaz Toyota
6. Guru ft. Joe B - Karaoke
7. Guantoa - Asore party
8. Agbeko ft. Guru - U go fly
9. T-Blaze ft. Ball J and Joe B - Wa Sei Bebia
10. Prodonz - Virgin
11. Black Kat ft. Zador - To dey be to dey
12. Mr HmHmm (Obrekuo) ft. Joe B - Non Fa
13. Nashaay ft. Guru - Sea Side
14. Joe B ft. Guru - Dongor
15. Castro ft. West Side Legacy - Faa No Saa
16. Stay Jay - Twaame Lala
17. Stay Jay - Prepaid Gurl
18. Guru - Anything goes
19. Gasmilla - Innit (UK-Zonto)
20. Nadjat - Gbaa Alert
21. Obour ft. Mugeez - One People
22. Nyame K ft. Ball J - Pay her
23. Dr Poh ft. Castro - Ebe Ko

Oh, awesome. Appreciate the ability to d/l yr mix, too, as this thread had been crashing my browser something fierce.

LOVING this mix, thank you!

oh shit The Thing and Lapaz Toyota are so hot. djing them both next time i dj something.

Refreshing the thread with some Naija stuff, not exactly recent, but still good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YvzTizFakk

Wizkid (who has an album out now) with an older track: "Pakurumo":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S4S-2sMS5w

And this one from Ice Prince feat. Brymo "Oleku". Brymo's hook is gorgeous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQoyjrDUCuY

Yes I love that one too. Ice Prince has an album out as well but I wouldn't say it's essential listening outside the singles. Obviously Superstar is all-time though.

boss mix benny, sorry i didnt get round to it earlier

when will i be able to clone another me to have time for all the music i wanna hear :/

i think it's fair to say afrobeats has not bled into the rest of the world even in the relatively minor way i had envisaged, like 'oliver twist' might as well be the macarena now

i mean obv it was always going to be a novelty hit but the tide beneath it hasnt particularly risen and seems to have subsided if anything

I dunno the commercial infrastructure behind D'Banj is pretty hefty now so maybe he's just the outlier. Difficult to tell without a follow-up. Oliver Twist doesn't sound particularly African either which may have helped it crossover.

Like so much of the rest of this stuff, especially the best stuff, isn't in English. Although I'm not sure its a blessing or a curse that no US mainstream producer or UK hipster type has started knocking out fake Ball-J or Don Jazzy beats.

Also I thought I'd commented on Benny's mix but apparently not - one thing that you really notice when you listen to them all back-to-back is how much variety he's able to get out a fairly small number of sounds. Like he makes a handful of sounds do so much work, there are constantly little surprises popping up all over the place, it's all ravey in the best possible way.

tbh my pov there is overly azonto-centric

i would dearly like to think there's still a space for melodic naija pop to carve out on a mtv 93 euroreggae tip

if we could just get ace of base to reform and cover 'oleku' we're laughing

http://www.naijapidginenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/AsernalAzonto-dance.jpg

Like I challenge you to find anything dorkier than that.

Oh wait:

http://www.djshyne.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/azonto-530x378-e1347492535330.jpg

why is this gif not moving xp

Glad you guys enjoyed the mix. Ball J is crazy prolific, there was about another 10 tunes from this year I wanted to fit on there. Was quite surprised (and somewhat flummoxed tbh) to learn from an interview that he sees himself primarily as a hip hop artist. His whole attitude seemed to suggest he thought this Azonto thing is just a sideline for him. Thing is, his hip hop stuff is awful Jay-Z impersonations over standard-as-fuck beats!

This new one goes hard though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=39ypFYi5Yak#!

This one too from a London based singer.

Gizo - Makofa Aba (prod. by Ball J)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvTJnzfMZ7Q

The first few seconds of this had me thinking of early Wiley riddims. I always kind of wanted Wiley to have jumped on producing funky, it might have sounded a bit like this. Also, wouldn't complain about more Grime like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2sHpvmZ9Ts

Here's my top 50 azonto songs for the year (or really since the abrantee mixtape). Might be a few from last year and the order is fairly arbitrary after the top 10 or so but whatevs. Also no Naija cos i don't really have enough knowledge.

1.Guru - Lapaz Toyota
2. Keche - Aluguntugui
3. EL - U Go Kill Me
4. Zigi ft. Amanda
5. Keche - Sokode
6. Kwaw Kese ft. Black Prophet - Let me do my thing
7. Guru - Karaoke
8. D-Black ft. Joey B - VERA
9. Yaw Siki - Wupe Dodo
10. EL - Obuu Mo
11. Fada Gran pa - To da centre
12. Obour - One people
13. Joey B - Azonto bomb
14. Sarkodie ft. EL - Dangerous
15. D-Black - Ha mi shoulder
16. Flexy Da Don - Tsofi sausage
17. EL - Kaalu
18. Mr HmHmm ft. Joe B - Non-fa
19. T-Blaze - Wa Sei Bebia
20. Greenfield ft. EL - Carry dey go
21. Fuse ODG - Antenna
22. Stay Jay - Twaame Lala
23. Stay Jay ft. Tiffany - Shashee Wowo
24. Eduwodzi ft. Stay Jay - Yenko Nkoa
25. Guantoa - Asore Party
26. Gasmilla - Innit
27. Funny Face & Eddie Kadie - They doubted
28. Humble Dis - Corner corner
29. Guru - Akonta Fried Rice
30. Stay Jay - Prepaid girl
31. Buk Bak - Kolum
32. Nadjat - Gbaa Alert
33. Bluebox ft. Bottlez - Spedede
34. Castro ft. Sarkodie - Swagger
35. Sun Rich - D33d3w Dot Com
36. Tiffany - Akyee wo
37. EL - On a long tin
38. Joe B ft. Guru - Dongor
39. Eyi Rap ft. Va - Serkle
40. Nyame K - Pay her
41. Edem - Over Again
42. Yaw Siki - Jeggings party
43. Black Kat ft. Zador - To Dey be to dey
44. Conzy - Megye hit
45. Gizo - Makofa Aba
46. Da Little ft. Limit - This London Girl
47. 4x4 & MarcusBeatz - Casanova
48. Fifi Selah ft. Stoneboy - Survival
49. 4x4 - Moko Ni
50. Fuse ODG ft.Tiffany - Azonto

Great list, Benny. That's some of the very best music of the past year imo. I can't wait to listen to the ones I haven't heard yet.

(btw, #3 U Go Kill Me is by Sarkodie (featuring EL).

...wish I had enough knowledge of Naija pop to make a coherent list...

xp oh yeah, should also read 'Zigi ft. Sonniballi - Amanda' at number 4

My top three: Gbaa Alert (Nadjat), Chop My Money (P-Square), Oma Ga (Tiwa Savage). Lots of co-signs with Benny's list, e.g. Obuu Mo, Twaame Lala, the two big Guru tracks...

The latest from Keche is another good one: Body Lotion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqBlLNsbESA

Dr. Slim - S3k3 (Seke) (feat. Double)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_n51HQPBKI

"Let Me Do My Thing" is amazing, was the highlight of yr Ball J mix, Benny. Gonna take a while to get through yr top 50, thanks for all yr work in this thread!

yeah the vocal performances on that song are incredible. There's an radio interview with Ball-J floating around on the net somewhere and he singles out that song, saying that it was the craziest studio session he'd ever done.

Quite digging this London-based crew from Nigeria
https://soundcloud.com/studiomagicmusic

Apparently this dubstep influenced track is making waves in Nigeria

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DGdB_ccyipo#!

more info here
http://www.thefader.com/2012/09/05/lungu-lungu-too-much-senrenre/

Sony Music Entertainment is proud to announce the signing of Nigerian megastar D’Banj to its RCA Africa label. The breakthrough deal also includes a multi-album, worldwide exclusive contract with emerging Nigerian singer-songwriter star Kayswitch and a strategic partnership with D’Banj’s Nigerian record label DB Records, who’s catalog includes artists and producers such as J.Sol, Jay Sleek and DeeVee.

http://www.citifmonline.com/index.php?id=1.1189988

Maybe I missed this ilxer posting his list here that includes the below cuts (or maybe he didn't)

http://thecorner.co.nz/2012/12/14/the-corners-2012-year-in-review-50-best-international-singles/

D’Banj – Oliver Twist
Tiwa Savage – Kele Kele
Sarkodie ft EL – U Go Kill Me
Kwaw Kese ft Black Prophet – Let Me Do My Thing
Nyame K – Pay Her
Guru – Lapaz Toyota

I know it's old now but I flat out adore Guru's "Anything Goes".

That Ball J mix is great Benny, you always dig your mixes! I admire artists that have a fully formed unique sound, and can create a whole range of different tracks from a few simple elements- in Ball J's case those crazy technicolor, tropical, carnival synth stabs. With Azonto and Naija, Jersey/Philly Club, Jackin, and Funkystepz, 2012 been such a great year for music.

"The debut Gospel Porn album by the most politically incorrect Christian Rap group of the times"

http://foknbois.bandcamp.com/releases

I haven't listened to it yet, but there's a new (i think) Abrantee mix: http://www.okayafrica.com/2013/01/10/afrobeats-dj-abrantee-mixtape/

^ looks a bit crap, think I'll just be googling the few tunes I don't know from the tracklist. Conor Maynard Afrobeats remix? No thanks.

Couple of good Kwaw Kese cuts:
https://soundcloud.com/akwaabamusic/wossop-remix-feat-kwaw-kese

Shoelace (feat Buda) - this one produced by Krynkman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAEXXmcOoaM

"After the long drama and talk about his infamous boxer shorts at the Big Brother House, Keitta has finally released a new song that address the entire situation. The song is titled 'One Boxer' and was produced by Krynkman, aka Amadaa aka Nshorna Music. It's Azontomania...One Boxer!"

http://youtu.be/ZODE68sSmyA

How about we start a new Rolling Afrobeats thread for 2013? There's bound to be loads of exciting new Azonto, Naija, etc etc stuff this year (obviously!) Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel the current thread title is becoming increasingly irrelevant and confusing, and it would be nice to be able attract more people. Good idea or not? Mainly looking at you, Benny B, since you've been by far the greatest provider for the thread :-)

yeah this one has become a little unwieldy. I'll start a new one.

cool :)))

new thread for 2013: Afrobeats 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6zixMk7gnQ

has someone posted this yet? It's the jam

obv not

Yansh yansh yansh yansh
Yowsah yowsah yowsah!

that's great, reminds me I meant to post this beautiful azonto tune a while ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWsuzm650qw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iziTfxtaVMM

does anyone write about this stuff in a way that contextualizes it at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiHh2-6jmnU

this jam actually makes me think of

The Ibadan Sound: Jerome Sydenham, Dennis Ferrer etc.

Oops:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiHh2-6jmnU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_Lv7PedBIU

Lil Bucie

this dude Heavy K makes some jams, damn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhD_c9O1L2s

Rolling Afrobeats thread 2014