rolling afropop / afrobeats 2018

I agree with Alfred!
But yeah funny to review this and not "Soco". TSJ's selection process is kinda baffling to me in general

As far as I can tell, TSJ seems pretty much on top of Kpop and Latin pop (which a lot of their writers are very knowledgeable about) but African pop is a massive blind spot for them, still. You’d think after having “Akanamali” as their runner-up last year, they’d shape up, but no. The few tracks they do pick seem very random. They did “Ma Lo” and “Science Student” iirc, but to overlook huge songs like “Manya”, “Soco”, “Akwaaba”, “Fake Love”, “Club Controller” and “Banomoyo” is pretty baffling, yeah.

(“Huge” as in both artistically and commercially extremely successful in their countries and beyond.)

I do like that track but the i like its obviously do bring it down a bit, yes. It might have worked with some other voices though.

just putting this out here…

Reminisce • Burushaga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymO5rxCMzOI

a little dance to go along with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S59jtutkBU

breastcrawl, TSJ is looking for new writers/song selectors; you should drop a line to the info@ email and ask about joining. You'd be a great addition!

Thank you for the encouragement, forks, very much appreciated! But I’m not a writer, so it’s not really an option. I sent them some suggestions though, so we’ll see...

Back to the matter: That L.A.X album I mentioned last week is out. It’s called Rasaking and yes, it is very good indeed.

Also out this week: the new DJ Spinall album, Iyanu, with heavy Killertunes involvement. “Nowo” and “Baba” are on it as well.

I'm reposting Mamee because it had literally zero play at the beginning of the year and now it finally has a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pazclIY9PE

And to add to the Ks in Ghana:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZkZN4Nfqn0

I also find this one interesting in its retro aspect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5mPSh4JRIs

In doubt, I also post Fine Girl by Zie Zie because unsure we've had it. That's a good hit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As1pRzoKmJ8

Also this one, very Burna Boy-like (he has a new one called Again).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zGWIiLTA6I

I've realized that a lot of Burna Boy's today's style can be traced back to Soke from three years ago. I don't know if people noticed the track at the time (well, it was a single) but it's brilliant.
here it is, ready at hand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-h7ltwACLsd

I think it's bugging so another try
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-h7ltwACLs

Fine girl and Issa Vibe are actually from last year, my bad.

(And I was playing Burna Boy songs to find the one that is close to Issa Vibe, but it's worse, actually the beat was-reused without change on B Young's 079ME, which is one of the most played Nigerian songs of this year. Rolling my eyes)

Lol, people definitely noticed “Soke”, including on ILM. It’s not exactly obscure!

The remix of “Issa Vibe” actually has Burna on it (plus Geko, who’s on “Again” as well).

(Oh yeah, there’s a Burna track on the DJ Spinall album as well btw)

I like the Ghanaian input, very necessary! And there is so much more cool stuff:

Joey B has always been on point, ever since the azonto days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70xn4IFU5v8

(Joey B ft. Wanlov & Ponobiom • Beautiful Boy)

Stylin ft. Kobla Jnr & Darkovibes • Akweley II:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfv1cPz3-dI

(Stylin’s Spintex Boy EP is a lot of fun)

Stylin has worked with producer Kuvie, who also did “Beautiful Boy”, and who’s very good. His sound is kind of... - hey, his debut album is called Gruvie for a reason. My favorite track is “Pressure”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifur8hPmf7M

(Kuvie ft. Tsoobi, BuMan & KwakuBS • Pressure)

I'm doing an afrobeats/bass/house/pop set alongside a bunch of dancehall and soca DJs in a fairly underground club soon. I need bangers really as opposed to smooth tunes. Got lots planned, but is there anything I absolutely must play?

Just play “Banomoya” non-stop, maybe throw in “Club Controller” every now and then: that’ll do the trick!

Among others musts, I'd say lots lots of Davido, Wizkid, P-Square, some Fuse ODG, and Legbegbe, Akwaaba, Leg Over, Particula, Johnny, Nwa Baby, Kukere, Gwara Gwara, Adonai, Shoki, Sitya Loss, Coller la petite, Unforgettable. As ever, stuff people know, and when in doubt, go for old. A little variety but not a who's who of 54 countries.
But are the afrobeats and south african dancing crowds really getting together ? I have doubts, different references imo.

At the places that I’ve been to (catering to a mostly Nigerian/Ghanaian crowd) SA house music was definitely on the menu.

We’ve been over this, but SA house music has been shaping (especially) Nigerian pop for years. From post-“Khona” Uhuru-wave to “Maradona” to the current shaku shagqom craze (examples all over this thread). Meetings in the middle happen all the time, that shouldn’t be news.

Fusion, baby!

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

Davido x Mafikizolo • Tchelete (Good Life)

“Khona”, “Maradona”: that's a couple of bangers right there.

breastcrawl: sure, I was wondering specifically about club dancing, I was just thinking that South Africans will always prefer to dance on their jams, and Nigerian on theirs, and may only have polite appreciation for the others' styles even if it's a big one like, say, "Midnight starring" or "Wololo" (which you couldn't not play in a SA party). But I guess if it's a mixed crowd, everything is fine and people will find their way.

fwiw this will be a bunch of West Country UK ravers and other than a few heads I doubt anyone's going to really notice where certain tracks are playing. they're playing house and disco in the main room while we're playing dancehall, soca and UK funky in the other. I'm doing 'afro-bass' (annoying catch-all term) so as not to step on any toes and bring something different to the night, so really it's about getting everyone jumping to a sound they might not get to hear too often

Then I guess you can scratch Davido (bar Skelewu) and replace him with Burna Boy, Sarkodie, and add plenty of gqom, and play Spirit, Shumaya, Just like that (Orezi), Get Up (Sarz), Iskaba, Juice (Ycee), Akrakabo, Wo, Sekem... and choose the latest drunkenest possible time to play Sister Bettina.

got around to the Mlindo the Vocalist album and it's super lovely. really smooth & blissed out summery pop

any thoughts about how this wizkid romance might end up influencing tiwa's career?

lol, I watched Fever and thought (in order): "stylish pants", "The kid really has grown to look like a man", "probably 60 million Nigerian women would like to be in this clip right now", "horses ?". And didn't recognize Tiwa Savage.

lol

Then I guess you can scratch Davido (bar Skelewu) and replace him with Burna Boy, Sarkodie, and add plenty of gqom, and play Spirit, Shumaya, Just like that (Orezi), Get Up (Sarz), Iskaba, Juice (Ycee), Akrakabo, Wo, Sekem... and choose the latest drunkenest possible time to play Sister Bettina.

― Nabozo, Wednesday, October 31, 2018 5:09 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

+1. Sister Bettina is a perfect height of the party song. Some classic SA shit that's always good...Amantombazane, Vhavenda (Revolution Remix), Stay Real, Accuse (well, not sure how Accuse would do, but I love it and everyone should listen to it)

I've been way out of the loop on new music this year but I just listened to the new Distruction Boyz record and its solid. Still feel like they have a perfect GQOM record in them but they haven't hit it yet.

Damn Banomoya is fantastic. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Try the Dladla Mshunqisi album, I actually prefer it to the Distruction Boyz one. It’s non-stop gqom banging. “Wangibamba” with Kaybee and Nokwazi is the only other track out there that comes close to “Banomoya”.

Has Sister Bettina been popular for a long time or is it mostly a more recent social media kind of thing?

It was decently big at the time IIRC, but its definitely a social media "Challenge" thing that is why its so huge now.

like i definitely remember 50/50 feeling like a bigger deal a couple years prior, at least in terms of SA songs with US connections. But that could just be my memory.

Accuse is perfection. Thank you. Do we have a thread for old Kwaito House jams ? No ? Why ?
Amantombzane huge too.

From what I understood, Sister Bettina is considered to have been permanently ingrained in every South African brain as their definitive dancing jam, their one-hit wonder, the one to expect at the end of every party ever and you're either on the dance-floor, either running to it, or you must have a valid excuse like paralysis, coma or death, and that's still barely acceptable. And the challenge is merely making fun of the phenomenon but really just another love declaration.

xp

For everyone who doesn’t have a clue what this “Sister Bettina” thing is about (me, for instance):

https://m.channel24.co.za/Music/News/heres-the-story-behind-sister-bettina-the-countrys-favourite-song-20180913

Thanks, guys.

thanks! I don't get to hear much afrobeats outside of this thread / the internet music bubble so I've never any idea of what's going on. Gotta say, I'm not sure I've quite got on board with the whole Wizkid/Davido/Kizz Daniel school of smooth Nigerian r'n'b-inflected pop, but Ma Lo is absolutely brilliant (although mostly because of Tiwa Savage who deserves to be an internationally recognised superstar by now)

dog latin, have you heard Eddy Kenzo’s new Roots album? It’s very good (and relatively light on “smooth [Ugandan, in this case] r'n'b-inflected pop”, although for me “Supa Dupa” - the song formally known and posted as “Your Value” - is a highlight).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdGT2XhzduM

Eddy Kenzo • Ogwo

(not the official video, but a Kenzo-approved entry in a dance challenge for the opening track of the album)

Niniola’s “Bana” has a wonderful video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snQc57ySkN0

...and her sister Teni has a new song + video as well, “Case”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYx5ukr_YWw

(“Shakeam”, her other new song, is good also)

breastcrawl yeah I've heard Your Value. but my favourite by him thud year is Gear Lever

“Gear Level” is not on the album unfortunately, but I think there’s a lot there you might like. Did you check the vid I posted?

not had a chance yet cos I'm at work but I will. Thank u!

Did some research into the kwaito classics mentioned yesterday, primarily for my own education. I think I identified them all. Below are the video links. (I will try to add them to the playlist.)

T'zozo & Professor • Amantombazane (2007)

Revolution • Vhavenda (Revolution Remix) (2002)

DJ Fresh & Kyllex feat. Thabiso • Stay Real (2004)

Alaska • Accuse (2000 or earlier?)

M'du feat. Mandoza • 50/50 (2000/2001)

Mgarimbe • Sister Bethina (2006/2007?)

(“Stay Real” is the only one I can’t find on
Spotify)

I thought amantombazane was this hip hop banger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r3-uTy4zBE (I'd dance to it for sure)
Accuse was listed on Itunes as being from the Alaska 2000 album (from... 2002).

Yeah, there’s actually a lot of songs with that title (Google Translate tells me it’s Zulu for “girls” - so that makes sense). I considered that one too, but it’s from 2014, seems too recent compared with the other tracks that were mentioned, and I found the T’zozo & Professor in this list: https://www.prospect.zone/en/flashback-friday-we-share-our-favourite-kwaito-songs-from-past-to-present/

The Riky Rick is good too, but of course only kruezer can tell us which one they were talking about.

As for “Accuse”, I’m seeing it mentioned as a 1990s kwaito classic, so I don’t know, perhaps the album came later.

I just realized that wikipedia doesn't have an "afrobeats" entry, which is actually sublisted under "afrobeat", and only talks about cross-over potential on the US charts. That's a shame on all levels.