THE HOUSE OF SUN-EL: Sun-El Musician, Simmy, Mlindo The Vocalist, and other related artists

Posting the hit track from the pretty magnificent Scorpion Kings EP (but at 12 tracks and 76 minutes you’re free to call it an album) by DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small here because it features Samthing Soweto, the voice on/of Sun-El’s “Akanamali”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUGwOLpjkEw
DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small ft. Samthing Soweto & MFR Souls • Amantombazane

Not all of the tracks fit on this thread, but this one does, I think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwIRUtP1n6I

DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small ft. Shasha • We’Mama

Thanks to whoever posted Sondela, it's now my most-listened track of 2019. So smooth, so beautiful!

it’s a pleasure

Live version of “Sondela”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JqPm4Nh5e4

And another, choreographed, one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcBPIhOdsbw

Simmy’s “Ngiyesaba” has a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPbMvHmguX0

Hopefully she’ll be releasing some new material soon too.

I only recently first heard this gorgeous song by sometime Sjava collaborators Blaq Diamond:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFSEQB4e-sk
Blaq Diamond • Emzini Kababa

New song by Samthing Soweto, the voice of “Akanamali”. I love the organ on this - whether it’s amapiano that’s bringing back those sounds or not, I’m all for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FnBANZlxRs
Samthing Soweto ft. Makhafula Vilakazi • Omama Bomthandazo

yeah that's lovely

that is fantastic!

Am I right in assuming you guys are talking about the last track? (I’m not sure, because I posted three back to back)

oh yeah I meant Samthing

incidentally, I just discovered Samthing's live version of Akanamali on Spotify and, while not quite as exciting as the original, it certainly bears a listen
https://open.spotify.com/track/693K8eGMOzma4EMkAQG1IU?si=xfSOenlrR3G6QwI0XA51bQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNXejqHIB3U

New Samthing Soweto out today!
https://open.spotify.com/album/4sO9GxYupSVEJ3rRsaVpnd?si=ocOtZlmDT_u51k_39CjQcQ

Yes, it’s wonderful. A mix of amapiano jams with Kabza De Small & Maphorisa, expanding on their massive (in every sense) Scorpion Kings album, on which Samthing had the biggest track, “Amantombazane” (see upthread) - like this one, the current number one song in South Africa:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzNquFNqfrw
Samthing Soweto ft. Shasha
* Akulaleki

...and more (musically) soulful stuff, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=755S1qfwnD4
Samthing Soweto • Umuhle Uyasabeka

This is him doing his current big amapiano songs live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB59E2r1F9s

(Samthing also has a song - well, an interlude - on the new Kindness album btw)

all the early singles from the album are pretty great (though i can maybe do without the "happy birthday" cash grab)

Yeah, agreed, “Happy Birthday” is the weakest link here.

Wow, Akulaleki is one of the best songs I've heard all year

...which means you’ll have to check out Scorpion Kings as well, fred! Apart from table posting a track on the Rolling thread no one seems to have picked up on it, but it’s just so good all the way through.

Damn both those tracks are great! Gonna add Scorpion Kings to my massive to-listen pile as well, thanks for the tip

yeah those rule, will absolutely have to check out the full samthing album as well as scorpion kings

Yeah, Scorpion Kings is massive. Thanks breastcrawl!

Another good track with Samthing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2YfbJK98Fg
Prince Bulo ft. Samthing Soweto & Kid X • Ngibuyile

That live session I posted is/s/a vibe btw (I hadn’t checked it before)

To bring the thread back to Sun-El, these are some recent tracks he produced:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_dlUT_xUIw
Sino Msolo • Intombi Yam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIwAqCUu1CY
Sino Msolo • Ndikhetha Lowa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap6N67NcUuM
Mthunzi ft. Sun-El • Insimbi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAFKjNzjT1I
Ami Faku ft. Sun-El • Ndivulele

oh wow "Ndivulele" is incredible and "Intombi Yam" and "Ndikhetha Lowa" are lovely too

thank you very much for staying on top of all of this

ta, ufo. That Ami Faku track is from her album, which I have yet to listen to in full.

yeah, great stuff!

Lots of new South African stuff of potential interest to the followers of this thread was posted yesterday on the Rolling Afropop etc. thread. More or less arbitrarily, I’m posting this one here. More of the same, you might say, but it’s all (so) good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_ksYAZsuLI
MFR Souls ft. DJ Maphorisa, ShaSha & Kabza De Small • Love You Tonight

samthing album is so beautiful

yes, it’s like every time I’m playing it a new song starts revealing itself. today it happened with “Nodoli”.

On the cover of the Rolling Stone (well, not quite).

Is it too early to call all of this a beauty spree?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-rV1PZCGmA
Sha Sha ft. Samthing Soweto • Abondaba

(from a forthcoming EP? album? apparently - I posted her (and Maphorisa & Kabza’s) amapiano cover of “Sing It Back” on the Moloko thread)

latin beats now! would love it if amapiano bodied into that market.

Another Sha Sha beauty:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp0g1BwWJMY

Sha Sha ft. DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small • Tender Love

From Amanda Black’s new album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENgHVn9clu8
Amanda Black ft. Ami Faku • Khumbula

really like "khumbula", will have to check out the album

Sha Sha/ShaSha is on all the good tracks these days, and Blossom, her 8-track debut EP, is absolutely wonderful. Apart from the tracks already posted upthread, I’m in love with the three songs in the middle, “Emazulwini”, “Mutare” and “Water”.

Yeah, really lovely ep! Kinda love the Moloko cover.

A year on, the Simmy album is still as magical as ever.

“Hamba Jumba” is the track that has secretly become my favourite: http://www.youtube.com/1srBiDlE9rE

Actually, “Nawe” has a video now, which is nice of course, but I’d love to hear something new from her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7jB36jPcUQ

“Hamba Jumba” again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1srBiDlE9rE

that’s “Hamba JUBA”. doing really nicely here...

yeh my personal fav but what a record

it really is. Would love to hear she has something new coming out before 2020...

finally got around to the Sha Sha EP (it's long enough to be an album really) and it's fantastic as expected

The Blossom EP might top all my year lists. Her voice is amazing. And I still can't get enough of Kabza de Small's productions.

Mutare is in Shona btw.

the Amanda Black album is really fantastic too