Rolling Afrobeats / Afropop 2016

Right. uMoya just got a video. God I love this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZiGDt76uTQ

The new Lil Kesh single took a bit of getting used to for me, but after jamming it loudly a few times I think I'm on board. Can definitely see this causing some trouble.

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

Lil Kesh & YC - Cause Trouble (prod. Pheelz)

haven't been listening to much new afropop so far this year but I was playing my old Bojo Mujo burned CDs the other day and had to post this song cause it is just awesome (I think it came out around 2002/2003 iirc

Bojo Mujo - Shiwelele

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3PfcHiaVdg

Well, well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZB6iJiyqjM

DJ Fortee ft. Dindy "Naughty Dance"

btw, thanks for posting the Bojo Mujo, kruezer. Love hearing (of) some of the older stuff.

I'm in love with the new Kwamz & Flava, Takeover
https://soundcloud.com/kwamz-and-flava/take-over

Your Tekno update:

Performed by Tekno, produced by Selebobo, and his new single: "Where"

Performed by Bracket, produced by Tekno, and their follow-up to "Panya": "Shoe Size"

Performed by Subzilla, feature by Tekno (and Reminisce), and the remix of "Sisi Eko":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DENXbg96sPw

Early leader: "Shoe Size"

Yeah. Going with Shoe Size. Your favourite boy Tekno on the beat >*

There's also this (and I like it):

https://soundcloud.com/kanzy-722398686/owomipo-by-sohn-ft-tekno
Sohn feat. Tekno - Owo Mi Po

That's a fun track, yeah.

This is fun too, Ciara on her Lagos visit:

Practicing her moves on the street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIQfXn6mb8Y

…and performing them on stage (as filmed from the audience).

Meant to post this longer version:

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

…and performing them on stage (as filmed from the audience).

Korede Bello has a new one, Mungo Park, produced by Don Jazzy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il7vIMecTaI

And this Stonebwoy & Burna Boy is a lot of fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z01CPC-YUBc

Speaking of Burna Boy I also like this DJ Dimplez song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48Cp30tB2gw

I'm partial to this Burna Boy collab myself:

https://soundcloud.com/rahboy/chipmunk-x-burna-boy-reaching

Chip ft. Burna Boy "Reaching"

Brand new Serge Beynaud, Cote d'Ivoir's MVP: "Remanbélé". He's taking us on a crazy ride again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-t8EFoe1B4

From Cameroon:

DeeJae Vybz ft. FluriBoyz "Wadjo" (not brand new, from 2014 in fact):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnrRm5hYSH8

MHD "Afro Trap Part. 5 (Ngatie Abedi)":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y92XNTFOIj0

Guy is from Paris, he's been releasing monthly (video) installments of his "Afro Trap" series since September (up to Part. 6 now). The beats are definitely Afro - the first one was a freestyle on P-Square's "Shekini" - and otherwise more grimey than trap to be honest. French version of the J Hus phenomenon?

Oh, and this one from Mali: Iba One "Soukoramani"

https://soundcloud.com/ibaoneofficiel/soukoromani-iba-one

I am listening to a lotta MHD just lately; don't think he's done anything in US yet but curious to see if that changes soon...

So this is Yemi Alade's "real" new single, "Ferrari", produced by DJ Coublon. Guitarist Fiokee gets a credit too.
https://soundcloud.com/effyzziemusicgroup/yemi-alade-ferrari
Has anyone heard the album yet? I haven't. #slavetospotify

Song was posted last year, but as Ycee continues to blow up post-"Jagaban", here's the video for "Omo Alhaji".

New Olamide, produced by Pheelz: "Abule Sowo":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FIGjTF7yKw

Some more good Naija stuff:

I've sung producer Blaq Jerzee's praises before. Here's another beautiful track he did, Bular "Shamajo".

Two veterans with a strong track: Jaywon ft. 9ice "Jolly Muke":
https://soundcloud.com/snatchradio/jaywon-jolly-muke-ft-9ice

Yung6ix ft. Stonebwoy "For Example":
https://soundcloud.com/yung6ix/yung6ix-for-example-ft-stonebwoy

As Davido postpones his album yet again, saying he needs more time "to ensure the album carries global appeal" (oh dear), let's enjoy this track by Tilla he participated on: "Oni Reason".
https://soundcloud.com/afrobeatzzuk/tilla-x-davido-oni-reason-prod-kiddominant

Ceesky ft. Reminisce "Owo" (middle eight is weak, but the rest is fire)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcV3Nf17U_k

Seyi Shay ft. Phyno "Mary":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nex93oTE7Ps

And of course, Lil Kesh's debut album Y.A.G.I (Young And Getting It) has just dropped. Here's part 2 of current single "Cause Trouble", featuring Wale instead of Ycee:
https://soundcloud.com/afro-hits/lil-kesh-ft-wale-cause-trouble-pt-2

What *is* with the apparent sidelining of Young John at YBNL though? He gave Olamide the biggest hit of his career and Nigeria a new sound, but: no tracks on the recent Olamide album, and no singles since; Pheelz sharing production credits on two *very* Young John-sounding Lil Kesh singles, and now just two new YJ tracks on the Lil Kesh debut? Well, he got to release that solo single as a singer on YBNL, I guess…

Anyway, this is "Semilore", one of the new Young John-produced tracks on the album.
https://soundcloud.com/oluwa-mo/lil-kesh-semilore-mp3-udeytrymediacom

(Have to give it to Pheelz though, he produced what might be my fave track on the album, "Jabo".)

Good fresh non-YBNL Young John joints keep on coming though:

How about this one: Tundey "Kan Ma So".
http://notjustok.com/2016/03/18/tundey-kan-ma-so-prod-young-jonn/

And this one right here: UK-based Ghanaian artist Selecta Aff ft. Olamide "No Rush":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZExP-V08jE

Over in Ghana:

Fun collab between Fuse ODG and Shatta Wale: "Laugh Out Loud", produced by Killbeatz.

Ball J at it again:

Kwaw Kese ft. Eduwodzi "Dance"
https://soundcloud.com/vanmusicpromo/kwaw-kese-dance-ft-eduwodzi

And again:

Azay ft. Bisa Kdei "Ghana Mbaa"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9gcMx58DFo

Finally, from Tanzania:
Thanking TSJ for this one: Ay ft. Diamond Platnumz "Zigo (Remix)" (how much better is this remix than the original version?)

…and Côte d'Ivoire:
Yep, I posted it just two weeks ago, but Serge Beynaud just dropped his *official* video for "Remanbélé"!

Trusting longneck to give us an extensive South African update soon!

Thanks! Yeah, I'm back now - but I really just want to be in Cape Town from now on, lol. Such a wonderful place!

Identifying music I didn't already know turned out to be difficult since I couldn't shazam anything since the data rates through my provider back home were ridiculously high. Also, I travelled with my wife & kids so I didn't really get to go out at night, unfortunately.

But I did talk to a lot of people: uber drivers, hotel employees, waiters (one gave me a stack of SA gospel & jazz CDs as a gift), plus a guy who works at the University of the Western Cape and who tried to put in touch with some local rappers. I also bought a few CDs that I haven't had the time to listen through yet - mostly stuff I know and love but can't get elsewhere: the last Black Coffee album, The two Heavy-K albums, the newest Mafikizolo album, the Kwesta CD, but also some mix cds that I need to listen to.

Anyway, here are some notes:

- Hearing Shumaya blasted from passing cars was fantastic. It is probably the song I heard the most often out and about. Someone I talked to said it was categorized as "Kwaito 2.0" but seemed hesitant when I asked him if he thought kwaito was coming back. I got a strong sense that a new generation is taking over.

- None of the people that I talked to who were strongly into music mentioned Heavy-K when I asked them what they listened to. When I asked them why they told me that Heavy-K was "commercial" - his stuff got played so much on the radio that you didn't have to seek it out, and so it wasn't of much use to them - not cool enough. They preferred "deep house". When I pressed them on the difference between "deep" and "commercial" house they said that commercial house made you want to dance. With deep house you could keep talking to your friends with the music in the background. I prefer to dance, I guess.

Black Coffee was the name that came up the most often as the best deep house artist, especially his last album, Pieces of Me. When I asked the girl who presided over the house section at the Musica Megastore on Victoria Wharf to show me the five best/most important house albums atm she immediately went for that album and didn't even bother to point out the Heavy K album that stood next to it. The only guy who immediately mentioned Heavy-K was the waiter who gave me all the jazz and gospel cds - but he admitted that he didn't really follow house.

- There's a quite big scene for gospel and african jazz apparently. A lot of the zimbabwean drivers I had referenced gospel and in the african music store they only played jazz. Most white and colored people aren't really into the music scene, while most of the black people were very eager to discuss it. A few of my uber drivers were shocked to hear that house music isn't really a part of the mainstream in western countries.

- You can't really buy Nigerian music in Cape Town. They obviously know about it and apparently the Nigerian artists visit SA a lot for shows but you can't buy their CDs anywhere.

- Soul Candi is the house label one should follow according to my informants. They're pretty much defining what's cool atm.

- DJ Tira's name gets mentioned a lot. Apparently he's always where it's at. Vinny Da Vinci's name came up a few times. As did Nastee Nev's. Also DJ Rocco, Oskido, DJ Micks, Ganyani, Mthiz Tokzen, DJ Sbu, DJ Cleo, DJ Fresh, Euphonik, DJ Kent, Culoe De Song, Black Motion, Duke Soul, Tonic HD, Da Capo, Ralf Gum, Quentin Harris, Monique Bingham, Chymamusique, Zonke, Lira, Revolution and Mi Casa. (I've got some others in my notes too but need to check them out to see what they're like.)

- The most surprising name that popped up a lot was The Layabouts, who seem to be huge in SA. This track is on the Soul Candi DJ Essentials Vol 2 triple CD that I bought:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_epXw9SSvA

- Most people told me I should go to Joburg if I was into music. Not much is happening in Cape Town. But Cape Town is much nicer and safer than Joburg, where you can't really move around freely. My wife was there for a few days before we met up in CT and told me that her hotel wouldn't even let her cross the road without a chauffeur - the chances of being mugged/attacked were just too great. So if someone invites me there and offers to show me around I'll go but otherwise I'll probably rather go back to lovely CT.

- Kwesta's album is a major hit, and . Top 10 on the Musica chart. But I didn't hear much hip hop in the city as I moved around - mostly mainstream pop or house.

- However, I did have some good rap discussions with people. Several of them brought up the point that nowadays people are on the same song using different languages as a good thing, indicating respect for different cultures. We also talked about the irony in Kendrick Lamar using SA and Mandela as major signifiers in his music while his influence can't really be heard in SA rap atm, since the rap scene is mostly emulating newer, commercial us sounds. Somehow the whole conscious rap scene seems to be associated with the apartheid era and so most of the new artists aren't really interested in going there. Reason is the one artist that gets mentioned a lot when it comes to "conscious" rap - apparently he was the first guy in SA to have picked up Kendrick too. But then again, he's been around for a while.

- Kwesta's album is interesting in that its cover is politically charged, using Rhodes Must Fall imagery overwritten by Kwesta himself, but also very "modern". I have no idea what he's saying though since he's rapping in zulu. I might try to get someone to translate Ngud for me, at the very least.

- My university guy, Q, told me that a few white rappers in Cape Town are trying to reclaim afrikaans as a language of the future - by redefining it. I think there's an interesting story in there somewhere but as long as there's no real hit it sounds like a tough sell atm.

- A lot of the people with interesting agendas seem to be stuck in slightly conservative modes of expression. Q recommended me the genderqueer Dope Saint Jude, who apparently started out in a group of crossdressing female rappers impersonating american stars. Apparently she was Lil Wayne. She's good but I'm not blown away:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdEURn4m4wk

I'll report back again as soon as I've listened some more to these CDs.

i deeply regret not having heard stunnah gee / davido 'dengeme' sooner than today. can't find it in search

The Yemi Alade album is out. I'm five tracks in and it sounds amazing.

Playlist is updated for March. 100 tracks in three months! This thread is poppin'.

ILM's Rolling Afrobeat & Afropop Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist

Fifi Cooper & Emtee - Kuze Kuze
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqTOIcGyTCs

Was hoping for more Wizkid on the Drake single. More excited about Kiss Daniel over Young John tbh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlQjzcKvVJ0

I love the loose groove of the new Olamide and Phyno single, Who You Epp?, produced by Shizzi. Apparently there are a ton of versions and a competition but for the moment I'm more than fine with the chemistry between these two guys.

https://soundcloud.com/shizzi-1/olamide-ft-phyno-who-you-epp-freestyle-prod-shizzi

There's a deluxe version of Yemi Alade's Mama Africa and the new tracks are really good. Loving the title track and its remix and also Waka Waka with Bucie. I can't seem to find a non-spotify link though, sorry.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0oESaY0lS1Z98RNjX1B31q

Loving this SA rap tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4K0dkDM-Yg

Nasty_C - Hell Naw

So apparently DJ Maphorisa co-produced One Dance? The world is getting smaller.

Heavy Burna Boy influence on this guy Kamo, lol. Great stuff though - and a natural progression from the J Hus breakthrough last year.

https://soundcloud.com/notchandbones/sets/cartunes

There's a new Skuki with Lil Kesh & Young John:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRTt-0TCeNs

Playlist is updated for April.

ILM's Rolling Afrobeat & Afropop Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist

Free show with Davido and Antibalas at Lincoln Center - July 29 at 7:30
http://lcoutofdoors.org/events/okayafrica-afrobeat-x-afrobeats

been really outta touch with afropop this year, but been listening to this song a lot over of the last week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCd-pLW61tU

Vicmass Luodollar -Bank Otuch Remix Ft. OCTOPIZZO

Love that one, kruezer. Moving it over to the Summer Jams thread!

Wow, that one is great!

New Kid X & Kwesta has a nice little bounce to it:

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

A nice little convoluted bounce, even.

kiss daniel's album is officially out! Good Time, Laye & Woju are on all in plus more, have only just started listening but its sounding good so far

after a couple listens, really love this album, v solid front to back, I think my favourites are Kudi, Nothing Dey & of course Good Time. It even made me reconsider Woju and Laye, sounds much better in context.

this is just a great pop album, in a perfect world it would blow up globally

absolutely love "mama", looking fwd to the album

yemi alade also came through with her album ("marry me"!!!) + the SA house bonus tracks are essential

kiss daniel album is fire

apropos of nothing but i still hate the 'rolling spotify playlist' concept

pure culture vulturism imo