rolling afropop / afrobeats 2018

Heard good things about the Eazi but haven’t had the time yet

Busiswa: I went in half-expecting /Highly Flavoured/ to the power of “Banomoya”, so I was bound to be disappointed.

It’s like she only took “Bayozenza” from that album and forgot about all the colour and light that was there (“Jam” being the exception).

It’s still good for what it is though and I’m coming around to it.

Mr Eazi: Still feeling my way around there, but it sounds good (GuiltyBeatz is involved, and even Juls has a track, so yeah). I’m happy he didn’t take the title concept too literally. The “London Town” single with Giggs that was supposed to be his UK breakthrough, but actually killed his momentum is still there, but it’s tucked away at the end.

I could have sworn “Keys To The City (Ogede)” had been posted already, but apparently not:

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

I like a lot of recent Eazi but I can’t fathom why he doesn’t work with Juls a lot more often.

I don’t get that either. Maybe they (or one of them) didn’t want to become (or be seen as) too symbiotic?

Anyways....

Wizzy alert!

xp to self

Trying again:

I don’t get that either. Maybe they (or one of them) didn’t want their working relationship to become (or be seen as) too symbiotic?

Tiwa Savage has a new song out, “One”, produced by - there he is again - Killertunes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL71si0mL1Y

Nabozo, what do you make of the Busiswa album?

(sorry, I’m assuming you’ve listened to it, apols if you haven’t. I’m curious though!)

That new Tiwa is gorgeous. I have no idea what she's saying but I love it.

Just came across this video. Such fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhnKziI51d8

New Burna:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecl8Aod0Tl0

“On The Low”

Another "Melanin". Also featuring a high-saturated colors video (perhaps inspired by Amy Sherald?). I don't know if the song's that good, TBH, but I'm a sucker for Team Salut-produced slow jams. I especially love those synth pads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZse14-CTkE

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.

― breastcrawl, Friday, November 2, 2018 3:04 PM (two weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was talking about the Tzozo & Prof song for sure, though that Riky Rick song is a banger for sure, I'd not heard that one before, great find!

Accuse definitely came out in the 90s, not too long after apartheid ended, I want to say maybe 96? I can't recall and I can't seem to find a firm date online, I'll ask some folks back in SA if they recall. It definitely came out after Mafokate's 'Don't call me K*****" which as 95, but how long after, I am not sure!

What have objectively been the biggest SA domestic hits this year? Banomaya and...?

Off the top of my head: “Club Controller”, obviously, “Pakisha”, “Sonini” and “Bamthathile”, and Mlindo’s “AmaBlesser” was huge as well.

Kaybee has had quite a year.

Album coming soon too.

What about Sun-El’s year though? Several hits off his album, kickstarting Mlindo’s career in the process, and Simmy’s as well, with an album he produced to boot.

DJ Zinhle bringing the drama, including strings, highly dramatic strings:

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

DJ Zinhle feat. Miss Melody & Presh Beat Master • Uzobuya

Another Ghana x Naija one.
This is a fantastic song:

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

Becca feat. Kizz Daniel • Gina

(The new Kizz album is out later this week. This won’t be on it, but it’s called No Bad Songz so I guess we’ll be okay)

that's great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnoQ_w8tmgc

Mlindo's Macala got a video, one of the highlights from his excellent album

reading random folks on twitter proclaiming fave Afrobeats songs of 2018:

New Wande Coal, “So Mi So”, produced by Juls: https://youtu.be/A6mRKZsAxMs

― breastcrawl, Tuesday, May 8, 2018

This got some support as did Burna Boy- Ye; Starboy-Soco

When Kwesta comes in... whew.

xp Good timing, curmudgeon!

Juls and Wande Coal just released their new collabo, “Sister Girl”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGN70AYZmdo

woah that Macala track is amazing

Sister Girl *sounds* great, but I wish he'd grabbed Maleek Berry or someone else a little smoother for that one

Nice promotional documentary for Eazi’s Lagos to London project, also focusing on the Lagos music scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urGj3A9ndiI

It also features Eazi protégé Joeboy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2lzgHh8p-k
Joeboy feat. Mr Eazi • Faaji

The new Kizz Daniel album is strong. Star of the show, perhaps surprisingly, is DJ Coublon, who’s killing it on his four tracks, especially on “Maye”, a last-minute addition to the album. It’s where No Bad Songz starts being great instead of just good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxWBEU65Abo

(listen to those backing vocals!)

Good to see Coublon back at the forefront. He’s low-key done some very good tracks this year (including Yemi Alade’s “Oh My Gosh”). I’m fond of Dabenja’s “Take Away”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5xSof_vDhY

Really? No one has an opinion on the Kizz Daniel album?

Anyway, the beat goes on - from Tanzania:

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

Navy Kenzo feat. Diamond Platnumz • Katika

I started listening to it earlier today and it sounded solid. Will keep listening for sure.

I want to hear that Kizz Daniel, but end of year means the "I should check this album out" pile is getting quite tall.

Speaking of, Okay Africa put out a list of best Nigerian songs:
https://www.okayafrica.com/nigerian-songs-best-2018-year-listen-stream

Burna Boy "Ye"
Wizkid x Terri x Spotless x Ceeza Milli "Soco"
Olamide "Science Student"
Niniola "Bana"
Odunsi, Zamir & Santi "Alté Cruise"
Naira Marley x Olamide x Lil Kesh "Issa Goal"
Teni "Case"
Tekno "Jogodo"
Tiwa Savage x Duncan Mighty "Lova Lova"
Mr Real x Idowest x Kelvin Chuks x Obadice "Legbegbe"
Falz "This Is Nigeria"
Davido x Duncan Mighty x Peruzzi "Aza"
Odunsi (The Engine) "Falling"
Patoranking "Suh Different"
D'banj x Slimcase x Mr Real "Issa Banger"
DJ Spinall x Wizkid "Nowo"
Tay Iwar x Odunsi (The Engine) "Sugardaddy"
Mr Eazi x Giggs "London Town"
Wande Coal x Juls "So Mi So"
Olamide x Wizkid "Kana"
2baba x Peruzzi "Amaka"
Sarz x WurlD "Trobul"
ClassiQ "Gargajiya"
M.I "Last Night I Had a Dream About A Hummingbird"
Adekunle Gold "Ire"

(ty NickB for the C&P)

They really like Odunsi, huh? Some questionable choices on that list, but def some undeniables as well.
I'm kinda shocked that Tekno and Davido (and even Yemi Alade) had so much relatively weak output in an otherwise really strong year for African music.

yeah there were a couple tunes there I didn't recognize and was pretty perplexed by after clicking

I don't think I'd even heard of Odunsi before reading the list. Does anyone here rate it? seems like fairly standard, maybe even mediocre, rnb on first blush

Yeah, the Odunsi love really sticks out. He seems to be the figurehead of the alté scene, the “alternative” (and I guess quite bourgie) scene that broke through commercially this year and that’s associated with Lagos Island (he and the Island scene are both featured in the Mr Eazi documentary I posted a few days ago).

I don’t find his music particularly interesting either, for the reasons rob states, but I get that it might be exciting/cool to have someone doing credible homegrown contemporary r&b when you’re a Nigerian listener.

I like that wavy/vibey/groovy thing so much more when it’s mixed with a healthy dose of Afro elements: that’s why I like the Show Dem Camp album better than the Odunsi, for instance (they came out a week apart iirc). My impression is that in Ghana they’re better at this, Kuvie is a good example.

Somewhat related: I also quite like where Kenya’s Blinky Bill (!) is going with his more old skool neo soul influences on his album Everybody’s Just Winging It And Other Fly Tales (!) - lots of low-end and not too shy of homegrown beats (the recent Wizkid-coined buzzword ‘stew’ feels somehow appropriate).

http://www.youtube.com/mIVAPwcG0xc

Blinky Bill feat. MVROE & Kivango • Showdown

I get that it might be exciting/cool to have someone doing credible homegrown contemporary r&b when you’re a Nigerian listener.

That makes a lot of sense. I think I was just misled by the "alternative" tag and expected something more out there

longneck, the weird thing about Davido this year to me was that he was pretty much consistently good in collaborative tracks (the DMW crew stuff - “Aza” is on the list for a reason) and in features, but that his own singles were relatively weak (even if “Assurance” was legit one of the biggest hits of the year).

As for the list, I guess “Gargajiya” is relatively obscure - ClassiQ is a representative of the Northern Hausa scene, and this track has the musical feel of that region (the title actually translates as ‘culture’ or ‘traditional’):

https://youtu.be/MuSgk5wHNfk
(^this is the audio - there’s no official video...
(...there is this though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAjwjrQSyiQ

(Confusingly, there’s also a South African house artist with that exact same name - I’m waiting breathlessly for their classicq Hausa house collaboration)

Aaaanyway, what were the (other?) entries on the list you guys found questionable/perplexing?

oh it wasn't too many, the three Odunsi tunes; the Teni I didn't hate, it just didn't seem very special; the ClassiQ, not because of the Hausa folk angle but more the claim that it married that sound with pop to impressive effect; and the Adekunle Gold, who I've enjoyed in the past but I wasn't feeling that track

tbc: these aren't exactly well considered opinions, so it's quite possible I'm giving good stuff short shrift

I didn’t realize there were blurbs to go with the listings, making my observations on ClassiQ kind of redundant.

“Case” is a bit of a bizarre pick when “Askamaya” is also available.

Rob otm, and also, yes, Askamaya >>>> Case.

Idk, I understand that they've tried to keep it at one song per artist (excepting Odunsi, of course) but a list that does not have songs like Fake Love or Kana (or Commando) just feels... off, imo.
The Davido I enjoyed the most in 2018 was the FIA remix with Stefflon Don, but if we're talking appearances, I'd pick Bobo, Mind and maybe even Aja over Aza (which is also fine). The D'Banj entry feels minor,surely there were better shaku shakus this year? And is London Town really the best Eazi this year? Is AKWAABA too ghana for them? Would also have liked to see Terri, Ycee's Say Bye Bye and maybe Kidi's Adiepena on this list, I guess.

Burna Boy "Ye"
Wizkid x Terri x Spotless x Ceeza Milli "Soco"
Olamide "Science Student"
Niniola "Bana"
Odunsi, Zamir & Santi "Alté Cruise"
Naira Marley x Olamide x Lil Kesh "Issa Goal"
Teni "Case"
Tekno "Jogodo"
Tiwa Savage x Duncan Mighty "Lova Lova"
Mr Real x Idowest x Kelvin Chuks x Obadice "Legbegbe"
Falz "This Is Nigeria"
Davido x Duncan Mighty x Peruzzi "Aza"
Odunsi (The Engine) "Falling"
Patoranking "Suh Different"
D'banj x Slimcase x Mr Real "Issa Banger"
DJ Spinall x Wizkid "Nowo"
Tay Iwar x Odunsi (The Engine) "Sugardaddy"
Mr Eazi x Giggs "London Town"
Wande Coal x Juls "So Mi So"
Olamide x Wizkid "Kana"
2baba x Peruzzi "Amaka"
Sarz x WurlD "Trobul"
ClassiQ "Gargajiya"
M.I "Last Night I Had a Dream About A Hummingbird"
Adekunle Gold "Ire"

Forgot to edit out the list that I kept in the post as reference while writing it, sorry.

“Fake Love” is a glaring omission, yes - but “Kana” is actually on the list! (“Nowo” is there as well, so that makes three fir Wizzy as well). “Akwaaba” and “Adiepena” are Ghanaian tracks, so their absence is not strange. I do agree with you about “London Town”, it’s my least favorite thing Eazi has done this year.

Oh right, totally missed Kana on the list, lol.

I also really miss Tiwa's Vibe on that list even though Lova Lova might well be the best Tiwa song this year.

Great list. Can you Spotify it? I would swap out 'Case' for 'Shakeam' even though both songs are great