rolling Afropop / Afrobeats / Afrodance 2019

a promoter friend is traveling through E Africa at the moment and heard this on the radio. It's brilliant

https://youtu.be/9VSz1gKlfmk

B Gway (et al) - Ndembe

weird'n'warpy Kenyan trip hop from Nah Eeto - Kichaa. This is from very late 2018 but there's a new album out soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZxDQM7gcRM

That’s the spirit!

Loving “Ndembe”, especially when it goes into overdrive during Sholo Mwamba’s section.
(unfortunately, this remix is not on Spotify, so it’s the original version [minus Sholo] on the playlist. Still good!)

Still hardly any singeli “singles” on Spotify by the looks of it, but this is Sholo Mwamba’s most recent video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8enq4afCTqw
Sholo Mwamba • Kimbia

This one is from a year ago and sounds like a bit of a pop move:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWbDAHF-pUc
Sholo Mwamba • Anataka Uma

Live scenes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ3OyRYryt8

As for BGway himself (who does have stuff on Spotify), he makes “trap mdundiko” rather than singeli.
“Ndembe” seems his most exciting track by far, precisely because of the singeli injection, and there’s some bongo flava there as well, I think.

(just trying to school myself here, feel free to ignore)

no it's interesting. I only recently learnt the terms singeli and bongo flava

Very sad news, I only learned about this today:

DJ Arafat, a giant of coupé-decalé and one of the biggest stars of francophone Afropop (and beyond: he also worked with Nigerian artists like Davido and Yemi Alade, for instance) died two weeks ago in a motorcycle accident in Abidjan. He was 33.

https://www.france24.com/en/20190831-ivorian-music-star-dj-arafat-gets-royal-send-off-with-grand-funeral-concert

His funeral was today. His life was celebrated with a stadium concert featuring performances of many fellow artists. Here’s (all?) seven hours of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xld7GMoqKyc

His most recent hit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuk8PdGKv9c
DJ Arafat ft. Naza • Ventripotent

This one, from a year ago, is pretty damn awesome:

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

DJ Arafat • Pandou Koulé

Horrible news.

Hi all

Here's an thread-relevant mix I made over the weekend featuring a lot of songs ITT and from elsewhere. Tracklisting is partially complete as I need to wait till I get home tonight and check through my Serato history

https://soundcloud.com/charlieframedj/akrakabo-2019-more-afrobeats-pop-and-dance

Enjoy!

FOKN Bois - African Holiday
Juls x Mr Eazi - Cake
Tiwa Savage - One
E.L. - Ehua
Rema - Dumebi
Zero12Finest - Baby Are You Coming?
A-Star - Solege
DJ Tunez x Busiswa - Majesty (Fuck It Up)
Sefa - Suga

Mina x Bryte - Sentah
Bryte x Busy Twist - Hustler
A-Star x GuiltyBeatz - Bogada
Eazzy - Away
Goldlink x Maleek Berry x Bibi Bourelly - Zulu Screams
Material Culture - Ngenzan
Mina x Bryte - Make Money (SNØW Remix)
Scró Q Cuia x Neru Americano - O Pintin
Tshegue - The Wheel
Petrah - Tiaso

B-Gway ft Mesen Selekta - Ndembe
Jay Mitta x Dogo Janja - Taitzo Pesa
Nihiloxica - Kadodi

I love Rema “Dumebi” . Great song

It’s been out since March, so I am a bit late.

https://www.thefader.com/2019/06/24/rema-dumebi-interview

There’s a Spanish version too

Didn’t know about that Spanish version, it’s fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuQiQFHgzDM
Jthyago x Oscar el Ruso x Samueliyo Baby x Irrita el Indio • Dumebi (Spanish version)

Might as well post the Panamanian version of Skiibi’s “Sensima” too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNN-TBgAD9A
Italian Somali x Dubosky • Loco Fefo

Dumebi is beautiful. I prefer it to Ma Lo

not Ma Lo, I meant Manya which it's loosely based on

“Ndembe” is so fucking good!

I had to rip it from YouTube in the end cos the version I bought on Google Play was quite different and nowhere near as good

Is that the version I mentioned above with just G Nako that’s on Spotify? It’s not as singeli-larly spectacular, but still very good in its own right imo.

In other news:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOoNEi8BlgM
Tiwa Savage • 49-99 (produced by Pheelz)

re: Ndembe - it's not bad but the video version is jaw dropping in how it ramps up a gear every couple of bars. Goes from this loping reggaeish best to full throttle singeli in the course of 4 mins. The Spotify version is more straightforward rap / bongo flava

totally agree, only your “not bad” is my “still very good in its own right”

Nigerian music writer Joey Akan profiles five Naija artists (Blaqbonez, Wavy the Creator, Fireboy DML, Odunsi and Teni) for the New York Times Style Magazine:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/t-magazine/nigerian-musicians-fireboy-dml-odunsi-the-engine.html

(I note that, just like in his recent Burna Boy review for The Fader, he uses the term “Afrobeats” for his American audience. Guess we’re stuck with that one)

Been absent here due to major surgery a few weeks back, but saw this: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/world/africa/zimdancehall-the-music-that-moves-zimbabwes-uneasy-streets.html

Probably more appropriate for the dancehall thread, but an interesting read nonetheless...despite the music being a bit meh to my ears, the messages seem urgent, and sometimes that's enough.

Hope you’re doing better, table!

Don’t know much about the Zimbabwean scene, but this was one of my favourite jams of 2017:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFzDqKRb7zc
ExQ ft. Killer T • Nhema

GoogleTranslate told me the lyrics are about haters telling lies. I was going to say it’s hard to read a line like “we are free spirits” as completely nonpolitical, but then I came across this.

:

TNS has the Midas Touch as far as I’m concerned. “My Dali” and “Joburg” (with Mampinthsa) are two of the best tracks of the year. This is his latest - and there’s an album on the way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVRbI2Pjjog
TNS ft. Mpumi • Umona

Nice low-key EP from Blackmagic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Busrs7LGw
Blackmagic - BM19001

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kzum0bAFZ4
Blackmagic - BM19007

Just heard this on Eazzy's EP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ8jNU1US2k
Eazzy - Away ft. Medikal

Away is so great

Ghetto love, made in Lagos.

So good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSHff6H5Wxc

AVala • Mo Fe Be

Hugely enjoying the TNS album, Madlokovu: King of African House. All tracks are cut from the same cloth, but it’s such a great sound, so who cares? He’s like Heavy K in that respect, similar penchant for high-drama euphoric rave synths as well.

Choice cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlmVt4QZhPg
TNS ft. Stunner • My Rules

Oh, and try bonus track “Ayabonga”
for a darker twist, not unlike Mampintsha’s “Joburg”.

Next new Wizkid.

The video for A-Star's "Hypeman" came out a few weeks back. It's his weakest track and also his most WTF video— the Chinese stuff and the happy mugging with the cop kind of gave me a super icked out vibe.

will still stan for "Bogada" being my favorite track of the year, tho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp5GVn-W5Uk

Bogada is so good. Afrobeats EOY poll anyone?

I'm seeing Nihiloxica tonight as an early birthday fun thing. I'm mad excited

Happy birthday, dog latin! How was/were Nihiloxica?

An Afropop EOY poll would be fun, but I’m not sure we have the numbers for that? How many people would participate, realistically speaking?

They were amazing, quite frankly. As good as you'd expect. Started loud, but were clearly hustling for the first 2-3 songs before bringing out the big guns. Total devastation

Maybe we could do a mini-poll. Get everyone to nominate 3-5 songs each ITT and then poll em in a separate thread?

That could work, I think.

“Dumebi” will doubtlessly score big in any poll format, but here’s Another Banger for yall’s consideration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JrxV6Me604
Rema • Lady

(from his brand new EP, which sounds very good on first listen)

New Reekado is another beauty:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rLSi6m2Ll4
Reekado Banks • Rora

It’s produced by (Along came...) Tuzi, one of my favourite up and coming Naija producers, simultaneously old-school inspired and a little freaky. He’s got one monster hit under his belt already (Skiibii’s “Sensima”), but I also love this non-hit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vW-y6QYt3w
TeeQ Bello • Happy People

More beauty:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3etaIUzTe1o
Buju ft. Zlatan • Spiritual

(This spellbinding song screams for an equally hypnotizing video. Don’t know what’s keeping them)

Loving the new Rema. Lady is the best track but it's all good. He has really found his own style.

digging this ep by kabza de small & dj maphorisa almost as much as its cover lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_5q-MiHF9I

i could be wrong since i still don't follow this stuff anywhere near as much as i'd like to but it seems like pretty much anything dj maphorisa touches is gold lately

Well, make that Kabza. It’s good to see him gettting top billing this time, in a reversal of Scorpion Kings. It’s his sound, not Maphorisa’s.

My favourite track on this is “Nana Thula” with Njelic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBh-oPXY03k

Also, wow at this:
Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa ft. Corry Da Groove & Howard • Tears

Amapiano and Larry Heard, one step removed.