rolling Afropop / Afrobeats / Afrodance 2019

...or you could just watch this, which features most of the above:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxhqRR0R2vg

(between these and “Jerusalema” I think I’ve got the festive spirit covered)

(and it’s “Tá Treme”, apologies)

Still loving Rema “Dumebi “ . A track of the year

Otm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzzNAMU5eWY

recently discovered "this is love" by lady zamar and it's lovely and quickly becoming one of my favourites this year. gorgeous south african house

the album it's from, monarch, is very good too, just way too long at 20 tracks/90 minutes

Yeah, it’s definitely overly long, and without enough stand-outs imo. Fwiw, the other tracks I saved to my playlist at the time were “ICU”, “Delirium” and “Sharp Shooter”.

https://www.jonathanbogart.net/blog/100-songs-2019

He's got Afropop, caribbean sounds, Latinx reggaeton, US & UK and more

1. Seyi Shay ft. Runtown, “Gimme Love”; 2. Bad Bunny ft. Tainy, “Callaíta”; 3. Titica ft. Laton Cordeiro, “Giro Na Bicicleta”; 4. Lady Zamar, “This Is Love”;
5. Tomasa del Real, “Contigo”;

Anybody made Obama's YE list

Obama has Burna Boy "Anybody," Rema "Iron Man," and Angelique Kidjo " La Vida es un Carnaval" ( Rollo Tomasi remix)" and Jamaican vocalist Koffee "Toast" on his list

Go Obama lol!

As for Jonathan Bogart’s list, it’s a super interesting one. I don’t know two thirds of the songs, but it looks right up my alley. I recognise quite a lot in the way he describes his musical proclivities in the introduction as well.

However, **butthurt corner and full disclosure**, I soured on Bogart big time after the blurb he (of all people, as the only Afropop aficionado there at the time) wrote in the Singles Jukebox for my Reader’s Week entry for Tekno’s “Duro” back in 2015. I found it shockingly bad and pretty much disqualifying for a music critic.

This was his blurb: ”Jonathan Bogart: Blame it on me being an old straight white dude who has rarely been in the market for what young loverboy crooners are selling; blame it on my having heard way too much recent West African pop that sounds practically indistinguishable from this; blame it on the YouTube commenters bringing up Chris Brown again and again. [4]”

I thought it impolite to directly address it, being a guest on the site (and I was too fucking insecure anyway, I hadn’t even written a blurb for the song myself like I could have), and left it at a general comment.

Interestingly, in his introduction here he more or less repeats the same argument and expands on it (which is why I felt the need to write this), but now it’s framed in a positive, dare I say it, half-baked woke kind of way, which I can’t help but find a bit disingenious.

He does have a Tekno song in his list this time around though (as well as some other male cis het crooners!), I’ll give him that.

**end of butthurt section / axe grinded**

Anyway, diving headlong into the list as we speak - it really is a treat.

Here’s that number one on JB’s list:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0ligX9PupI

Seyi Shay ft. Runtown • Gimme Love

(it’s a Sarz production; she currently has a remix out with Teyana Taylor instead of Runtown)

yeah bogart's list has been pretty interesting to go through - there's enough overlap with stuff i loved that didn't really get much attention from anywhere but with plenty of great tracks i hadn't heard too ("this is love" among them)

this mix still goes
https://soundcloud.com/djabrantee/sets/afrobeats-mix-vol-1

Thought the Tekno (Bogart’s #71) had been posted here, but no:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KErqMcZR0KA
Tekno • Skeletun

(lol at the idea of Tekno being some kind of left-field artist tho)

Also loving this Ugandan jam from that list. Let’s rock down to Swangz Avenue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROqYa4F1Dvs
Vinka • Kona (Oluyimba Lwomwaka)

For true heads only: In a bizarre plot twist, it’s none other than Inna doing her bit for Afropop!

(I’m hoping to start the 2020 thread this weekend, after the nominations are done and dusted)

I made a new thread.