Friday favourites:
1) finally a new Amaarae - very good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU6TgShlJDwAmaarae • Leave Me Alone (co-produced by Kuvie)
2) Motown Tiwa - brilliant stuff:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xWEh1nW1gQTiwa Savage • Dangerous Love (produced by Cracker “Jealous” Mallo)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 10 July 2020 11:00 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBDupJtO3LADj Boat & Kobi Jonz - Call MelaninBoth based in the US (I think DJ Boat is the one who curates that massive afrobeats playlist on spotify)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwGybat7IvkKobi Jonz - Coca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx6E9Shpkn0Buju - Commander (from last year, now a single)
― Nabozo, Saturday, 11 July 2020 11:23 (three years ago) link
I've returned a lot to Eve Bounce - still so much potential to cross deep dancehall production with afrobeats, I miss that side of the music.
― Nabozo, Saturday, 11 July 2020 11:34 (three years ago) link
Not sure how well it fits into this thread, but I've recently become obsessed with Ugandan drumming unit Nihiloxica: https://nihiloxica.bandcamp.com/album/kaloli
Would love to know what other artists milk a similar vibe.
― dillamonster, Sunday, 12 July 2020 05:31 (three years ago) link
I’m not into them enough to know. There’s those percussion-based bands from DRC, KOKOKO! and Konono No. 1 before them, but their vibe is different, I think.Are you familiar with the Uganda-based Nyege Nyege Tapes label? It’s where Nihiloxica released their previous album and EP. They might have other stuff you like (although for instance Tanzanian singeli is obv a different kettle of fish). (btw I know dog latin likes Nihiloxica a lot, and two other posters were raving about the current album on the Rolling Global Outernational thread just this week)I like “Black Kaheera”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=104HtCkswEs
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Sunday, 12 July 2020 09:19 (three years ago) link
Nabozo, “Red” from Adey’s new Akiba EP is built around two smashes from the early 00s (both Caribbean in this case) just like “Eve Bounce”, but crucially lacks the “deep dancehall production” you mention, so ymmv.Good EP btw, Adey is a producer by origin, most famous for doing Ycee’s “Juice”. He also produced one my favourite tracks of this year, “Trouble” by DRB Lasgidi and Tems.“Bomo” and “Fugazi” are the highlights imo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_HCvFYsUSEAdey ft. WANI • Fugazi
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Sunday, 12 July 2020 11:49 (three years ago) link
Love the new Wizkid, will listen to the Azana album in the morning, but “Addicted”, the new Niniola x Sarz collabo has got me close to tears right now:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBVhbpuFxxw(and of fucking course I’m posting the extended version!)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 16 July 2020 22:21 (three years ago) link
^unavailable and afaict not on YT anymore?
― rob, Thursday, 16 July 2020 22:44 (three years ago) link
it is over here (and it’s her official YT account)this is the single edit
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 16 July 2020 22:49 (three years ago) link
ah ok, I guess it's not available in Canada yet for some reason
― rob, Thursday, 16 July 2020 23:12 (three years ago) link
btw I just heard Rema's "Woman" for the first time and it's amazing
― rob, Thursday, 16 July 2020 23:13 (three years ago) link
rob, did you personally commission this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZHLxJeXwpIAdekunle Gold ft. Nailah Blackman • AG Baby
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 17 July 2020 08:36 (three years ago) link
You’re damn right about “Woman”. So vibrant, joyful and... lecherous. Best slice of NaijaPiano so far.I also am seriously besotted with Tiwa’s “Dangerous Love”. The way she suddenly pulls that I’m deep, I’m deep, I’m deep in love with you section out of the bag in the middle of the second verse!The Nigerian big guns are really coming through right now.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 17 July 2020 10:56 (three years ago) link
haha AG and NB is an totally unexpected & delightful combination, but no I was not consulted :) It's a great song though, no? I was actually a bit disappointed in Nailah as her last single was such an obvious Doja Cat ripoffhomage, but all is redeemed and AG is truly having a great year.
"Addicted" is available for me now, and it's beautifully hypnotic.
The treated background vocals on that Tiwa are wild, I need a few more listens to make sense of it as a whole.
― rob, Friday, 17 July 2020 13:57 (three years ago) link
Bringing the beautiful noise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6PpiX8ptMwSerge Beynaud • Kointabala
Warning: this is classic Beynaud!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Saturday, 18 July 2020 21:59 (three years ago) link
That Addicted tune is wicked
― paolo, Saturday, 18 July 2020 22:10 (three years ago) link
It's a great Amapiano beat, combined with her solemn vocals. Omo Rapala had already grown to be my favorite of hers.
― Nabozo, Saturday, 18 July 2020 22:39 (three years ago) link
This is the big hit in Nigeria right now. It's slowly starting to grow on me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WqNQ49lYq0Mayorkun ft. Davido • Betty Butter
and here's Joey Akan profile/interview on/with the Mayor of Lagos: https://joeyakan.substack.com/p/mayorkun-sound-leadership-of-lagos
in-te-res-ting:
Amapiano is Mayorkun’s lockdown love, and he’s recorded enough of them to make albums. It’s experimental stuff, mixed in with highlife, and other genres for individuality. With each new record on the speaker, there’s dancing in the room as all connect with the art. “I’ve not been releasing these ones because of social distancing,” he says, referring to his high-octane creations, designed for dancefloor engagement.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 23 July 2020 20:15 (three years ago) link
btw, does anyone have a handle on Omah Lay's popularity? Two months on, and he's still got four tracks of his EP among Naija's ten most-streamed songs. I mean, he's good, but so are many others: Why him? Is it that his music somehow fits the pandemic mood (see Mayorkun's quote)?
have a look:
1 = Mayorkun & Davido - Betty Butter2 = Omah Lay - Bad Influence3 = Rema - Woman4 = Adekunle Gold & Nailah Blackman - AG Baby5 = Omah Lay - Damn6 +2 Omah Lay - You7 = Rema - Ginger Me8 -2 Wizkid - Smile (feat. H.E.R.)9 = Burna Boy - Wonderful10 = Omah Lay - Lo Lo
or is this the way to look at it:
How many people saw Omah Lay? How many could predict that the boy from PH will carry so much of the conversation and plaudits on his shoulders? That’s why I never get involved with predicting who will blow. Nobody knows. No one has an idea. Keep working. Keep pushing.— Joey Akan (@JoeyAkan) June 23, 2020
gotta say tho, "Lo Lo" is very good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYD2SQljwJo
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 23 July 2020 20:17 (three years ago) link
haha i used that exact same tweet to express my confusion in an email to a friend...it feels like maybe one of those people's choice things...makes me wonder if he had some AMAZING song if it wouldn't be 8x as huge as his current stuff, that maybe its a personality/star appeal thing
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Thursday, 23 July 2020 21:44 (three years ago) link
breastcrawl you seem to be confused about how to make it big in Nigeria, I suggest you grab a notebook and pay good attention:
I’ve hacked the Nigerian music industry 😤😤😤😤😤😤 pic.twitter.com/0AGuLZYkUc— Ditweni (@Ditweni) July 22, 2020
― Nabozo, Friday, 24 July 2020 20:11 (three years ago) link
There's a new Fireboy DML btw (Eli)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UqZINIOB70Not too many risks but I guess the exotic flute is a try
― Nabozo, Friday, 24 July 2020 20:24 (three years ago) link
lol sounds about right, nabozo xp
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 24 July 2020 20:51 (three years ago) link
d-40, my tweet comrade lol, I’m neutral on Omah L’s star appeal, but I’m thinking the persona plays a part, yes – and it must be mostly in the lyrics (I mean, he hasn’t done any shows or PAs due to the pandemic and his biggest song, “Bad Influence”, doesn’t even have a video). his lyrics are singled out in this profile too: https://www.okayafrica.com/omah-lay-nigeria-interview/
The starkness of the world he inhabits is a wonder and his lyrics are too. Phrases like "You dun burst my eyeglass" and "Omo she be SARS and she carry full van" are a cultural stamp, a burst out of the ordinary for listeners, many of whom now declare Omah Lay as "special."
this mostly eludes me as an outsider-listener, but what I can tell is that he also consistently portrays himself as a drinking, smoking bad boy who’s irresistible to girls in his songs (how novel!), being sexually quite explicit for Nigerian standards in the process, as far as I can tell.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 24 July 2020 20:53 (three years ago) link
Not blown away by either of the post-album Fireboy singles.xxp
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 24 July 2020 20:56 (three years ago) link
digging the new fireboy. he hasn't even dropped album #2 yet, he reserves the right to continue working the formula for a minute
― mozzy star (voodoo chili), Friday, 24 July 2020 20:58 (three years ago) link
I think he's actually going for something new on both of these singles - and listening to "Eli" on headphones now I have to say I am quite digging this one.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 24 July 2020 21:07 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E3_RF_NNFMMasauti "Kenyan Boy" - Inawauma
― Nabozo, Friday, 24 July 2020 21:15 (three years ago) link
That’s lovely! file under “SwaRnB” apparently
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 24 July 2020 21:50 (three years ago) link
brb searching for examples of Swamapiano and SwahEDM
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 24 July 2020 21:52 (three years ago) link
the fireboy single from a little bit ago "new york city girl" is one of my fav songs of the year... he's almost on his own wavelength. both of these new songs are pretty subdued which is interesting when you consider i.e. "jealous"
omah lay is pretty cool to me, it feels pretty contemporary american R&B to me. like he could do a song w/ 6lack pretty easily or something. it doesn't blow me away but he is really popping right now.
― J0rdan S., Friday, 24 July 2020 21:57 (three years ago) link
"eli" is excellent, can't stop playing it
― mozzy star (voodoo chili), Monday, 27 July 2020 23:39 (three years ago) link
Pulling all the right strings:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilRXM7h_oPgBwoiiDaas • Radar
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 28 July 2020 21:20 (three years ago) link
it had been quite a while, but here’s Patoranking showing he’s still got it:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIKF16oagBYPatoranking • Abule(no small thanks to “Wonderful” producer Telz)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Saturday, 1 August 2020 06:23 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT6aBynWDgEReminisce feat. Fireboy DML - Ogaranya
― Nabozo, Saturday, 1 August 2020 15:09 (three years ago) link
Sarz on the beat!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Saturday, 1 August 2020 16:25 (three years ago) link
Follow-up to Yo Pe and it comes... close ?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLu6yW56ALgInnoss'B - Olandi
― Nabozo, Sunday, 2 August 2020 16:25 (three years ago) link
great track! can see this low key crossing over to Nigeria. Has a real Naijapop ca. 2014 vibe - Skales, “Show You The Money”...
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Sunday, 2 August 2020 16:54 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WekJRXIKbcoDj Tunez - Cool me Down (feat. Wizkid)
I love what Wizkid does on these recent tracks. Effortless magic.
― Nabozo, Sunday, 2 August 2020 17:30 (three years ago) link
that’s more or less how I described it on the Wizkid thread lol
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Sunday, 2 August 2020 17:32 (three years ago) link
Haha sorry I should have known, even if it makes sense to have them on both threads, sorryhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1dNx8DschwJuls feat. Miraa May & Donae'o - Blessed. Good vibes, always interesting.
― Nabozo, Sunday, 2 August 2020 20:10 (three years ago) link
Very good song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDN5FjXqcMQBoybreed ft. Minz • Julie
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 3 August 2020 19:38 (three years ago) link
random thoughts on “Eli” - what a song!I like to think Fireboy wrote it about the girl in Ace of Base’s “All That She Wants”. There’s a synergy between these songs. The official video is out now. It’s kinda funny how director Clarence Peters* basically remade his video for “Pana” for this one.*Nigeria’s most famous video director, and, I didn’t know this, son of juju musician Shina Peters.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 3 August 2020 20:43 (three years ago) link
I feel so microtargeted right now: a Turkish afropop track (from a Dutch-born guy to boot) featuring the actual Oxlade:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LQjWuGpuPQUmut Timur ft. Oxlade • Saralım (from my yet to materialize EUfrican Pop thread)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 4 August 2020 10:23 (three years ago) link
You’re all invited to participate in this poll:
🇳🇬 NAIJA SPECIAL: which of these *seven* current high-profile Nigerian hit songs is the best one? please help me decide
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 4 August 2020 16:17 (three years ago) link
good and encouraging to see this kind of shit called out in/by the Nigerian music press:https://thenativemag.com/communities/general-public-might-cynical-simis-apology-lgbtq-community/
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 5 August 2020 22:24 (three years ago) link
This is a jam:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgKwYrSzMokDJ Kaywise ft. Mayorkun, Naira Marley & Zlatan • What Type Of Dance
More good Tiwa:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKSfQqYTFRoTiwa Savage • Koroba
More faya from Fireboy:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQpD2EmoS_wCracker Mallo ft. Fireboy DML • Wickedest Wyne
Even the new Peruzzi is good:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tev_ohOnEgPeruzzi • Lagbaja
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Saturday, 8 August 2020 17:56 (three years ago) link
Fireboy goes full afro&b:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsdopaqg85kFireboy DML • PassionVery excited for his second album Apollo, out next week (!)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 12 August 2020 07:38 (three years ago) link
EUfrican Pop subthread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_vK-Z6bHLIYung Felix ft. Niniola • Pareke
Yung Felix is a Dutch producer, one of the biggest and the best in the game over here – I posted an NSG track produced by him on the UK Afro thread recently.
(track should have been at least twice as long obviously)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 14 August 2020 07:41 (three years ago) link
I am finally getting around to checking out the full Reniss album, Nzo, and it's really good. Would especially recommend it to curmudgeon if he's reading this.
― rob, Friday, 14 August 2020 13:46 (three years ago) link