rolling afropop 2022

From the little time I've spent in SA, Amapiano is played as is on the radio and blasted in some popular restaurants / taverns / shops, public space, and obviously in clubs. Afrobeats has relatively little penetration and influence, since SA produces so much music of its own, it's there but a little further in the global periphery. The pop side is already well covered between the gentler house, hip hop, the gospel type of stuff. At its core, Amapiano remains dance music from the lokshin, an underground culture, much like Gqom was.

Of course. I’d just like to see some of the originators get a little of the crossover action that must surely be on its way.

I think amapiano succeeds in part by playing the long game

Africa’s most out there music festival (afaik) is blossoming and Museveni’s government doesn’t like it:

https://thequietus.com/articles/32062-uganda-s-government-issues-guidelines-for-nyege-nyege-festival

wow…

This just made my year 🤍🌴🦅 pic.twitter.com/eQsNHwAIa2

— Ozedikus Nwanne 💯 (@ozedikus) September 17, 2022

just wow…

…Just some boys from surulere doing what they know best pic.twitter.com/mbg3UE1EbI

— ᴏғᴀ (@oxladeofficial) September 17, 2022

asake album debuted at no 66 in the US, outselling ari lennox (among notable other debuts last week). wild times

highest-charting nigerian debut album of all time

yep, also debuted at #22 in the UK album chart. not so much outselling as outstreaming tho, it’s #12 on US Apple Music Top Albums today, and the #1 (!) on UK Apple Music Top Albums - two weeks after its release. wild times indeed.

streaming = selling these days

clearly not to the chart compilers or it would be much higher up there

j0rdan is right. there are multiple streaming services and the albums in front of him seem to have more cross-platform appeal

for example, asake is doing much better on apple than spotify, where he’s not in the global or us top 50 album charts

just checked the uk album chart on spotify and he’s not on there either

Steady green like broccoli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crtQSTYWtqE
Ayra Starr - Rush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TZAt8mPvnU
Kwesta X Kabza De Small Feat Masterpiece - yvk-K’shubile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNzLp2OChBU
Costa Titch & Diamond Platnumz feat. ma Gang - Superstar

That Ayra Starr track is right up my alley. I especially love the subtle synth bass.

Yeah it's infectious, lots of hooks (Aje Aje Aje, chorus, bridge), backing vocals & pulsating bass doing wonders, her best track so far.

https://theface.com/music/black-sherif-interview-album-the-villain-tour-burna-boy

Black Sherif interview

Moliy's new EP Honey Doom is very enjoyable if you dig her voice (as I do)

Hard w/Moonchild Sanelly isn't quite representative, but is fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhwBr5VkrpI

Young Jonn, "Xtra Cool"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWWCj-EbevI

I don't much about this guy, but this is kind of a perfect distillation of the amasake sound

talking about making it against all odds:

So what do we think of Young John's apparent attempt to become a solo artist over other people's production?
https://soundcloud.com/dee-moss-374676760/dj-hol-up-feat-young-john-gbagbe-prod-mojarz

― human and working on getting beer (longneck), woensdag 24 februari 2016 10:57

Hmmm, it's nice enough (though really nothing special), and I wish Young John all the success in the world, but I think he's already found his calling.

― breastcrawl, woensdag 24 februari 2016 18:29

I hope so too, lol

― human and working on getting beer (longneck), woensdag 24 februari 2016 21:15

wait it's that Young Jonn??

none other

He’s still a boring vocalist lol. Wish him all the best nonetheless.

ok lol that thought did occur to me (since "Young John the wicked producer" is perma-lodged in my brain) but he looks so, well, young in the video I assumed it couldn't be him

My favorite non-Asake song at the moment is probably Electricity, which just suddenly started to make all the sense in the world to me.

this is his biggest hit yet, massive in Naija and getting there in the rest of Africa, #43 on Shazam worldwide. perseverance pays off, people! he seems more interested in this than in production (although he’s had some big hits as a producer in the past couple of years, that distinctive sound he used to have has long since been buried in the past)

he looks so, well, young in the video I assumed it couldn't be him

I thought Zinoleesky looked like a child and he’s like 26 so I know how you feel.

haha wow yeah I wouldn't have guessed 27, though dang 20 is impressive.

I kind of agree about him being a boring singer, but I think that tracks works anyway—or at least, I'm not surprised it's popular

I mean, someone like P.Priime is only 20 *now*, and he came up three years ago

sheesh

speaking of palm wine (well people were speaking of it months ago), came across show dem camp's 'palmwine music 3' album, and it's worth checking out. reminds me a bit of the juls album from last year in concept (though that one was clubbier and more influenced by uk sounds) in that it's a revue-style compilation featuring one artist collaborating with some of the best and brightest in the nigeria scene.

loved this one with bellah, who i am def checking out more of after this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=232XULY-SJA

and this one with our guy boj
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r49K9xwf3UM

bellah seems to be more for the r&b thread, but "wyw" still goes

after 33 million views as an A Colors Show vid, the song of the year (well, it’s top three at the very least) finally gets the proper video treatment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4qud199tQk

Is it better than the A Colors Show version though? I’m undecided.

The New Rihanna single is co-written by Tems and sounds like a Tems song.

https://open.spotify.com/track/35ovElsgyAtQwYPYnZJECg?si=M8JNZnDyT6mUykLPi7vEug

Is it better than the A Colors Show version though? I’m undecided.

― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, October 21, 2022 6:11 PM (one week ago)

you just mean the videos, right? as in: the song is exactly the same

Forreal? I thought it sounded slightly different. Anyway, I prefer the green video, I think.
And speaking of videos, this one is a lot of fun:

Blaqbonez - Back in Uni
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4y_kzpCthQ

sorry, longneck, I meant to phrase that as a question; I'm not sure if they're the same mix or not

I'm not sure either, but for some reason I feel/felt like the first version was a bit more naked and raw. It might just be the sparsity of the video that brings out the vocal performance more, idk.

Mr. Seyi with the Vibez:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuF6wCbHIAY
Seyi Vibez • Chance (Na Ham)

Tiwa goes Asake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgeTnpTkzI0

…on “Loaded”.

snippets of this song have been doing the rounds for some time now. maybe there was a tug of war about under whose name it would be released?

as it is, it *sounds* fantastic, but it’s also way too short, especially since Asake and Tiwa don’t interact on the song at all.

…and it has to be said, the video *looks* absolutely stunning in every aspect, like so many videos in afropop do

... and especially Asake videos, it must be said.

Such fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=douM3B78IhY
Mavins / Mavin All Stars* • Won Ma Do

*they include:
Rema
Boy Spyce
Crayon
Bayanni
Magixx
LADIPOE
Ayra Starr
Johnny Drille

love,
Don Jazzy

oops, *Won Da Mo*

Yeah this is hitting my "Bounce by Rema" buttons

With the release of the new Wizkid (which I'm still listening to right now), I was thinking about doing a best naija album/EP of the year poll with these options:

Asake - Mr Money With The Vibe
BNXN fka Buju - Bad Since ‘97
Burna Boy - Love, Damini
Fireboy DML - Playboy
Omah Lay - Boy, Alone
Rema - Rave & Roses
Wizkid - More Love, Less Ego

Am I missing anything? I'm not happy about the lack of women, but if there's an eligible contender, it's off my radar. I could also be persuaded to include Ghana if anyone had suggestions from there.

It’s very weird how Tems has had a bigger year than anyone, yet there are no female naija artists out at the moment except for Ayra, who will probably blow up before any of the guys do.