Rolling Afropop 2023

Those Victony tracks are fire

Rema guested with Ice Spice on Saturday Night Live on her second song

one of my friends is obsessed with "water" so i pointed him to some of her other songs ("getting late" esp.) to make sure he knows she's, you know, developing a catalog and isn't just amounting to one hit song. he seems legit excited abt her. international star tyla incoming!

From every video and performance I’ve seen of her, Tyla definitely has that IT factor to make it big with the right push.

I did a "which afropop song will break through next" poll with my students a while back and they all agreed water was irritatingly catchy to the point of being boring. They did vote for it though.

It’s number one now on Billboard US afrobeats chart

Water doesn't do half as much for me as some of her prior stuff. Not sure I'd describe it as "irritatingly catchy", I'm not hearing much hook here

It's kind of all hook to me. Just a bit low on fun.

This song from November 2022 just popped up in the YT channel and that definitely should be posted and maybe also on the r&b thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I9ufTCxQ20
Adanna Duru - Pop!

Listening to Lady Donli “Pan African Rockstar “ album. Some of it sounds good

Loving this jazzy SA sensation:

Oscar Mbo & - KG Smallz - Yes God (feat. Dearson) (Mörda, Thakzin, Mhaw Keys Remix):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bFIkEDffuk

Grammys nominees for Feb 2024 awards

Best African Music Performance

Amapiano
ASAKE & Olamide

City Boys
Burna Boy

UNAVAILABLE
Davido Featuring Musa Keys

Rush
Ayra Starr

Water
Tyla

Good choices.

critic and substacker Brad Luen nitpicking Asake--

Asake: Work of Art
Popularizing amapiano with Afrobeat(s) characteristics, he’s become the hottest hitmaker on the Nigerian charts. At album length, it becomes more apparent that the songwriting per se barely exists (poor Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork’s best critic this year, was reduced to making claims about Asake’s “intimate storytelling” to justify an 8.0; should’ve reserved that for NewJeans), though his pidgin can sound Biblical to speakers of other dialects: “heavily, we are getting lit”. But he’s a skilled vocalist, handling varied rhythms and code-switching at will, and he has no shortage of newish-to-pop sonics. Standout “2:30” is the start of a run that tunes the donk into funk almost as avant as DJ Black Low’s, a trick hard to overuse, like the all-too-brief snippets of store-brand highlife and unlike the massed chorales. The closing “Yoga” samples Mauritian(-Australian) singer-percussionist Jason Heerah and suggests a way forward for Asake that involves more engagement with African traditions. Honestly, though, there’s still much room, if little incentive, for him to improve on what he does now. Grade: B (“2:30”, “Yoga”, “Great Guy”)

i don’t care what this guy thinks

wtfffffff

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0HuZH0P1mL/

i'm gutted. one of the best shows i've seen in years.

Thakzin 3-step music bridges afro-tech house and amapiano

https://x.com/misterminsoo/status/1728997781254336783?s=46&t=u2ZSlsY3trRV36IPP6jNDQ

https://www.snl24.com/drum/celebs/news/have-you-heard-of-a-new-genre-called-three-step-this-dj-tells-us-where-this-sound-comes-from-20230921

Felo Le Tee/Mellow & Sleazy: The III Wise Men (New Money Gang)
South African amapiano trio, affiliated somehow with DJ Maphorisa (Themba Sonnyboy Sekowe), although the producer names that appear here areTshelofelo Mokhine, Phemelo Sefanyetse, and Olebogeng Kwanaite (plus Mlotlasi Phoshoko on one track). Beats are inscrutable enough they take quite a while to settle in, and will be hard to distinguish from future efforts. But pretty good for now. *- Writer Tom Hull from his year end list

Jon Pareles , one of The NY Times music critics, has Nkosazana Daughter “Uthingo Le Nkosazana” album in his additional top 20 albums of 2023 he also likes

Jon Caramanica of NY Times has Asake “Work of Art” as his number 1 album

take that brad luen!

ah fuck does this mean that asake is not going to take brad luen's advice to engage more deeply w/ african traditions......

Lol!

Omah Lay’s Holy Ghost is positively gorgeous:

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

And ODUMODUBLVCK’s Blood On The Dancefloor is something too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr5YwkazQbw

what albums/tracks have been favourites this year, i've done a terrible job at keeping on top of this thread

Tyla (amapiano crossover)

made a thread for tyla since the album's on its way

Apart from the usual suspects (Co-star, Pretty Girl, the Asake and Burna Boy albums etc) I still listen to Adekunle Gold - Chasing Peace of Mind and Davido - In The Garden. I don't get why Unavailable became the big hit, I love that other song to bits.

At this stage, a lot of the less poppy, more instrumental, and dare i say it 'donk-flavoured', amapiano reminds me of the experimentalism of vintage dub

Vibekulture Sa & Mcdeez Fboy - Duck Vibes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CySpcmCx6o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ7zd5A6lQI
Oxlade - Katigori

From the year I'd say:
- Anything Victony is on
- Ditto Buju / BXNX
- Crayon & Ayra Starr - Ngozi
- Byron Messia - Talibans
- Fireboy DML - Yawa
- Omah Lay - Reason
- Reekado Banks - Feel Different
- Leigh-Anne - My Love
- Adanna Duru - Pop!
- 2Point1 - Stimela
- Abigail Chams & Marioo - Nani?
- Sho Madjozi - Chale

That's a start.

I'm enjoying seeing this girl grow, she's a raw talent, gives off Gyakie/Tems vibes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqdyB5k1sJI
Qing Madi - Vision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj9mwag091U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YJXW0uwHrU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-PkIzv-Qt8

i really need to keep up with senegalese music properly because it has the best drums in the world

me too, i always have the same reaction! thank you for posting these.

Couple other things that caught my ear from Senegalese charts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haBMfY0z5M8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKboYK87ROg

ooh "ni la deh" is lovely

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9e3AogOOz0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5RChlIETwA

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

i really love "surprise"

Tangal might be the first one I'm really connecting to. But yeah striking how their style is at the crossroads of so many things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hALNVDRN4_U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmioOXClM2s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg81-Iv_guU

ok that's exhausted my youtube digging of the last few days

Really feeling the 3-Step stuff today

Wow, that list of Senegalese music kinda just got better and better. Might vote for Tégguil sa Tank when EOY listmaking begins.

If dog latin or anyone else wants to do a posting spree of 3-step videos it would be must appreciated. What little I've heard, I've liked.

Also, new Teni album out last month, for the people who enjoyed Wondaland! It's not as good, unfortunately :(

Narah Diouf I see was mentioned last year for a track , and I like that 2023 track “Teguil sa Tank” with Bilou XIV also.

https://sondela-recordings.bandcamp.com/album/rising-strong

I have no idea what to call this, it's afrohouse and Thakzin is involved.

Honestly, there's a lot more going on here, kind of big room-ish electrohouse? But it doesn't suck?

Also it's weird to see the old UK Funky people involved in this, Dubplate Malice releases afrohouse on his label and Perempay and Davinche just released something on Sondela a couple months ago.

Asake and Amaare made Fader best 2023 albums list

last month's cruel santino ep is wonderful, especially "ftr" which combines mbalax drums (finally that sound is moving beyond senegal/gambia!) with rage synths which is an incredible combo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGhEzL3e72o

Oooh, new Cruel Santino music! Thanks :)

Flavour's Big Baller is a banger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf40zo26TIE

Tyla “water” was 17th on the Uproxx music critic poll for songs.

Amaarae 14th on Uproxx critics poll for albums

I just wanted to do a final post to acknowledge the death of Zahara on 11 December 2023. She died from liver failure age 36 after years of battle with alcoholism. She was a Xhosa girl from a village outside of East London who made it big. Life and music labels didn't treat her too well, but her voice shined powerfully. Maybe those stories make me emotional, but I have to repress tears.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1CMWnxfFys
Zahara - Ndiza

And one more for the road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEV_4xBrMJU
DJ SBu feat. Zahara - Lengoma

Someone should start an Afropop 2024 thread please.

Done

Rolling afropop 2024