Every week, OkayAfrica highlights the top African music releases — including the latest Afrobeats and amapiano hits — through our best music column, African Songs You Need to Hear This Week.
Read ahead for our round-up of the best new African music tracks and music videos that came across our desks this week.
Cheikh Ibra Fam – “Gnou Mbollo”
The latest single from the Senegalese act is a colorful call to unity. Set to an electrifying drum pattern, it’s a song whose mood matches its message. Especially calling for African unity, the continent’s name is sung with so much passion one’s transported into the world Cheikh Ibra Fam imagines, one connected throughout the Black World and with its core back here. It’s quite a beautiful record. – Emmanuel Esomnofu
Shizzi & Tayor – “Famous”
Shizzi is one of the most influential producers in the Afrobeats soundscape. In recent years, he’s been developing his own catalogue and working with rising talents, a vision which manifests here on “Famous.” A mellow collaboration between him and his signee Tayor, it’s a fine entry into a side of Nigerian music we don’t hear often — that slow, nostalgic vibe, with subject matter that evokes the serenity of lovely adulation. – EE
J’Dess – “Child Of The Sun”
J’Dess’ music evokes the soulfulness of the classics. She’s a dealer in transcendental sensations, as one perceives on her latest song “Child of the Sun.” A ballad that shines with vulnerability and a strong emotional core, it’s a sort of push to those who continue to make the world beautiful. Delivered in pristine Igbo and English, it’s a balmy touch that sounds utterly necessary given the toughness of the times. – EE
Lasmid & King Promise – “No Issues”
Ghanaian artists Lasmid and King Promise share a penchant for making cool, evocative music. On their new collaboration “No Issues,” they combine that sensibility for a no-stress kind of record, essentially pointing out how life is for the living and intending to make the best of it. With the associative devices of a chilled atmosphere, their verses and vocal tones blend well with each other, making this quite a measured piece. – EE
Ukweli & Xenia Manasseh – ‘MAYBE II [LP]’
The producer-singer duo of Ukweli and Xenia Manasseh has struck a keen understanding over the years. Having worked on the original tape some years back, they reunite for an improved look into the world they built. As always, it’s R&B with subtle undertones of Kenyan sensibilities, pushed into its sensitive plains by Xenia’s charming voice as well as Ukweli’s understated production. With six songs, it’s a fine extension of their sonic relationship. – EE
Johnny Drille – “I’m Available”
On Johnny Drille’s new single, he delves into the love-led plains he’s eagerly charted since the start of his career. Over guitar-led production, he affectionately declares his love, painting tender pictures of what he’ll do to make the intended happy. It’s a stripped sound, which allows his svelte vocals the space to shine. With recent forays into more percussive pop-driven sounds, JD makes a beautiful return to the folksy elements of his early music. – EE
Shane Eagle – “Ride Out”
Shane Eagle returns after a spell of relative silence. The rapper — who first gained acclaim on the reality show The Hustle, whose debut album Yellow shifted the stakes in his favor, and holds a special place in hip-hop fans’ hearts for his honest, no-frills raps — sounds energized and ready to re-enter the “best South African rapper” conversation. Still, he seems uninterested in competing. “I’m off the fuckin’ leash,” he declares at the top of “Ride Out,” before reflecting on missed opportunities and things he could have done differently. “These rappers cosplaying as GOATs/ couldn’t fuck with me on my worst days,” he fires. On the second verse, he directs the heat more personally: “I had a homie, we started this music shit together/ couldn’t see that he was Judas just to go and get some cheddar/ now this wicked music industry controls his soul/ couldn’t see that everything that glitters ain’t gold.” It’s a baptism by fire, a scorcher of a return meant to cleanse his circle and reassert his presence. It’s good to have him back. – Tšeliso Monaheng
Kenza – “Distance” (feat. Msaki)
Kenza began his journey as one half of Kenza and Claudio, and has since carved out an indelible footprint through his solo work and his contributions to other artists’ projects. “Distance,” from his new album Music in Colours, features Msaki’s divine songwriting and unmistakable vocals. It’s a sonic ode to lovers who find themselves navigating uncertainty – the true champions who, even with every intention of staying, sometimes realise that maintaining distance is the only way forward. The core is Afro-tech, but Kenza allows the production to stretch into other tributaries with ease. South African electronic music remains in good hands, and Kenza is one of the craftspeople ensuring its integrity and evolution. – TM
Stogie T – “Leopold II”
Stogie T sounds like he’s shadowboxing every version of himself each time he raps. There’s precision in the bars, a gritty technical finesse in how they land, and a limitless capacity to bend language to his will. Today, he releases twin singles, “No Healing” and “Leopold II,” ahead of his forthcoming album Anomy, arriving at the end of November. “No Healing” brings Joey 2.0 and Ta Longz into the fold to complete the cypher. The raps are grand, and Stogie doesn’t shy away from matters of the heart. “No sight of fortunes/ just trying to duck my father’s luck and what my mama cautioned,” he raps, offering a glimpse into a life marked by loss – his father, a freedom fighter, was murdered in exile when Stogie T was still a toddler.
On “Leopold II,” he dips into his international relations archive, crafting bars that trace history’s violence with sharp clarity, desecrating the sacred and pillaging from the oppressor. This is the kind of rap that makes you pick up a book, Google a reference, or call a friend. When he raps, “what’s a diamond in Lingala/ brussel sprouts in pink salmon / cut your arms call it stigmata, a king’s ransom to civilise ’em,” he collapses universes into rhyme, exposes them raw, and delivers them over beats that keep the head nod engaged. – TM
Zu. – “Never Gonna Let You Go”
There’s a distinct vibe that Black and Brown bands from Johannesburg possess. It’s in how their music moves fluidly with the city’s pulse; in how their lyrics echo its tensions and tenderness; and in how their live shows feel like a communal ritual, with the stage as pulpit and the audience as congregation. Zu. fits squarely within that lineage. A fixture in the scene, she first made her name as part of the duo LoveGlori, and later as the leader of the Zuko Collective. Her solo catalogue is already rich: three sonically varied EPs that showcase her range and depth. “Never Gonna Let You Go” floats in electronic territory. It is spacey, open, and designed to make room for her voice to land gently. The cover features a photo of her son, and the track plays like a self-love mantra, echoing the spirit of the Zuko Collective’s “Liwa,” which was also about him. – TM
De Rose – “Dali” (feat. De Soul, Chilly, Frank Mabeat, Tumisho)
Today, Durban-born artist De Rose releases her album 9 to 5, a ten-track project that leaves no room for fillers. “Dali” showcases her range and reach, with an ensemble that includes the gifted Chley, who delivers her signature near-raspy vocals. De Rose displays a clear commitment to excellence and a passion for crafting perennial bangers, and she has the patience to stay simmering while it all comes together. – TM
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