Best new African music this week: Tyla, Teni, Taves, De Mthuda and more

MUSIC

Stream the best African music this week, including new releases from Tyla, Teni, taves, De Mthuda, and more.

Every week, OkayAfrica highlights the top African music releases — including the latest Afrobeats and amapiano hits — through our best music column, African Music 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.

Tyla – A*POP [LP]

Once in a generation, a star emerges so bright that it threatens to swallow everything in its path. In Tyla‘s case, there’s none of the swallowing — just an effort to bring everyone along. South Africa is well-represented in the form of Mawhoo (“Crazy Of Me”), Babalwa M (“I Don’t Care”), as well as Liquideep, whose classic hit “Fairytale” she re-recorded with one half of the group, Ziyon. It’s an overload of bops — 14 of them, in fact. And every song would go in its own direction, were it not for her distinctive touch, which allows her to almost possess the music — to own it, and steer its course.

Stixx De Mthuda, Kabza De Small – “Sasingena” (feat. Mnqobi Yazo)

This feels like levitating, like being transported to another dimension, guided by two of the most forward-thinking producers in amapiano over the years. Both need little introduction: De Mthuda, godfather of the East Rand of Gauteng, an originator of a certain approach to production that has been replicated and imitated many times over; and Kabza De Small, the self-proclaimed king of amapiano, whose impressive versatility has given us gems across the board — from kwaito to hip-hop, Afro-pop, house, and beyond. Together, they unlock a sweet spot built on elements of Afro-tech that feel like a vibration emerging from deep within. Mnqobi Yazo‘s chant is the equivalent of a million suns raining down on those watching from the sidelines. There’s also a mean trumpet that explodes at the 1:27 mark, almost as if to clear the path for total takeover.

Snokie, Nelow De Guitar – Divination of Barcadi [LP]

Snokie comes alive on the mic. His verses, more free-flow than structured stanzas, thread lived experience into the turbulent, zinc-fenced, animated sonic terrain of barcadi house. The genius is in the simplicity; it feels like anyone can do what he does, and that’s part of the relatability. Like when he raps: “wa itsi hore Snokie ke ngaka man/ e no ba o tshabile ho thwasa,” (you know that Snokie’s a doctor/ he just doesn’t wanna get initiated) right after “Ke tlhakane le mathata man, a batho ba ho rata diceleb” (I ran into a problem of people who are into celebrities). It’s random, like apartheid spatial planning, and corruption, and sponsored state terrorism. In Snokie, we find threads of a world constantly tearing at itself. He’s just here to document the decay. Nelow De Guitar, whose jagged compositions have carried Snokie’s inspirational sermons over two EPs this year alone — Moruti o jele kolobe and The return of snokie — continues to blaze a unique trail, one whose boundaries he controls: the percussive clarity of marching bands; the attendant synth trombone, dramatic and piercing; and melodic elements so retro, they sound like what the future sounded like in the ’80s.

Solana – “Dide”

What to do when your single spreads like wildfire, inspiring inclusion on countless lists as well as social media think pieces about your marketing approach? Well, in Solana‘s case, you keep releasing bangers and marking your lane in bold colors with a fearless spirit. She began teasing “Dide” at the top of this month, right as “Okunkun” was spreading far and wide across the internet. She continues the ’80s disco theme: big, reverb-drenched snares that slap, power synths that feel like being in a stadium, and a bassline modulated to cause chaos and disorder on the dancefloor.

K.Keed, Orish – uMgaranto II [LP]

Rap will always be goated: for its ability to contain so much information in record time, for the elasticity that lends it to many contexts, and for moments like the one K.Keed and Orish are giving us on the follow-up to 2023’s uMgaranto. They finish each other’s sentences, remaining on stand-by to catch a bar and run rampant with it. Standout moments abound, from the intro — where Orish is heaving while running away from the gun-wielding boyfriend of a girl he’s seeing — straight into “Abenam,” which feels like being involved in a high-speed chase while traveling in the wrong lane. The chemistry is spread across eleven tracks, giving us a glimpse into what happens when two sharp lyricists decide to lock in and set fire to the microphone.

Igwe Aka – “Chase” (feat. ARTSALGHUL)

The logic of the universe dictates that two greats shall always cross paths. In the case of Igwe Aka and ARTSALGHUL, it’s a matter of time, place, and, of course, critical acclaim, as both have been juggling their own projects to great reception. “Chase” takes the bit-crushed drums and blown-out 808s that have come to define the genre, drags them across the streets of Lagos — where the slang and the style permeate — and adds a synth for that additional feeling of being in a sci-fi thriller. And the flows? Godly! “Give you love, and you waste am/ girl I’m loving your face and/ I waka from the east side/ my canna from the westside,” raps Igwe Aka on the chorus. That alone — the flow, how he structures the words, the silence that gets filled by the adlibs — primes us for some delectable raps.

Taves – Popstar: Side A [LP]

Taves makes joyful music, like he got a preview of sunshine before everyone else and uses it to his advantage to pen the bright melodies he’s been serving. Popstar: Side A has been a long time coming, arriving two years after Are You Listening, which gave us the timeless “CWT” with BNXN. This, his debut album, demonstrates growth and is proof of the work he’s been cultivating since 2020. There’s a gentleness here, a bright-eyed optimism, the sparkling hope of a youth untainted by the world. It doesn’t feel forced, and won’t expire as a result. The talent oozes from his very soul: “Chaos” is harmonic balance of the highest order; “Isn’t It Beautiful,” released as a single in April, is poignant and warm — “work hard for my money/ harder for peace of mind,” he sings; and “Uche Jumbo,” released in June, takes an opp’s self-confidence and disfigures it, with lyrics like “baby girl you know your ex boyfriend wanna be like us/ he can’t touch/ him money no long reach.” Absolutely cold!

Teni – The Wellness Package [EP]

Teni‘s a priestess of the light. She possesses an incredible force, always on point and always giving us a big sound. On her latest EP, The Wellness Package, she cooks and serves us medicine: inviting Chike to harmonize with her on “Wurumanya,” going back-to-back with Olamide on “Zion,” which arrived as a single in April, and transcending time and place on “Wise” with the aid of The Cavemen., brothers Kingsley and Benjamin James.

Seun Kuti – SWS Session

Recorded at Italian composer Piero Umiliani’s studio in Rome, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 present a three-song set comprising entirely new material. “Na Dem,” released in June, is energetic and funk-driven, the interplay between the horn section and backing vocals a match made in Kalakuta heaven. It’s the second track, and follows “Problems,” a title that recalls his 2008 song, “African Problems.” He rounds it off with “The Devil Just Busy,” which completes a trio of songs that might or might not end up on his next album.