{"id":2315597,"date":"2026-03-06T14:15:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T14:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2315597"},"modified":"2026-03-06T14:15:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T14:15:27","slug":"the-african-music-you-need-to-hear-this-week-mar-06-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-african-music-you-need-to-hear-this-week-mar-06-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The African Music You Need to Hear This Week \u2013 Mar 06, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-element-guid=\"5d4fe482-eb75-4543-9a13-d6344929298b\">\n<p>Every week, <span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">OkayAfrica<\/span> highlights the top <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.okayafrica.com\/tag\/african-music\">African music<\/a> releases \u2014 including the latest <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/okayafrica.com\/tag\/afrobeats\">Afrobeats<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.okayafrica.com\/tag\/amapiano\">amapiano<\/a> hits \u2014 through our best music column, <span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">African Music You Need to Hear This Week<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Read ahead for our round-up of the best new African music tracks and music videos that came across our desks this week.<\/p>\n<p><!-- placeholder(#1) --><\/p>\n<h2>Zo\u00eb Modiga &#8211; \u201cSomething New\u201d<\/h2>\n<div data-element-guid=\"8a0911c7-30db-4425-8202-27d79f7ce784\" class=\"column youtube small-12 large-12 small-abs-12 large-abs-12\">\n<div class=\"content \" style=\"\">\n<div>\n<p>\n                    <iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/1mzgdF-J5c4\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Zo\u00eb Modiga<\/span> has never been one to cower, never one to let fear take root in her yard. She deconstructs, inspects, and reassembles, shaping culture and shifting the needle with every bold move she undertakes. She has told us \u2014 and shown us \u2014 that greatness is a series of small, well-executed, well-intentioned steps. She walks tall on \u201cSomething New,\u201d assured of her vision and staying true to her constant evolution. This work truly sounds like something new: a dash of cabaret, a healthy hint of electronic music, amapiano influences, and bass designed to melt your face. \u201c<span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">You took me to another territory \/ might I say that that ride was bumpy,<\/span>\u201d she sings. It\u2019s not a happy song, despite the whimsical music. It\u2019s crying real tears while holding it together with a smile; it\u2019s feeling undone, punctured by a person. She doesn\u2019t hold back: \u201c<span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">you made me out to be the enemy,<\/span>\u201d she continues, before absolving herself \u2014 \u201c<span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">and hate is just not in my pedigree<\/span>.\u201d She caps it off with a wish for the future: \u201c<span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">I hope if I find somebody, it\u2019s not another you again.<\/span>\u201d The bass kicks in, and things lift: energy, movement, the burning desire to fully walk away, to collapse the old order. Produced by Modiga herself under the moniker <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">themostrha<\/span>, \u201cSomething New\u201d is the first single from her forthcoming fourth album, <span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">The Vault<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h2>Fatoumata Diawara &#8211; \u201cDjanne\u201d<\/h2>\n<div data-element-guid=\"9ec228ee-9411-4c21-9c12-10dcc3e052e5\" class=\"column youtube small-12 large-12 small-abs-12 large-abs-12\">\n<div class=\"content \" style=\"\">\n<div>\n<p>\n                    <iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/Uh6OQ7vvcd0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gibson.com\/blogs\/gibson-gazette\/epiphone-unveils-the-history-making-fatoumata-diawara-sg\">News broke in January<\/a> that <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Fatoumata Diawara<\/span> now has her own signature Epiphone guitar, the <span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">Epiphone Fatoumata Diawara SG<\/span>, making her the first woman of colour to receive the honour. It\u2019s fitting. She has shredded her way through the rich guitar traditions of West Africa and onto a world stage that opened itself up to her, leading to collaborations with greats, from <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Herbie Hancock<\/span> to <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Damon Albarn<\/span>, through to <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Oumou Sangar\u00e9<\/span>. \u201cDjanne\u201d finds her donning colourful beadwork traditionally associated with the Zulu people, as well as the isicholo hat worn by married Zulu women. She\u2019s hip and funky as ever, the music serving as a portal through which she expresses herself fully to the world.<\/p>\n<h2>Tower &#8211; \u201cGreen\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>On her official debut as an artist, \u201cGreen,\u201d Ghanaian artist <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\" style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Tower<\/span> masters the tortured, soul-drenching art perfected by the titans of country music, like <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\" style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dolly Parton<\/span>, and the doyennes of pop-punk rock, like <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\" style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Avril Levine<\/span>. \u201c<span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\" style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">I think about you, please, 27 out of 31 days a month \/ the rest is spent just dreaming about you,<\/span>\u201d she sings, invoking a well of pain\u2014fountains gushing from every ventricle of the heart, flooding the body and its muscles with long-gone memories. She speaks of a haunting that captures the essence of grief: always hovering, waiting for the right moment to turn your day upside down.<\/p>\n<h2>RAPHA &#8211; \u201cgoodbye\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cNow that I\u2019ve let you go, this is the happiest I\u2019ve ever been,\u201d declares <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">RAPHA<\/span> on \u201cgoodbye.\u201d The Belgian-Congolese artist strips away pretence and, in doing so, finds freedom. It\u2019s a song about healing, about locating the light after a long stretch of uncertainty. Leaning on a pop-rock-tilting sonic palette, \u201cgoodbye\u201d is the kind of jam you\u2019ll want to add to your road trip playlist.<\/p>\n<h2>Moliy, bees &amp; hone &#8211; \u201cPartygyal\u201d<\/h2>\n<div data-element-guid=\"57207652-01e3-4bc1-a89d-bffcb3e22a9c\" class=\"column youtube small-12 large-12 small-abs-12 large-abs-12\">\n<div class=\"content \" style=\"\">\n<div>\n<p>\n                    <iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/oi2kAbIn2ZM\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Moliy<\/span> makes music for baddies and has been committed to the cause from the jump. \u201cPartygyal\u201d captures a lifestyle in audio form, confronting stereotypes and letting it rip. Alongside <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">bees &amp; honey\u00a0<\/span>\u2014 the five-songwriting, DJing, and production force that has quietly helped define the sound of modern pop, with credits for the likes of <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Tyla<\/span> and <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Craig David\u00a0<\/span>\u2014 Moliy delivers one of the most charged songs of the year. Taking cues from <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Amaarae<\/span>\u2019s songbook, she gives us something that feels both spiritual and primed for the dance floor.<\/p>\n<h2>Shabaka &#8211; \u201cDance In Praise\u201d<\/h2>\n<div data-element-guid=\"30db7aae-1aed-49be-acfa-0faf266a6aa9\" class=\"column youtube small-12 large-12 small-abs-12 large-abs-12\">\n<div class=\"content \" style=\"\">\n<div>\n<p>\n                    <iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/YJrC3RLSjhs\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cDance In Praise\u201d sounds like raindrops trickling, one after the other, steadily toward a pond\u2014forming estuaries of knowing, memory, remembrance, revolutionary love, and grace, grading the landscape with an overarching sense of renewal. It\u2019s <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Shabaka<\/span>\u2019s fourth single in the lead-up to his album <span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">Of The Earth<\/span>, out on March 6. \u201cWithin the process of compiling my beats, I had this idea that it would be cool to rap, but I hadn\u2019t done it before. This became a really fulfilling exercise in approaching a new creative endeavour from scratch and trying to figure out what I\u2019m guided towards,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/shabakah\/status\/2019020720609575081\">he wrote<\/a> in a post on his X account. And \u2018rap\u2019 he does, sort of, finding his way around the rousing, percussive immersion, traipsing across wind instruments while maintaining a firm lyrical footing that flows uninhibited.<\/p>\n<h2>LaCabra &#8211; \u201cThe Vision\u201d (feat. A-Reece)<\/h2>\n<div data-element-guid=\"6f3c5624-124f-4e6a-aba6-02c0e116ff41\" class=\"column youtube small-12 large-12 small-abs-12 large-abs-12\">\n<div class=\"content \" style=\"\">\n<div>\n<p>\n                    <iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/QkhcfVJD6zo\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">LaCabra<\/span>\u2019s debut album has been a long time coming. He\u2019s given us more than enough to chew on \u2014 from work with his crew, <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">The Qwellers<\/span>, to his duo efforts with Lowfeye, and the countless singles that have become cult favrites in South Africa\u2019s hip-hop underground. <span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">Mr Bully<\/span> is 14 tracks of heart and soul, featuring a curated set of collaborators, from <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Nasty C<\/span> to <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Blue Pappi<\/span>, <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Satii<\/span>, and <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Mnqobi Yazo<\/span>. \u201cThe Vision\u201d finds him joined by <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">A-Reece<\/span> for laid-back, exploratory raps. It lands, bounces, and regenerates, demanding multiple spins in one sitting.<\/p>\n<h2>Naaliyah &#8211; \u201cfeels like home\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>Ethiopian-born and Stockholm-raised, <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Naaliyah<\/span> straddles worlds. The singer-songwriter devotes herself to feeling the music rather than studying it, sensing riffs with her soul. \u201cfeels like home\u201d is carried by a grounding bassline, guitars that intrude gently, like ever-shifting thoughts, and words that meditate on love and freedom\u2014\u201c<span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">it\u2019s so easy to call you home,<\/span>\u201d she sings. She lists the things this love reminds her of: chamomile tea, watching DVDs, scraping your knees. She visualises love in warm, nostalgic tones and harmonises her way into a world of sound.<\/p>\n<h2>Kunmie &#8211; \u201cSolace II\u201d (feat. Joeboy)<\/h2>\n<div data-element-guid=\"50526eef-0114-4be8-8c0c-3ea5123dbf50\" class=\"column youtube small-12 large-12 small-abs-12 large-abs-12\">\n<div class=\"content \" style=\"\">\n<div>\n<p>\n                    <iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/l-DTJzglglQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A lone guitar riff is all you hear when \u201cSolace II\u201d begins, lingering until <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Joeboy<\/span> joins with his voice. \u201c<span data-lab-italic=\"italic\" class=\"italic m-italic\">I feel good when you are around me,<\/span>\u201d he sings, bearing his heart and trusting that someone out there is listening. <span data-lab-font_weight=\"font-weight-bold\" class=\"font-weight-bold m-font-weight-bold\">Kunmie<\/span> carried the song graciously when it was first released in January, and this addition gives it a future-proofed lift. Both artists refuse to retreat into a corner. Instead, they register their presence, ensuring their auras reflect the sombre, if hopeful, mood of the song.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.okayafrica.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every week, OkayAfrica highlights the top African music releases \u2014 including the latest Afrobeats and amapiano hits \u2014 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. Zo\u00eb Modiga [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2315598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2315597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-African-Music-You-Need-to-Hear-This-Week-\u2013.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2315597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2315599,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315597\/revisions\/2315599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2315597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2315597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2315597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}