ZIMBABWE BONUS BEATS:
ExQ feat. Killer T, “Nhema”:
https://soundcloud.com/exqofficial/nhema
Very much 2017, but such a banger.
― breastcrawl, Friday, 5 January 2018 19:24 (six years ago) link
And hey, there’s a new Tekno!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tznar4pVS1U
Tekno, “Only One”. Produced by Legendury Beatz.
…which came hot on the heels of this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cs-OOxzLwI
Tekno feat. Wizkid, “Mama”.
― breastcrawl, Friday, 5 January 2018 19:30 (six years ago) link
Aknamali has been my jam for a while. I'm pretty sure I have a spare vote for it someplace.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, 5 January 2018 20:30 (six years ago) link
I also love Che Che, btw!
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, 5 January 2018 20:31 (six years ago) link
To me one of the most interesting things from Nigeria right now is the 'Shaku Shaku' dance and the music associated with it.
http://www.pulse.ng/gist/pop-culture/shaku-shaku-the-new-street-dance-style-we-should-all-learn-in-2018-id7799976.html
This seems to be one of the dance anthems in the street. Interestingly, sounds a lot like South African house. Who knows, maybe they stole the beat from some South African tune :)
Mr Real - Legbegbe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XKu2O4HnQM
― ahomka ginger, Saturday, 13 January 2018 00:25 (six years ago) link
Finally something new. Thanks.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Saturday, 13 January 2018 09:43 (six years ago) link
those kids are dope
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Saturday, 13 January 2018 16:26 (six years ago) link
whoops, missed the link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JHHYt_Ctvo
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Saturday, 13 January 2018 16:27 (six years ago) link
hello music friends -- if you have a little extra time/goodwill, please bookmark my thread:
help me with my class?
you wouldn't have to do anything more than contribute your existing knowledge :)
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 17 January 2018 16:37 (six years ago) link
I need to slowly get back into the afrobeats of this year, so it'd be great to have some help from ILM if you guys care to post even things that are not totally groundbreaking :) (or do you all experience fatigue)
Sauti Sol have a nice follow-up with Tiwa Savagehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1zvVUqWccE
Niniola's Saro is alright, and so is Burna Boy's Deja Vu.
― Nabozo, Saturday, 20 January 2018 17:25 (six years ago) link
Since it's a new thread, might be ok if I post my favorite Sauti Sol from a few years back:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYFQRuqQ7EM
― Frederik B, Saturday, 20 January 2018 17:41 (six years ago) link
https://youtu.be/Tf_0Cc2PiTgPrince Kaybee & LaSoulMates ft. TNS & Zanda Zakuza “Club Controller”This track goes hard!
― breastcrawl, Sunday, 21 January 2018 22:04 (six years ago) link
indeed!
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Sunday, 21 January 2018 22:25 (six years ago) link
I'm gonna need ilx to weigh in on burna boy feat. lily allen. I feel like I'm probably not being fair to it because of the featuring lily allen, lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKa6jTfZB5w
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Monday, 22 January 2018 13:27 (six years ago) link
Reekado Banks, Tiwa Savage & Fiokee - Likehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaKfUTWU0dw
light and breezy
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Monday, 22 January 2018 15:06 (six years ago) link
sub in, idk, an Asha Bhosle sample or something for Lily Allen and that Burna Boy song would be unstoppable (not that she's objectively ruinous or anything, tbh I don't remember much about her beyond reports of her being 'problematic' a while back)
― rob, Wednesday, 24 January 2018 17:16 (six years ago) link
I feel like all I’ve got left in this world is loving problematic artists but idk, i just never cared for lily allen...
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Wednesday, 24 January 2018 17:34 (six years ago) link
putting lily aside, Burna's new mixtape Outside is superb. It might appeal more to UK afro(tbd) and dancehall partisans but I think it's the most satisfying afrobeats full-length I've heard so far
― rob, Saturday, 27 January 2018 15:06 (six years ago) link
Enjoying this:
Flavour - Baby Na Yoka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsR0yCvG3Oc
― Badgers (dog latin), Monday, 29 January 2018 14:15 (six years ago) link
If I heard that Burna Boy song with no context, I wouldn't know it was Lily Allen. Good song.
― Badgers (dog latin), Monday, 29 January 2018 14:17 (six years ago) link
Was listening to Tzy Panchak (Cameroon afropop) who's gonna be doing a late night gig in a Washington DC suburb tonight. Eh, he's ok. Kinda formulaic though
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 3 February 2018 22:58 (six years ago) link
Also still catching up on 2017 releases. Interesting that on Congolese singer Fally Ipupa's Tokoos album, that one of his tracks that utilized more traditional Congolese influences "Eloko Oyo" got the most Youtube attention. Ipupa used to be in Congolese rumba/soukus bands but tried to crossover with this album with more autotuned vocals, afrop beats and guests like Wizkid.
http://afropop.org/articles/tokooos
The flip side of international success? Fally has taken a direct hit from the Congolese community for his new album. Many are saying he is selling out, that he has compromised his originality in order to follow everyone else. However Fally is fully convinced that he always has a unique touch. And given the success of his single “Eloko Oyo,” with its 21 million views on YouTube in five months, he is right. This is a record for an artist coming from a Congolese rumba background. But this is nothing compared to the goals he has in mind.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 3 February 2018 23:14 (six years ago) link
that song is really nice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4KNVT2w0mU
― rob, Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:14 (six years ago) link
Someone listed Ipupa's Eloko Oyo on their end of year faves on the 2017 Rolling Afropop thread. Sorry I forgot who.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 5 February 2018 15:29 (six years ago) link
I'm not sure whether this ought to go on Outernational, Global dance or this thread, but the Nyege Nyege Tapes label has music on it that sounds unlike anything I've ever heard:
https://nyegenyegetapes.bandcamp.com/
Fantastic cover design too. Nihiloxica appears to be a group of drummers and a synth player making this dark Ugandan techno racket which in my own limited knowledge could only be compared to things like the GQom Oh! stuff from SA, but not really like that. The Sounds of Sisso comp is crazy, and again provides a nice Ugandan analogue to the frenetic, helium-paced Shangaan electro style.
― Badgers (dog latin), Tuesday, 6 February 2018 10:14 (six years ago) link
Don’t think anyone has mentioned Nyege Nyege on the global dance thread, although that seems the best place for it
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 6 February 2018 17:44 (six years ago) link
I'm really interested by these Ugandan artists on Nyege Nyege, sounds like a cool mix of trad drums and electronic sounds. I guess the Otim Alpha thing would be Shangaan.
― Nabozo, Tuesday, 6 February 2018 17:52 (six years ago) link
And let's post a single from Makaveli, that is like sped-up shangaan with spoken-word rap and other cool sounds.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tonm1HYRxHkGreat no?
― Nabozo, Wednesday, 7 February 2018 20:02 (six years ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/bsFp78u.jpg
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Wednesday, 7 February 2018 22:15 (six years ago) link
that is going in my EOY I can already tell
― Badgers (dog latin), Wednesday, 7 February 2018 23:28 (six years ago) link
Funny you should say EOY:https://m.soundcloud.com/dj_michy/craze-sololo-ft-orezi-x-mystroCaZe ft. Orezi & Mystro “Sololo”.Total knock-out.
― breastcrawl, Friday, 9 February 2018 16:06 (six years ago) link
Mystro also produced Orezi’s own new single “Whine For Daddy”, which features Tekno. Should do well in the Caribbean too.https://youtu.be/XT2oBKtABms
― breastcrawl, Friday, 9 February 2018 16:15 (six years ago) link
woah at whatever the hell happens 90 seconds into "Nammiliki"!
Sololo is also very nice
― rob, Friday, 9 February 2018 16:26 (six years ago) link
This one is classic Davido sweethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ngDUlekTE
Another sweet onehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIYipEOsGTM
And here's Wizkid, I love this song but I don't understand from when it was (late 2017 I guess, they just made a remix).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx9k2k6Ag5c
And since ILM likes himhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcUdwBK5Ma0
Go Down (Alade) is good. Your Body (Wizkid) is good.
― Nabozo, Sunday, 11 February 2018 15:14 (six years ago) link
Nabozo, “Without You” is a 2015 song by LK Kuddy ft. Yung6ix. The remix with Wizkid dropped early 2016. Is “Your Body” the one with Akon? ‘Cause that would be “For You” from Wizzy’s 2014 Ayo album. Lots of mislabelling going on out there!This one is very recent though, the latest installment in Wizzy’s Killertunes trilogy, after “Opoju” with DJ Spinall and “Manya” with Mut4y:https://youtu.be/VYawNmc3m0sDJ Jimmy Jatt ft. Wizkid, “Oshe” (produced by Killertunes)
― breastcrawl, Monday, 12 February 2018 09:55 (six years ago) link
Another thing: that Sounds of Sisso compilation is all Tanzanian stuff, not Ugandan (that includes the Makaveli track posted above). https://nyegenyegetapes.bandcamp.com/album/sounds-of-sissoNyege Nyege Tapes, the label, is based in Kampala, but they aim to release “outsider music from around the region and beyond”.Anyway, a lot of good stuff on there. In their relentlessness and piling on of chipmunk and other sound effects some tracks remind me of those crazy Ball J productions from the azonto era at times.
― breastcrawl, Monday, 12 February 2018 10:11 (six years ago) link
Very sad news from Ghana: rising star Ebony (or Ebony Reigns as she was also known) died in a road accident last Thursday. She had just released her debut album a month ago. Her big hit last year, “Sponsor”:https://youtu.be/4DBPLxbjadsAnd her current one, “Maame Hw3”:https://youtu.be/d8cJoGtU660
― breastcrawl, Monday, 12 February 2018 10:28 (six years ago) link
thanks for clearing that up breastcrawl didn't realise it was Tanzanian
― Badgers (dog latin), Monday, 12 February 2018 12:17 (six years ago) link
Shaku Shaku time!
Twin record with “Legbegbe” >>>Idowest ft. Dammy Krane & Slimcase, “Omo Shepeteri”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrdlrp4yKAw
Slightly older, but essential >>>Zlatan ft. Olamide, “My Body”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4mSuYyCDy0
Even older, was this the first one? >>>Kyla Cole, “Shaku Shaku”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1JwIm79BXo
Brand new, super lit >>>Super Wavey Records, “Kpano”:https://soundcloud.com/freemedigital/super-wavey-records-kpano-prod-jaga-bantu-moor
Jumping the bandwagon >>>D’Banj ft. Slimcase & Mr Real, “Issa Banger”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M_nGSyg1pM
Biggest record in Nigeria right now >>>Olamide, “Science Student”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WimJP1SDa4I
― breastcrawl, Monday, 12 February 2018 22:54 (six years ago) link
This is from last year but I did not see any mention of HE3B on the 2017 thread. I think these two tracks are pretty good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alPUrD2w-jw&list=PL6zyXmG5g9xEeh0mQJVlo1Iovr0ITin6S
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O31DaWeRyyY
― daavid, Tuesday, 13 February 2018 18:34 (six years ago) link
First embed doesn't seem to be working. Let's try again
― daavid, Tuesday, 13 February 2018 18:35 (six years ago) link
Anyway, it's called "Be Mine"
― daavid, Tuesday, 13 February 2018 18:36 (six years ago) link
this is probably the best song I listened this year
https://youtu.be/m99Wmv7gU2A
― Nourry, Friday, 16 February 2018 20:59 (six years ago) link
Wow, that is fantastic! I want to sample that breakdown and make a house banger out of it!(This is about “Mariana” by Nelson Freitas, by the way. Including track info when posting is much appreciated. Makes it easier to search, and YouTube links often disappear over time as well. )
― breastcrawl, Saturday, 17 February 2018 01:32 (six years ago) link
YT is terribly impractical for exploring new stuff, especially since they personalized suggestions by filling them with your latest listens. There's a few mass playlists that are regularly updated, but not enough great songs to sit through them.
― Nabozo, Saturday, 17 February 2018 10:52 (six years ago) link
I apologize for the lack of information. i thought that the caption would appear, but it didn't, i don't know why. i'm kinda addicted to "Mariana". Nelson Freitas is really big in Portugal, although I never payed much attention to his music until this one came up.
― Nourry, Saturday, 17 February 2018 16:25 (six years ago) link
"OOO" - Zingah, Maphorisa, Wizkid, Burna Boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nH9LYhfpxo
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Monday, 19 February 2018 00:13 (six years ago) link
Davido's first single of 2018 "Flora My Flawa":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpAopipfdAs
― ahomka ginger, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 09:41 (six years ago) link
My favorite Shaku Shaku tune right now:
Danny S - Ege (Dribble)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqVslNB4psk
― ahomka ginger, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 09:43 (six years ago) link
By the way how you guys noticed how they are sometimes recycling South African beats in these Shaku Shaku tracks.
"Omo Shepeteri" uses the beat from this one from 2012 (?):
Letta Mbulu - Not Yet Uhuru (Maphorisa n Clap Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR9J4J3gDg0
Even the 2017 hit "Penalty" by Small Doctor uses the beat from DJ Malvado's "Zenze" (also 2012?)
― ahomka ginger, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 09:50 (six years ago) link
There's also a new Tekno, but on a first listen it's lacking some... fizz? It might grow on me, of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWeit5vyzpo
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, 7 December 2018 11:14 (five years ago) link
going through okayafrica's best of east africa list and this is delightful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SciUYMSnBs
Sauti Sol - Short N Sweet ft Nyashinski
― ufo, Friday, 7 December 2018 13:16 (five years ago) link
OkayAfrica also did a looong Ghana list: https://www.okayafrica.com/ghana-songs-music-best-2018-listen-stream
GuiltyBeatz x Mr Eazi x Patapaa x Pappy Kojo "Akwaaba"Kuami Eugene "Wish Me Well"Kwesi Arthur x M.anifest "Feels"Shatta Wale "My Level"Joey B x La Même Gang "Stables"Amaarae "Fluid"E.L "Ghana Meets Naija"KiDi "Thunder"Becca x Sarkodie "Nana"Eddie Khae "Do The Dance"La Même Gang "Stone Island"Akwaboah x Strongman "Forget"Efya x Mr Eazi "Mamee"R2Bees x Wizkid "Supa"B4Bonah x M.anifest "Devil Is A Liar (Remix)"Juls x Kojey Radical "Normal"Kwesi Arthur "Woara"Sarkodie "Black Excellence"Medikal x Kwesi Arthur x Ahtitude "How Much" Wendy Shay "Bedroom Commando"King Promise "Abena"Miyaki "Anfara"Mzvee x K "Bend Down"
Somehow I think I've only heard Awkwaaba :/
― rob, Saturday, 8 December 2018 15:35 (five years ago) link
aw that Sauti Sol is adorable!
I guess Blinky Bill is an old Australian cartoon? Anyway, breastcrawl your link didn't work, but I listened to "Don't Worry" and it's a little weird and very good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPIZRezWjj8
I feel like dog latin might be partic into this?
― rob, Saturday, 8 December 2018 15:44 (five years ago) link
hmmm I'm not sure about it yet, might need to give it a couple more plays. First thoughts are that there's something missing from it, like a hook of some sort that isn't there...
I was thinking last night while I was tired that it would be great if (some of) the specialist thread regulars were to compile a sort of 'best of year' or 'best of all time' list - say 25 absolute anthems of the genre and then make a poll that's open to all board members? It would be a great chance for people who don't post or follow these threads to get a good primer on a style they aren't familiar with. What do you think?
― Scritti Vanilli - The Word Girl You Know It's True (dog latin), Saturday, 8 December 2018 15:54 (five years ago) link
yeah so far the Blinky album is less out there than I was expecting, and scrolling up I see breastcrawl was talking about neo-soul influences on it so I'm not sure where I got that idea. More positively it reminds me of last year's Pierre Kwenders album that I love.
― rob, Saturday, 8 December 2018 15:59 (five years ago) link
I like the specialist poll idea and would be happy to help put together one for dancehall, though a 2018 one would be considerably easier than an all-time.
― rob, Saturday, 8 December 2018 16:03 (five years ago) link
Yeah, a 2018 dancehall poll would be nice. A 2018 african music one might work too. Soca is more difficult because of the seasons thing, which doesn't go well with annual polling.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Saturday, 8 December 2018 16:21 (five years ago) link
Okay, first things first: Here’s the correct link for Blinky Bill’s “Showdown”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIVAPwcG0xcThe album is far from perfect (his vocals are quite weak for one) but there’s 5 or 6 tracks that I really like. (rob, I think I can sorta see your Kwenders comparison, but BB feels far more stodgy to me. Did you know Pierre K has a new song out?)
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 12:42 (five years ago) link
OkayAfrica’s East African 25: Yes, I like that Wasafi Records sound, am currently digging “Katika”, which I posted last week. The biggest Tanzanian hit of my year, Rayvanny’s “Chombo”, is not on the list unfortunately.I wasn’t blown away by any of the songs I hadn’t heard before. I do like this punchy dancehall track though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B1RmTjWyUQBrian Simba feat. Vanessa Mdee & Michael Love • SilenceSurprised by the absence of Eddy Kenzo on this list tbh. I thought his output this year (album included) was really good.Also not on the list, just a super sweet song from Rwanda I fell in love with today: https://youtu.be/uYjV6Rw9u_YMuco feat. Deejay Pius • No More
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 12:44 (five years ago) link
Once more, with feeling:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYjV6Rw9u_Y
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 12:49 (five years ago) link
Anything resembling singeli or other “street music” (Tanzanian or otherwise) is probably not mainstream enough for this kind of list - although some of those videos have millions of views iirc.Which brings me to this: It might be old news, but I just found out that the Sound of Sisso compilation (which includes Makaveli’s “Nammiliki”) and other Nyege Nyege Tapes releases are now on Spotify (these were discussed on this thread back in February).This is a very interesting link in this regard, about Nyege Nyege and “East Africa’s new wave” - also old and possibly posted before somewhere:https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/3107
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 12:51 (five years ago) link
gah, SoundS of Sisso!
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 12:53 (five years ago) link
xp oh cool!!
― frame casual (dog latin), Tuesday, 11 December 2018 14:21 (five years ago) link
I like the poll idea, btw. It could be a good way to generate more interest in African pop. I mean, 12 people voted in the Burna Boy poll and the Rolling playlist on Spotify has only 15 followers, down from 29 last year and 55(!) in 2016. That says a lot about the current state of ILM, I guess (as well as forks’ marketing skills). Those numbers don’t say everything though, because I don’t think the thread was busier in previous years - so maybe the goal should be stimulating engagement more than anything, and a poll might help do that.
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 14:29 (five years ago) link
So good:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVwi1AKQhzsMalumzOnDecks & Gino Brown feat. Mr Vince • Shay’iNumberIn other South African news:* Master KG, he of “Skeleton Move”, has an album out - it’s good!* The new Dbn Nyts album, SeXtion 3, is quite a treat as well.* And yes, OkayAfrica has a Best of South Africa list too: https://www.okayafrica.com/south-african-songs-best-2018-listen-stream/ It’s shockingly non-gqom, but apart from that (ha!) it does look very interesting.* For instance, it has “Ntombi” by NaaqMusiq ft. Bucie, which is a delightful song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKFpghUmia4
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 16:50 (five years ago) link
"The 30 Best South African Songs of 2018":
Nathan • ClairvoyantBlack Coffee & David Guetta ft. Delilah Montagu • DriveZoocci Coke Dope ft. KLY • FWMManu WorldStar • NaLingiNaakMusiQ ft. Bucie • NtombiEmtee ft. S’Villa & Snymaan • AbantuSjava ft. Emtee & Saudi • AbanganiNasty_C ft. Rowlene • SMANonku Phiri • SîfóBigStar Johnson ft. Rouge • Two CupsBatuk • Move!Sun-EL Musician ft. Simmy & Lelo Kamau • SoniniRadio 123 • Manga MangaRMBO ft. Morena Leraba • MzabalazoMuzi ft. Tiro • Questions (Other Draft) AKA ft. Kiddominant • Fela In VersaceJ Molley • Seven BottlesPetite Noir ft. Danny Brown & Nukubi Nukubi • BeachMlindo The Vocalist ft. Sjava • EgoliJabba X (HHP) • Mazenke MusicAewon Wolf • Zoo KeeperAnatii • NtloniBonj • Til The TideSibu Nzuza ft. Aewon Wolf & Simmy Sims • Potoza GameKimosabe • Someone ElseBlack Motion ft. Msaki • RiseKLY • UmbuzoBeatenberg • CameraUna Rams • JoyThandi Ntuli • New Way
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 17:10 (five years ago) link
So different from “my” South African year - I only know about 25% of these songs.
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 17:17 (five years ago) link
Yeah, the Odunsi love really sticks out. He seems to be the figurehead of the alté scene, the “alternative” (and I guess quite bourgie) scene that broke through commercially this year and that’s associated with Lagos Island (he and the Island scene are both featured in the Mr Eazi documentary I posted a few days ago).
I don’t find his music particularly interesting either, for the reasons rob states, but I get that it might be exciting/cool to have someone doing credible homegrown contemporary r&b when you’re a Nigerian listener.
I like that wavy/vibey/groovy thing so much more when it’s mixed with a healthy dose of Afro elements: that’s why I like the Show Dem Camp album better than the Odunsi, for instance (they came out a week apart iirc). My impression is that in Ghana they’re better at this, Kuvie is a good example.
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, December 5, 2018 9:24 PM (six days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Late here, but should note that the unsung father of this aesthetic is undoubtedly Burna Boy.
― tsrobodo, Tuesday, 11 December 2018 22:51 (five years ago) link
Unsung father of Alté? Or of everything wavy/vibey/groovy?I realize that I may not have expressed myself all that clearly, but I was specifically referring to the r&b-kind of wavy/vibey/groovy, which is why I singled out Kuvie on the Ghanaian side (both as a producer and on his own album).Burna’s “afro-fusion” has always been much more heavily infused with reggae/dancehall than with r&b. And while Odunsi calls his music “afro-fusion” too, citing Burna and Blackmagic as major influences (as well as older artists like Wale Thompson and Angelique Kidjo), and I can hear the Burna, especially in his older stuff, the heavy r&b focus makes his version of fusion a different kettle of fish imo.Someone like Juls (again on the Ghanaian side, by way of the UK) is closer to the Burna aesthetic, I think, to the point they’ve actually worked together (Burna and Odunsi have this in common at least), but I’m not sure that Juls arrived at his sound through Burna.
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 12 December 2018 19:57 (five years ago) link
(Don’t get me wrong, I like Odunsi’s music fine, I just fail to see what the big deal is. The fawning coverage he gets is flabbergasting. Take this review: https://www.okayafrica.com/odunsi-rare-album-stream-listen/This profile takes the cake: https://www.morebranches.com/the-evolution-of-odunsi-the-engine/Quote: ”By now, it was no news that Odunsi was set to release his first album which was about to be the next big export out of Nigeria since Wizkid’s ’Superstar’ album.”Another quote: ”Today, we celebrate a young man who has distinctively filtered his sound and name to places we can’t yet imagine, validating his throne as the next big thing. Maybe the greatest we may see out of Africa.”I mean, really? Really really?)
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 12 December 2018 19:58 (five years ago) link
Anyway, all of this is a great excuse to post Blackmagic’s classic and utterly brilliant “Repete” (from 2012):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23MsneAXhAc
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 12 December 2018 20:00 (five years ago) link
I def have noticed ppl in the industry here seem to see Odunsi as more viable than lots of 'mainstream' african stars ... idk if its classed bias or alt branding or what but it feels both extremely predictable & not necessarily bad but potentially bad
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Wednesday, 12 December 2018 20:29 (five years ago) link
The industry would be wrong in thinking that, I think. American r&b and hip hop artists are starting to add that afro flavour by themselves already. No need to water down stuff. Kpop is finally getting there on its own terms now as well after years of failed crossover attempts.(I’m actually partially retracting my “I like Odunsi’s music fine” statement from earlier. That was based on listening to his older stuff, but I just now listened to his album in full again, and I still think it’s overwhelmingly boring)
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 12 December 2018 21:03 (five years ago) link
i just think its more about who its marketed to ... fans of tierra whack & frank ocean are more likely to like odunsi than wizkid ... but fans of drake are more likely to like wizkid ... this is more about audiences + marketing imo
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Wednesday, 12 December 2018 21:05 (five years ago) link
I didn't listen to the whole Odunsi album, but it was def dull. That said, I think deej is right here even though I'd never heard of this dude until recently. I'd add that Odunsi singing in standardized English has to be a factor too.
― rob, Wednesday, 12 December 2018 21:14 (five years ago) link
fwiw i genuinely like some odunsi songs, just as solid R&B music ... of course i listen to it next to idk "Banomoya" and you're like, lol, but its still good. i havent heard the new album though
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Wednesday, 12 December 2018 21:18 (five years ago) link
What deej said may be true to some extent, but I’m not sure the marketing angle is the right way to go. The only way anything is really going to happen is if you bring the real thing. Marketed-towards-US Wizkid didn’t happen, Made-in-Lagos Wizkid might, and everyone would be better and happier for it. Same thing with the standardized English: look at the success of reggaeton and, again, Kpop (in case you missed it, BTS is #1-album and top-10-single-level huge in the US and elsewhere singing and rapping predominantly in Korean) . btw, funny old thing: Odunsi is not on this Best Nigerian Albums list that NickB posted on the 2018 EOY music lists thread (Show Dem Camp is though):http://www.dailyadvent.com/index.php/2018/12/12/exclusive-list-of-the-top-10-nigerian-music-albums-that-blew-our-minds-in-2018-number-5-already-got-a-grammy-nomination/I assume Kizz Daniel would have been on it if he hadn’t dropped his album after the cut-off date - it’s better than the Mayorkun, fun as that one is. I feel LAX deserved to place too.
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 12 December 2018 21:41 (five years ago) link
I think making it an issue of “authenticity” is problematic tho ... isn’t odunsi seen as, like, more authentic in the sense of he’s a regular guy/ anti-showbiz / “real talent” ? That’s as much “real” African music as the stuff we find more interesting musically & more successful commercially
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Wednesday, 12 December 2018 21:55 (five years ago) link
I mean problematic in the sense of needs unpacking not “aura of morally bad”
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Wednesday, 12 December 2018 21:56 (five years ago) link
I’m not questioning Odunsi’s authenticity, I’m pretty sure he’s making the music he wants to make. I was looking at it from the US industry’s perspective, since you brought it up, and I think there’s (new) lessons to be learned from Kpop and Latin pop when it comes to crossing over with “foreign” genres in the late 2010s.
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 12 December 2018 22:50 (five years ago) link
Unsung father of Alté? Or of everything wavy/vibey/groovy?
I realize that I may not have expressed myself all that clearly, but I was specifically referring to the r&b-kind of wavy/vibey/groovy, which is why I singled out Kuvie on the Ghanaian side (both as a producer and on his own album).
Burna’s “afro-fusion” has always been much more heavily infused with reggae/dancehall than with r&b. And while Odunsi calls his music “afro-fusion” too, citing Burna and Blackmagic as major influences (as well as older artists like Wale Thompson and Angelique Kidjo), and I can hear the Burna, especially in his older stuff, the heavy r&b focus makes his version of fusion a different kettle of fish imo.
Someone like Juls (again on the Ghanaian side, by way of the UK) is closer to the Burna aesthetic, I think, to the point they’ve actually worked together (Burna and Odunsi have this in common at least), but I’m not sure that Juls arrived at his sound through Burna.
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, December 12, 2018 7:57 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
To be clear, alte was coined to describe an emerging subculture reaching far beyond music. I think this is the best distillation you'll find anywhere of what that entails.https://becomingyeva.com/alte-lagos-all-you-need-to-know/
Colloquially its simply a delineator of perceived countercultural difference e.g. I get called alte for wearing barbour jackets and having a dog.
In as far as it does relates to music and visual style, Burna Boy was a fair representation of that bohemian, cosmopolitan aesthetic for a while before the movement took hold.
Burna has played with a lot of sounds (to very mixed results in the earlier years) and while his delivery/vocals have typically favoured reggae/dancehall it's probably wrong to frame his music exclusively in such terms when R&B influence has primacy in a number of his most prominent tracks; "Like to Party", "Don Gorgon", "Pree me"...
"Soke" in particular represents what I see as an awakening point both in the crystalisation of Burna's own sound and laying the groundwork for a kind of decidedly non-danceable wavy/vibey/groovy R&B that wasn't presumed to be in high demand.
― tsrobodo, Thursday, 13 December 2018 02:00 (five years ago) link
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Wednesday, December 12, 2018 8:29 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
How much of this would you say is just a function of it being easier to sell things to industry people that they already feel they understand?
― tsrobodo, Thursday, 13 December 2018 02:03 (five years ago) link
This has nothing to do with anything, but I just want to say how much I love Sauti Sol and how much I love this thread for telling me when there's a new single out.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 13 December 2018 14:26 (five years ago) link
Finally checking out the Mr Eazi album and this one with Burna Boy is superb:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHztnu5WM-w
pvmic, but I also dig the one with Chronixx
― rob, Thursday, 13 December 2018 15:05 (five years ago) link
Two groovy tunes from Naija for the holidays:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUKZeOjsuw4
Maleek Berry • Doing U
(his “Wait” is good too)
...and this one features Wizkid and it’s excellent, but I’m posting it here because Reekado owns it: “oya, turn up tha... /mtcheww/ speakers!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p6zc1wbg3Y
DJ Tunez ft. Wizkid & Reekado Banks • Turn Up
― breastcrawl, Friday, 21 December 2018 18:10 (five years ago) link
Keep forgetting to post Joey B’s “Stables” (one of OkayAfrica’s Ghanaian selections) here. It got some traction on the EOY lists thread and has now been nominated for ILM’s EOY tracks poll:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3Ej0aTITk4Joey B feat. La Même Gang • Stables
― breastcrawl, Saturday, 22 December 2018 01:50 (five years ago) link
In a surprising development, DJ Sumbody now has the number one hit in South Africa. The link posted back in September is now dead, so here's the official video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CwMuQUr4Do
DJ Sumbody feat. Cassper Nyovest, Thebe & Vettis • Monate Mpolaye
― breastcrawl, Saturday, 22 December 2018 23:34 (five years ago) link
― breastcrawl, Saturday, 22 December 2018 23:47 (five years ago) link
Critic Jason King mentions Burna Boy in his essay in the Slate critics roundtable
Though Africa has largely fallen off the American news radar, the music rocketing out of the continent remains straight fire. Projects by GuiltyBeatz, Aka, Fatoumata Diawara, Seun Kuti, Femi Kuti, Emmanuel Jal, Burna Boy, Muzi, Tal National, and Ammar 808 are all worth streaming. My favorite contemporary record this year, however, was I’m a Dream, the sophomore set from Gambian-Swedish chanteuse Seinabo Sey.
https://slate.com/culture/2018/12/2018-music-both-directions-at-once-coltrane.html
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 27 December 2018 17:14 (five years ago) link
...as well as GuiltyBeatz. “Akwaaba” is his #10 song of the year.
― breastcrawl, Thursday, 27 December 2018 17:34 (five years ago) link
Another Slate roundtable contributor Rawiya Kameir mentioned afrobeats and dancehall:
There was a similar rejection of artifice across the Atlantic, in the dynamic, compelling world of Afropop. It’s been thrilling to watch as some of the genre’s stars abandoned the shiny, transparent attempts at American crossover of recent years. Instead of paying top dollar to collaborate with household-name rappers or drenching strummed kora with arpeggiated 808s, many leaned into traditional Naija sounds and motifs. It’s not that they hadn’t found success beyond their borders—Wizkid’s “Soco” and pretty much any recent Davido single blared from cars outside my Brooklyn window all summer—but maybe simply that the efforts, largely unreciprocated by American artists, no longer served them. Burna Boy’s excellent Outside seems to have lasted, even though it was released way back in January.
https://slate.com/culture/2018/12/pop-music-earnestness-kacey-musgraves-mitski-snail-mail.html
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 27 December 2018 18:14 (five years ago) link
New thread for 2019:
rolling Afropop / Afrobeats / Afrodance 2019
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 2 January 2019 18:30 (five years ago) link
Goodbye 2018 and good job everyone, I think we did good and had good taste.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QxY7afI0tQ
― Nabozo, Friday, 4 January 2019 11:18 (five years ago) link
Actually, there's no reason this thread shouldn't continue being used for a while
My friend sent me this (Racheal M - Mpalampalampa) from Uganda. Always liked this rhythm. She's 12.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jECyKs-l1ok
― Nabozo, Tuesday, 8 January 2019 15:29 (five years ago) link
Ok let's do it
A Pass - Didadada (groovy, from Uganda)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM19YRkJYhs
― Nabozo, Saturday, 12 January 2019 21:08 (five years ago) link