rolling afropop / afrobeats 2018

I also love Che Che, btw!

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

Finally something new. Thanks.

those kids are dope

whoops, missed the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JHHYt_Ctvo

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 :)

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 Savage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1zvVUqWccE

Niniola's Saro is alright, and so is Burna Boy's Deja Vu.

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

https://youtu.be/Tf_0Cc2PiTg

Prince Kaybee & LaSoulMates ft. TNS & Zanda Zakuza “Club Controller”

This track goes hard!

indeed!

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

Reekado Banks, Tiwa Savage & Fiokee - Like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaKfUTWU0dw

light and breezy

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)

I feel like all I’ve got left in this world is loving problematic artists but idk, i just never cared for lily allen...

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

Enjoying this:

Flavour - Baby Na Yoka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsR0yCvG3Oc

If I heard that Burna Boy song with no context, I wouldn't know it was Lily Allen. Good song.

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

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.

that song is really nice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4KNVT2w0mU

Someone listed Ipupa's Eloko Oyo on their end of year faves on the 2017 Rolling Afropop thread. Sorry I forgot who.

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.

Don’t think anyone has mentioned Nyege Nyege on the global dance thread, although that seems the best place for it

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.

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=Tonm1HYRxHk
Great no?

https://i.imgur.com/bsFp78u.jpg

that is going in my EOY I can already tell

Funny you should say EOY:

https://m.soundcloud.com/dj_michy/craze-sololo-ft-orezi-x-mystro

CaZe ft. Orezi & Mystro “Sololo”.

Total knock-out.

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

woah at whatever the hell happens 90 seconds into "Nammiliki"!

Sololo is also very nice

This one is classic Davido sweet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ngDUlekTE

Another sweet one
https://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 him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcUdwBK5Ma0

Go Down (Alade) is good. Your Body (Wizkid) is good.

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/VYawNmc3m0s

DJ Jimmy Jatt ft. Wizkid, “Oshe” (produced by Killertunes)

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-sisso
Nyege 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.

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/4DBPLxbjads

And her current one, “Maame Hw3”:
https://youtu.be/d8cJoGtU660

thanks for clearing that up breastcrawl didn't realise it was Tanzanian

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

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

First embed doesn't seem to be working. Let's try again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alPUrD2w-jw&list=PL6zyXmG5g9xEeh0mQJVlo1Iovr0ITin6S

Anyway, it's called "Be Mine"

this is probably the best song I listened this year

https://youtu.be/m99Wmv7gU2A

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. )

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.

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.

"OOO" - Zingah, Maphorisa, Wizkid, Burna Boy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nH9LYhfpxo

Davido's first single of 2018 "Flora My Flawa":

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

My favorite Shaku Shaku tune right now:

Danny S - Ege (Dribble)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqVslNB4psk

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?)

Naija mainstream pop needed those harder beats after the Reign of Pon Pon, but when it comes to South(ern) African influence, I would have expected gqom to have caught on much more in Naija by now than it has so far. I guess it’s because shaku shaku has its origin in what’s often called “street music” in Nigeria, where they have been using these older, Uhuru-type beats of the previous SA wave for some time now to freestyle on. Cool to have some of those beats identified - are there any more you know about?

As for a straight-up Naija pop/gqom fusion, there’s the current Patoranking, “Available”, with SA producers DJ Catzico and Vista. It has been around since early November, but it seems to be picking up steam only now that the shaku-shaku-friendly video is out. (Remember, Pato was an early alkayida adaptor too, with “My Woman, My Everything”).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PCqv_BmF6s

Speaking of the South African influences, this makes me so happy: A bona fide, honest-to-God extended version of a Nigerian hit. It could only be Niniola’s “Maradona”, of course - that song has become an even bigger hit in South Africa than in Nigeria for a reason. I wish this was done more often, but I’m not holding my breath.

https://open.spotify.com/album/40PbljSs8Av2gCbSzi9rND

And I mean, I really wish this was done more often, because why only 2’48 of this goodness?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cnXu16J_wM

VJ Adams feat. Niniola (it’s her again!), “Leg Work”

This guy Tiwezi is quickly turning into one of my favourite producers. He also did this:

https://soundcloud.com/musicplugafrica/mz-kiss-ijo

Mz Kiss, “Ijo”

and, on a completely different tip:

https://soundcloud.com/humblesmith/sugar

Humblesmith, “Sugar”

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.

Okay, first things first: Here’s the correct link for Blinky Bill’s “Showdown”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIVAPwcG0xc

The 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?)

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=_B1RmTjWyUQ

Brian Simba feat. Vanessa Mdee & Michael Love • Silence

Surprised 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_Y

Muco feat. Deejay Pius • No More

Once more, with feeling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYjV6Rw9u_Y

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

gah, SoundS of Sisso!

xp oh cool!!

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.

So good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVwi1AKQhzs

MalumzOnDecks & Gino Brown feat. Mr Vince • Shay’iNumber

In 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

"The 30 Best South African Songs of 2018":

Nathan • Clairvoyant
Black Coffee & David Guetta ft. Delilah Montagu • Drive
Zoocci Coke Dope ft. KLY • FWM
Manu WorldStar • NaLingi
NaakMusiQ ft. Bucie • Ntombi
Emtee ft. S’Villa & Snymaan • Abantu
Sjava ft. Emtee & Saudi • Abangani
Nasty_C ft. Rowlene • SMA
Nonku Phiri • Sîfó
BigStar Johnson ft. Rouge • Two Cups
Batuk • Move!
Sun-EL Musician ft. Simmy & Lelo Kamau • Sonini
Radio 123 • Manga Manga
RMBO ft. Morena Leraba • Mzabalazo
Muzi ft. Tiro • Questions (Other Draft)
AKA ft. Kiddominant • Fela In Versace
J Molley • Seven Bottles
Petite Noir ft. Danny Brown & Nukubi Nukubi • Beach
Mlindo The Vocalist ft. Sjava • Egoli
Jabba X (HHP) • Mazenke Music
Aewon Wolf • Zoo Keeper
Anatii • Ntloni
Bonj • Til The Tide
Sibu Nzuza ft. Aewon Wolf & Simmy Sims • Potoza Game
Kimosabe • Someone Else
Black Motion ft. Msaki • Rise
KLY • Umbuzo
Beatenberg • Camera
Una Rams • Joy
Thandi Ntuli • New Way

So different from “my” South African year - I only know about 25% of these songs.

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.

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.

(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?)

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

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

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)

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

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.

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

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.

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

I mean problematic in the sense of needs unpacking not “aura of morally bad”

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.

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.

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, 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?

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.

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

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

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=C3Ej0aTITk4

Joey B feat. La Même Gang • Stables

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

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

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

...as well as GuiltyBeatz. “Akwaaba” is his #10 song of the year.

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

New thread for 2019:

rolling Afropop / Afrobeats / Afrodance 2019

Goodbye 2018 and good job everyone, I think we did good and had good taste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QxY7afI0tQ

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

Ok let's do it

A Pass - Didadada (groovy, from Uganda)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM19YRkJYhs