The 5 Songs You Need to Hear This Week

At the end of the week, we’ll be highlighting the creme of the crop in music and rounding up the best tracks, videos, mixtapes and releases that came across our desks throughout the last few days.

Check out this week’s selections below.

Card On Spokes “Impala Parlour / Journey To Life” Video is a Visual Feast

Cape Town-based producer Card On Spokes’ new video might be the trippiest thing you see all week. Directed by Chris Saunders and Jamal Nxedlana and produced by Okayafrica family (and my mentor) Allison Swank, “Impala Parlour / Journey To Life” is a spectacular, futuristic ride through the mine dumps of Johannesburg which follows a robot-like character performed by Alice Kok.

Speaking with Okayafrica in September, Card On Spokes (aka the production moniker of South African jazz musician Shane Cooper) mentioned the song was the first he started writing off his As We Surface EP. “It grew from a bunch of recordings I made with some brilliant percussionists,” he said, adding that he layered the track with talking drum, congas, various African shakers and more.

—AK

Yemi Alade Portrays a Choreographed Buka Beef in "Tumbum"

Winner of this year's MTV MAMA award for "Best Female," Yemi Alade releases a funny music video for Selebobo the produced track, "Tumbum," from her sophomore album, Mama Africa: The Diary of an African Woman. The Paul Gambit directed video features Nollywood superstars Ime Bishop Umoh and Beverly Osu.

"Tumbum" is the Nigerian equivalent to the "He loves me, he loves me not" game, and for the very hungry Umoh, he can't choose between whose jollof rice or whose fufu he loves the most—and the cook that comes with each.

Watch the drama unfold above.

—AI

Eddy Kenzo and Mi Casa Join Forces on "Movie Star"

South African and East African superstars Mi Casa and Eddy Kenzo recently linked up on a catchy new single. The video for “Movie Star” arrived last week.

It’s cute. Which is pretty much what you’d expect from these four.

—AK

Kae Sun Quietly Returned With the ‘Murder Ballad’ “Canary”

Kae Sun, the soft-spoken Ghanaian-born Canadian singer-songwriter and recent Montreal transplant, returned last week with his first new music in some time. The sort-of breakup song “Canary” is the earliest track to surface off his forthcoming EP, also titled Canary, due out early 2017 on Moonshine.

“The title track bills itself as a murder ballad in its artwork (a nod to his strong folk influence), but functions more as a commentary on the overwrought idea of heartbreak,” a press release mentions.

—AK

 The Azonto Craze is Alive and Well in Fuse ODG's "Jinja"

Once you see a parkour professional do his thing on an unnamed rooftop, you know ish is about to get real (and lit).

Fuse ODG released the music video for Killbeatz produced, "Jinja"—and it seems like it's the official anthem to "give excessive energy to a person or situation, especially through dance."

The video shows that Azonto is here to stay—check out how the movement's evolved with the slick dance steps in the clip above.

—AI