The 10 Songs You Need to Hear This Week
Featuring Oxlade, DJ Lag, Moonchild Sanelly, Teni, DJ Neptune, Kevin Florez and more.
Every week, we highlight the cream of the crop in music through our best music of the week column.
Here's our round up of the best tracks and music videos that came across our desks, which you can also check out in our Songs You Need to Hear This Week playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
Follow our SONGS YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS WEEK playlist on Spotify here and Apple Music here.
Check out all of OkayAfrica's playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
Oxlade 'Away'
Nigerian artist Oxlade has just dropped the visuals to his recent song titled "Away", the first track on his recent six-track OXYGENE EP which he released at the end of last month. The TG Omori-directed music video is just as vibrant as the fusion of Afro-pop, highlife and R&B elements which all work together to make the track so infectious.
The Big Hash 'Amnesia'
To celebrate his 20th birthday while on lockdown, The Big Hash released visuals for his latest single "Amnesia." The visuals, which were directed by ArtByTK, show a melancholic Hash crooning to a backdrop of the twilight in the horizon in an effluent residential area. He can also be seen indoors in what looks like a spooky abandoned building. The visuals are fitting for a song in which he is talking to a woman who has changed on him. The song is somber in both mood and form.
Teni & DJ Neptune 'The Quarantine Playlist'
Nigerian artist Teni is back with a new EP to get us through the quarantine. The project is a collaboration with Nigeria's DJ Neptune. The artist released the Quarantine Playlist EP which sees her playing out different stages of being in quarantine and talking about the strains of being on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
DJ Lag 'Uhuru Dis' feat. Moonchild Sanelly
The music video for DJ Lag and Moonchild Sanelly's "Uhuru Dis" depicts a story of two young people who aren't permitted to be together. The twist is that our Romeo and Juliet are based in Durban and their story plays out differently. In the music video, we first encounter them on the dance floor before they retreat away from the crowd. "Romeo and Juliet is a universal story of love and tragedy," says DJ Lag in an email to OkayAfrica. "Chris Kets, the director, conceptualized this. We wanted to remix something that has been done over and over again and make it our own. Locate it in Durban and to the sound of gqom."
Kevin Florez & The Busy Twist 'Champetizate'
Champeta is a dance and music style originated in the Colombian cities & towns of Cartagena and San Basilio de Palenque, which highlights the Congolese influences on Afro-Colombian culture. Artists likeKevin Florezare putting putting a new twist on the genre by pushing champeta urbana, which adds more modern elements to the style. His new single "Champetizate" sees the Colombian artist connecting with UK producer The Busy Twistfor a new addictive tune.
Rolv.K 'CLVB NOIZ' EP
Rolv.K is a young producer living in Geneva, originally from Sierra Leone, producing raw, Afro-electronic concoctions that will get in your brain and feet. He recently released his latest 3-song EP, CLVB NOIZ, featuring contributions from Lauran, Bandicut, Magugu. Our highlight is "Lockdown," get into it above.
Ladipoe 'Know You' feat. Simi
Nigeria's Ladipoe and Simi connect for "Know You," a soothing and light head-nodder about loving someone you might not know that well.
Lady Moon & The Eclipse 'Journey to the Cosmic Soul'
New York-based six-piece Lady Moon & The Eclipse comes through with a new double-album which blends funk, soul, and R&B. As the band puts it, it's "arranged in three phases named after each celestial body that align during an eclipse: the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon. Each of these phases is also an exploration of a different aspect of being: Sun = Mind, Earth = Body, Moon = Soul. This concept is used to guide our journey through the musical universe we call Cosmic Soul; one of infinite creativity and imagination." Get into it above.
Robin Thirdfloor 'Gibela (Remix)'
Robin Thirdfloor, Laliboi and ASAP Shembe share a minimalist instrumental that references both modern hip-hop and old school kwaito in the remix to "Gibela" by Robin Thirdfloor. The rappers take advantage of the empty spaces on the beat and each approach it differently. Robin Thirdfloor's flow stays smooth and effortless and his lines are as unpredictable as ever and play out like plot twists.
Focalistic 'Quarantined Tarantino'
In his latest EP Quarantined Tarantino, Focalistic manages to strike a balance between the South African artist's hip-hop roots and his recent flirtations with amapiano and kwaito. For the first three songs, Quarantined Tarantino traces the relationship between '90s kwaito and amapiano, sometimes blurring the line between the two. One of the project's many highlights "Patrice Motsepe" follows the same format and manages to simultaneously sound nostalgic and current.
Follow our SONGS YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS WEEK playlist on Spotify here and Apple Music here.
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