The 5 Songs You Need to Hear This Week
Featuring Wizkid, Drizilik x Idris Elba, Lojay, Jessy Wilson x Angélique Kidjo, and Bad Boy Timz.
Idris Elba & Drizilik in "Ashobi."
Every week, we highlight the top releases through our best music of the week column, Songs You Need to Hear. Here's our round-up of the best tracks and music videos that came across our desks.
If you like these music lists, you can also check out our Best Songs of the Month columns following Nigerian, Ghanaian, East African and South African music.
Wizkid 'Bad To Me'
Wizkid returns in big fashion with his latest single "Bad To Me." The record highlights the Afrobeats star's vocal versatility and penchant for a catchy beat. The sultry song, collaboratively produced by P2J and Sammy Soso, is a combustible culmination of elevated seductive energy with heavy underscores of Amapiano. It also sparked quite the heated debate online about amapiano ownership and Nigerian artists' usage of the sound.
Drizilik x Idris Elba 'Ashobi'
With his sophomore album, Ashobi, Drizlik is carving out a space for Sierra Leone in the afrobeats scene. This week, he shared the music video for its standout single, also titled "Ashobi," featuring none-other-than Idris Elba. To date, the hit single has hit over one million plays on Audiomack, the first Sierra Leonean artist to do so on the streaming platform. Read our new interview with Drizilik.
Lojay 'LEADER!'
Lojay comes through with the futuristic music video and single for "Leader!," a head-nodding afro-fusion concoction. "I created Leader at a very significant period in my life, a period of self-discovery," he mentions. "My life has drastically changed in the last year and fame has made settling into a relationship even more difficult, so I channelled that into a conversation with the mic." Watch the Uax-directed video above.
Jessy Wilson x Angélique Kidjo 'Keep Rising' (from The Woman King)
Beninese icon Angélique Kidjo connected with singer Jessy Wilson for this uplifting tune from theThe Woman King—the highly-anticipated historical film based on the true events of West Africa's Dahomey women warriors. Read our new interview with South African actress Thuso Mbedu, who more than holds her own alongside Oscar winner Viola Davis in the film, which is currently on the big screen.
Bad Boy Timz 'Big Money'
Bad Boy Timz drops an addictive and energetic new single in the shape of "Big Money." The single folows Timz in as he captures the economic realities for many in his home country Nigeria, and his desires to change his financial situation and that of his family for the better, a press statement explains.
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