The 16 Songs You Need to Hear This Week

Lady Donli 'Corner' feat. VanJess & The Cavemen

Nigerian singer Lady Donli, returns with a new song and music video "Corner," a standout from her 2019 album Enjoy Your Life, featuring VanJess and The Cavemen. The smooth, highlife-tinged song, contains a bold message that address several of the issues currently facing Nigerian women, including the recent #SexForGrades scandal, which exposed lecturers at various universities who were sexually assaulting their female students. The video, directed by Shaun Kalu, does the same, as it opens with a group of women leading a protest in Nigeria's capital. Later the video shows them taking part in several subversive activities to defeat male perpetrators.

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Boddhi Satva & Nelson Freitas 'Goofy'

Boddhi Satvaand Nelson Freitas come through with the new music video for "Goofy," a highlight from Freitas' latest album, Sempre Verão. The track sees the Central African Republic producer, known for his 'Ancestral Soul' house style, connecting with the Cape Verdean singer for a highly-addictive and undulating production that will transport you to the dance floor.

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Mdou Moctar 'Ibitlan'

Celebrated Nigerien-born, Tuareg musician Mdou Moctarreturns with the blazing new single "Ibitlan." The psychedelic track sees the artist delivering electrifying guitar riffs in the Tuareg tradition. He sings passionately throughout the track, which as the artist notes, is a love song describing his lover's beauty.

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Shirazee 'Juju' feat. Saint Jhn

Shirazee is back with his latest single "Juju." The new song sees the Benin-born singer-songwriter linking up with none-other-than Saint Jhnfor a highly-addictive tune built on afro-fusion beat work. The striking new music video for "Juju," which was directed by Tiara Marei, follows Shirazee and Saint Jhn to New Orleans, Louisiana.

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J Molley & Ka$hCpt 'Narco'

J Molley and Ka$hCpt unleashed a collaboration which has since gone viral. The two South African hip-hop artists go back and forth about living the life you and I only see in series and movies, with a chorus that goes: "Run his pockets take his weed like a narco/ I am god gifted and I am in god mode/ Lighting rockets smoke alone I don't pass hoe/ Only come out in the night like it's dark mode."

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SomaDina 'Five Stages' 

19-year-old newcomer SomaDina comes through with the confident Five Stages EP, which follows her going through the stages of grief through its five songs. It's a captivating drop from a new name that we're gonna be keeping tabs on—and you should too. "Blame Game" is the highlight for us but the whole thing is worth checking out.

Five Stages is available now

Rema x Becky G 'Dumebi' Remix

Last year, the buzzing Remareleased his four-track debut EP Rema. While the lead track "Iron Man" featured on the Obamas' summer playlist, "Dumebi" became arguably the one of the most popular Afropop singles of 2019 and resulted in an internet craze. Rema is back this year with a remix of the hit single and recruits Becky G to produce a fire collaboration.

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The Big Hash 'Amnesia'

As promised, rising South African lyricist The Big Hash has released a new singe. "Amnesia" is somber in both form and content. It kicks off with a muffled sample that lives under moody pads and prominent bassline on the beat that was produced by Elizee. It's the perfect atmosphere for the artist to pen a heartfelt song to a woman who's breaking up with him.

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Antibalas 'Fight Am Finish'

Pioneer NYC afrobeat ensemble Antibalas is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the release of their latest album, Fu Chronicles. The new album takes listeners to older pre-gentrification days in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, when the band was formed out of lead singer Duke Amayo's kung fu dojo. The new music video for album highlight, "Fight Am Finish," a song that about being ready for our daily battles and ultimately overcoming them. The music video was filmed in between Badagry and the New Afrika Shrine in Nigeria, as well as Grand Street in Brooklyn.

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CKay 'Love Nwantiti' Remix feat. Joeboy & Kuami Eugene

Ckay connects with the highly-buzzing Joeboy and Ghana's Kuami Eugene for the addictive new remix to "Love Nwantiti," one of the standouts from his sophomore EP, Ckay the First. The new remix comes accompanied by a music video directed by Naya Visuals.

ByLwansta 'The Bike Song'

ByLwansta shared "The Bike Song" last week. The song is a single from his upcoming EP SPIJØNGET (Chapter Two), which will be released on the 28th of February. "The Bike Song" details a robbery which the young rapper was a victim of in the Joburg CBD. The visuals, which are minimalist, show ByLwansta—well, you guessed it—riding a bike. The clip consists mostly of performance scenes from the emcee, who's expression goes beyond words but facial expressions, antics and mem-worthy poses.

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Zinoleesky x Naira Marley 'Caro'

Zinoleesky has just dropped his debut track "Caro" under his new record label, Marlian Records. He teams up with Naira Marley on the fun and upbeat ode to women and love while also dropping the accompanying visuals too. In "Caro", the duo seamlessly feeds off of each other's energy as they rap about beautiful women, money and love. Produced by Rexxie, the track is a classic uptempo Afrobeat number with a pretty laid-back rhythm that makes the track itself an easy listen.

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YoungstaCPT 'For Coloured Girls'

In his latest music video, YoungstaCPT appreciates Coloured girls—the visuals showcase different Coloured women of varying ages, from different parts of Cape Town and other parts of South Africa. Some of the faces are familiar—you'll spot the writer Raisa Fisher, the dancer Tarryn Alberts and a few other familiar faces. A majority of them are just ordinary women and young girls that the emcee felt like shining the light on to appreciate brown women.

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pH Raw X 'Sense Experience & Ekeyoto'

Accomplished South African hip-hop producer pH Raw X has crafted hits and classics for some of the country's biggest and most respected artists such as AKA, Sho Madjozi, Reason, Khuli Chana, Maggz and many others. Since circa 2017, though, pH Raw X started releasing solo music as a rapper and singer after appearing on some songs by the artists he has produced for. His latest project is titled Sensei Experience Ekeyoto, and has 14 songs that showcase his skills behind the mic and the boards. Assisting him on the project are legends such as Ootz the Afronaut and Riky Rick, among the new wave—the likes of Una Rams, Sho Madjozi, Berita, Ricco and J Molley all appear on the project.

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Wisdom feat. Marvy 'Stay'

Nigeria's Wisdomconnects with Marvy for the new love song "Stay," which features lyrics in English and Yoruba. Get into it above.

Saudi 'The Drip's Leak'

South African rapper and singer Saudijust released a new mixtape. The 13-track project is titled The Drip's Leak and features some of Saudi's affiliates such as Ranks ATM, Sims and Emtee, most of who are part of the African Trap Movement (ATM), a collective Saudi co-founded alongside Sjava and Emtee.

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