The 6 Best East African Songs of the Month (May)
Featuring Ibraah, Sheebah, Rayvanny and more.
Maya Amolo
Here is our selection of the best East African songs of May. These are the tracks shaking up the region right now.
Follow our East African Grooves playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.
Maya Amolo "Jokes"
Buzzing Kenyan alternative-R&B songstress, Maya Amolo, released her second single titled "Jokes" from her upcoming debut EP this month. On what inspired the candid lyricism in the track the singer says, "I wrote this song coming out of a place of frustration and finally getting to a place where I could brush off the whole thing. I wrote it about situations where the person you're with is being dishonest or just doing some sneak shit on the low and it's coming up really clearly, and you're unable to ignore it but also don't have the energy to deal with it because it's like... "wtf"."
Ibraah ft. Harmonize "One Night Stand"
Konde Gang's first signee Ibraah released a new single "One Night Stand" featuring his label-boss Harmonize. This single is off Ibraah's debut EP Steps, which is already doing amazingly well in the region. The stellar EP has features from Joeboy, Skiibii and Harmonize.
Zuchu "Nisamehe"
East African newest bongo flava songstress Zuchu released a brand new song titled "Nisamehe" in May.The new single serves as track two off her newly released debut project, the I Am Zuchu EP, which is already doing very well and establishing the WCB star as a major act to watch this year.
Rayvanny "Teleza na Tezza"
Nobody can accuse Tanzanian star Rayvanny of being inconsistent. This month the WCB Wasafi star churned out yet another new single called "Teleza na Tezzy" which fuses bongo and trap influences.
Sheebah "Nakyuka"
Ugandan pop singer Sheebah released a new song "Nakyuka" this month that tells the story of how she fell in love with a man and it changed her life forever. Because of the quarantine period, she gives us a tour of her mansion in the music video.
Sauti Sol "Insecure"
With their fifth studio album just around the corner, Kenya's top music band Sauti Sol gave us yet another taste of what is to come with a new single "Insecure," where they each open up about their own insecurities in life and love.
Follow our East African Grooves playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.
- The Best East African Music Videos of 2018 - OkayAfrica ›
- Here Are the Winners at the 2019 African Muzik Magazine Awards in ... ›
- On Reinventing African Lit: All the Buzz From East Africa's Biggest ... ›
- The 6 Best East African Songs of the Month (April) - OkayAfrica ›
- Aboard the East African Soul Train, a Traveling Artist Residency on ... ›
- The 6 Best East African Songs of the Month (March) - OkayAfrica ›
- The Best East African Songs of 2019 - OkayAfrica ›
- The 7 Best East African Songs of the Month - OkayAfrica ›
- How Climate Change is Bringing Deadly Cyclones to East Africa ›
- How East African Musicians Are Making Money Today - OkayAfrica ›
- Maya Amolo Knows You’re Addicted In New Visuals For ‘I Know’ - OkayAfrica ›
- The Best East African Songs of the Month (February) - OkayAfrica ›
- The 7 Best East African Songs of the Month (July) - OkayAfrica ›
The Best Southern African Songs of 2024
The year has been long and eventful, and artists have kept the fresh releases coming. This is just a sample of all the music we enjoyed this year from Southern Africa.
The Best North African Songs of 2024
OkayAfrica’s North Africa correspondent shares the region’s most celebrated and underrated songs of the year — from Libya’s electronic Touareg music to Sudan’s rap revolution, and more.