Press Play: New Music From Asake, Mayorkun, Ruger and more.
Your weekly dose of the best new sounds on the continent!
“Bad 4 U” - Tay Iwar
Nigeria’s most reclusive R&B star is back with a new love-inspired single titled “Bad4U”, his first since last year’s soft and plaintive Love & Isolation. The single finds Tay doing what he does best: singing and writing through the intricacies of love. This time he’s head over heels, singing about the push-and-pull qualities of a seemingly wonky affair ( “You’re looking at me like you wanna be the one / Then you tell me that you’re leaving in the morning”) in his characteristically tender vocals, floating gently over soothing chords and slow drums.
“Peace Be Unto You (PBUY)” - Asake
Asake, Afropop’s hottest star, once again arched his bow about three weeks ago, releasing a snippet (or pretty much most of it) of a song that would send a section of social media into a frenzy again. Today, he finally let go of the arrow, and as you would expect, bullseye. He continues his energetic, addictive marriage of Afropop, Fuji and Amapiano, singing scatterbrained lyrics with an incredibly catchy flow over riotous basslines.
"WATAWI” - Ckay ft Abidoza, Davido & Focalsitic
Emo-Afrobeats fusionist Ckay taps heavyweights Davido, Focalistic and producer Abidoza for his first single of the year. The record, built on Amapiano’s trademark keys, shakers and drums, is as infectious as they come. Ckay is in his toxic bag once again, singing about an inquisitive, lovestruck interest who continually asks him the one question every playboy dreads: “What are we?”. Davido and Focalistic are equally in tune, delivering sturdy playa verses of their own.
“Girlfriend” - Ruger
Keeping up his immaculate form, Ruger continues to establish himself, releasing a deluxe version of his sophomore project The New Wave and an instant standout is the first of the additional tracks, “Girlfriend”. The bouncy, dancehall-inspired record is a classic philanderer’s anthem. The Jonzing-signee cannot seem to stick to one lover. “Oh Lord, me want all the girls in the whole world” he sings passionately before going on to admit “I know what I’m doing is so wrong” and then adding “me definitely don’t give a fuck”.
“Certified Loner (No Competition)” - Mayorkun
By his own standards, Mayorkun has had a pretty quiet year. Apart from his appearance on Camidoh's hit single "Sugarcane", he's been pretty off the radar. "Certified Loner (No Competition)" comes as his first single after the release of his sophomore album last year. Here, he's pretty satisfied with being a lone wolf, singing lines like "I tell my mama don't you worry for me / That I'm good on my own / I've made peace with my soul" over kwaito-inspired basslines.
“True Love (Remix)” - Kaestyle ft Victony
Portharcourt-bred singer Kaestyle has a pretty slim discography. He only seemed to surface last year with the sultry “Stamina”, however, with what appears to be only his second official release “True Love”, he’s already making a name for himself. The slow-burning record just got an upgrade, with the singer securing the services of Victony for a remix. It remains sweet-sounding and enjoyable, with Victony opening up the single with his pristine vocals and a complementary verse that increases the allure of the entire record.
