Your weekly dose of the best new sounds on the continent!
We're still living in a pandemic and its endless resulting effects, but at least we've had an ample serving of tunes to keep us company. Each week, the B.Side staff will round up a guide to the hottest songs on the continent. Dig in and enjoy.
DJ Tarico & Preck & Nelson Tivane ft Burna Boy - "Yaba Buluku"
Mozambique’s finest DJ Tarico secures the Burna Boy stimulus package to breathe new life into the electric “Yaba Buluku”. Originally featured on Tarico’s sophomore album Moz Piano Vol. 2, the thumping, thunderous synths and insistent shakers coupled with Preck & Nelson Tivane’s energetic chants instantly stood out. It’s now gotten a massive upgrade earlier in the week, with Burna Boy adding flavour to the Kwaito-inspired banger.
Reminisce ft Olamide - "Omo x100"
Last week, the indigenous rap stalwart Reminisce announced he would be dropping his fifth studio album Alaye Toh Se Gogo sometime in August, after a five-year wait. Today, he released the ruminative lead single with fellow rapper Olamide. “Omo” in Nigerian lingua is a vastly diverse homonym used to convey various feelings. It can be used to express disbelief, discontent, fatigue and so much more. Here, Olamide simply repeats “Omo” on the hook, conveying so much in so little, as Reminisce raps diaristic verses on a buoyant, dusty beat ー delivering memorable commentary on the ills of the society, reminiscing and giving an update on his life at just over two minutes.
Show Dem Camp ft Tomi Thomas - "Rise of the Underdogs 2"
Like most musical duos, the formula for a Show Dem Camp is pretty straightforward now: Tec and Ghost deliver witty, introspective and sometimes philosophical bars while they are mostly accompanied by a sonorous singer who punctuates their verses with a soft hook. This is the formula that earned them so much appraise for their Palmwine Music series and this is the same formula they have employed for their latest single, “Rise of the Underdogs 2” expected to appear on the fifth installment of the Clone Wars series, The Algorhythm. Here, the rap duo in usual fashion, delivers heavy, cut-throat bars, ripping through T.u.c’s beat with relative ease. They’re joined by in-form singer Tomi Thomas, who delivers a brilliant hook, making “Rise of The Underdogs 2” a deeply satisfying listen.
Jaido P ft Olamide - "Survive"
In the heat of the pandemic-plagued 2020, newcomer Jaido P and Olamide provided a brief escape from the turmoil outside our windows with the extremely rhythmic and catchy “Tesina Pot”. Almost a year after the release of the snappy single, they’re back with another collaboration, this time with the mellow and love-inspired “Survive”. This record finds both artists lamenting about the constant stress of life, simultaneously claiming only their love interest’s affection can see them through over soothing keys, subtle intermittent guitar strings and soft drums. While this song is in sharp contrast to their earlier collaboration, lacking the boisterous energy of “Tesina Pot”, it features warm, heartfelt lyricism enveloped in temperate, placid sing-raps highlighting just how versatile both acts can be.
Nasty C - "Jack"
On the 6th of May, Def Jam launched an innovative podcast titled “Here Comes The Break” which features engaging conversations surrounding mental health, friendship, creativity and much more. Hosted by 19-year old Asante Blackk, the podcast is also accompanied by an ever-expanding soundtrack and the latest addition to this project is Nasty C’s trap-infused single “Jack”. Produced by fellow South African, Flvme, the single sees Nasty C at his finest, flexing his lyrical chops – bragging about how much money he makes now, recounting his experience before he blew up – over a colourful flute loop and thumping kicks. He also delivers a sturdy, melodic hook highlighting just how much the 24-year-old rapper has grown since his big break back in 2015.
Justin Beiber ft Masterkraft, Alpha P & Omah Lay - "Peaches (Masterkraft Remix)"
Earlier in the year, Justin Bieber released his sixth studio album, Justice, which featured the slinky smash-hit “Peaches” which debuted at the apex of the renowned Billboard Hot 100 chart. Last week, an all-star remix featuring Usher, Snoop Dogg and Ludacris was released. This week, ace producer Mastekraft released an Afropop reimagination of the song, enlisting newcomers Alpha P and Omah Lay to do justice over the slightly tweaked instrumentation that includes mid-tempo, rhythmic drums reminiscent of Wizkid’s “Essence”. Keeping Bieber’s catchy chorus, Alpha P and Omah Lay deliver memorable verses that’ll give Giveon and Daniel Caesar a run for their money.
R2Bees ft King Promise & Joeboy - "Fine Wine"
Following the upbeat, Sarkodie-assisted “Yawa” which came at the tail-end of last year, the Ghanaian award-winning duo has just released their first single of the year, “Fine Wine”, teaming up with fellow Ghanaian singer King Promise and Joeboy. Omar Sterling – who released his solo debut album a couple of days back – opens up the love-inspired record with slightly inaudible, drowned-out singing. King Promise then smoothly tags himself in, delivering a sonorous hook and verse that nicely sets the tone. Mugeez, the other half of R2bees, picks things up and renders a more bubbly, buoyant verse in English and Twi before the Nigerian heartthrob Joeboy closed the record with an equally sturdy verse.
