10 Songs You Need To Hear This Week’ is a 10 track-listing playlist highlighting the best of songs released over the past few days from Africa and the Carribeans (Jamaica).
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J.Derobie – Riches
J.Derobie’s new song “Riches” is in celebration of his Reggae/Dancehall song of the year award at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.
Strongman Burner – Oseikrom Vibe
Ghanaian rapper – Strongman surprises us with this brand new hip-hop song titled ‘Oseikrom Vibe’. He brags about the Ashanti Empire, Oseikrom and endorses the Kumerica vibes on this TubhaniMuzik produced beat.
Khalifina feat. Black Sherif – Dangerous
Khalifina’s long-awaited new music is here now. After the long tease on social media , Khalifina finally drops her drill joint titled ‘Dangerous Flow’ featuring fast-rising Ghanaian songwriter and recording music artist – Black Sherif.
Nasty C feat. Tellaman – Zone
Def Jam Recordings signee & South African rapper Nasty C has finally released his album Zulu Man With Some Power. The new album is promoted with several singles with Eazy achieving the biggest commercial success. Zulu Man With Some Power is the 23 year old’s third studio album following the success of Bad Hair and Strings and Bling.
The new album fresh off the shelf collaborates with the likes of T.I, Tellaman, Rowlene, Ari Lennox, Lil Gotit & Lil Keed. In total the Zulu Man With Some Power project is 20 songs deep with Nasty C proving once again he is the crown prince of South African hip hop.
Tiwa Savage feat. Naira Marley – Ole
Many were left wondering as to when Tiwa Savage’s long-awaited album will be dropping. She did come out to explain the reason for the delay in releasing it and obviously we know it’s due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the virus still in existence and vaccines not officially approved by the WHO , one is not very certain with when this virus will be eliminated. In spite of this , Tiwa Savage had to draw a new roll out for her album.
Days after giving us a taste of the highly anticipated album by serving the Sam Smith-aided tune “Temptation,” Tiwa Savage finally gives us the full package.
“Celia” is the third album in the singer’s discography, it houses 12 beautiful tracks including star-studded collabos with big names, the likes of Sam Smith, Davido, Stefflon Don and others.
Bisa K’dei feat. Medikal – Netwerk
Award-winning indigenous Ghanaian musician and producer – Bisa Kdei returns from the long break with a new song featuring Medikal.
Earlier this week , he posted some BTS from the video shoot of this newly released song titled ‘Netwerk’.
Network’ is a fast paced potential street banger featuring award-winning Ghanaian rapper – Medikal. The dance-able nature of the song will contribute a lot to its success. Now that’s how to announce comeback.
Production credits to Ivan Beatz.
E.L feat. Worlasi – How We Dey Live
In the last 6 years, he’s given Hip-Hop heads something major to look forward to – THE BAR; an annual album/EP release that spotlights the hottest new lyricists and producers yet to break out. Best part about the BAR tapes were the concerts that followed the announcement. It’s an experience that leaves every fan buzzing about expectations for the next project. So here we are, halfway through 2020 and eagerly waiting for info on the release date for this year’s BAR tape.
As if to whet our appetite, E.L dropped something different. A 3-track tape he calls ”Leaks”. Straight fire, top tier talent, really dope production and sounds a lot like something off of a BAR tape. So, we checked with E.L and he had this to say: ”The BAR tapes were a great time for Ghanaian Hip-Hop culture, but we’ve got too many new songs, new talent and incredible beats to wait 12 months before another release. I love my rap heads, so instead of a BAR each year. Here’s a three-track tape each month. #Leaks”.
The previous installments of the Leaks monthly EP had 3 songs each on them but with Leaks 3 , E.L added an additional song making it 4.
Patoranking feat. King Promise – Odo Bra
Nigerian afro-dancehall superstar PATORANKING today shares his third album, Three, via his own Amari Musiq imprint and US-based indie powerhouse, EMPIRE.
Eclectic and wide-ranging, Three features collaborations with some of contemporary African music’s most essential acts, including fellow Nigerians TIWA SAVAGE (on “Matter”) and FLAVOUR (“Mon Bébé”), Kenya’s SAUTI SOL (“Whine It”) and Ghana’s KING PROMISE (“Odo Bra”), spanning genres from reggae to afropop and highlife. “Yo Body” delivers a heavyweight slice of dancehall energy, while “Black Girl Magic” is a slinky funk anthem that lives up to its title. Nigeria’s fast-rising TELZ (Burna Boy, Olamide) and Zimbabwe/South Africa’s MR KAMERA (Mr Eazi, Yemi Alade, Netflix’s Blood and Water) head up the project’s international production team.
One of Africa’s most multifaceted artists, PATORANKING is an international reggae star whose dancehall anthems (“Daniella Whine,” “Suh Different”) have resonated from Nigeria to Jamaica. At the same time, his afropop collaborations with Tiwa Savage (“Girlie O”), Wande Coal (“My Woman, My Everything”) and Diamond Platnumz (“Love You Die”) have made him a continental icon. He’s extended his influence into North America through partnerships with U.S. labels EMPIRE and VP Records, and touring with hip-hop/soul icon Lauryn Hill. His tracks have generated more than 260 million views on YouTube and over 170 million streams across major DSPs.
“Abule”is the word for village or hood in the Yoruba dialect, and the track, a celebration of PATORANKING’s Lagos neighborhood, Ebute Metta, and of hoods worldwide, is shaping up to be his most universal release to date. It was the most played afrobeats song on Audiomack during its first week of release, reaching 1 million plays on that platform alone in under 5 days.
PATORANKING has launched several digital initiatives to follow the track’s theme of repping and protecting your hood. He recently joined TikTok’s #SpiritsUp campaign, an initiative by the video-sharing social media platform to support its recent launch in Africa, with the #AbuleDanceChallenge. As part of the partnership, TikTok SA is donating funds for communities across Africa in need of Coronavirus relief.
PATORANKING is also encouraging fans to rep their respective hood/area/zanga/zone/endz by creating custom graphics at repyourabule.com. Site visitors enter the name of their community, and upload or choose an existing background image on the site, which they can then instantly download and/or share to social media with the hashtag #repyourabule.
In addition to Three, PATORANKING can be heard on the new version of Bob Marley’s “One Love” alongside Stephen Marley, Skip Marley and other members of the international music community, with all proceeds going to support Unicef’s Covid-19 relief efforts. He recently created the ALU Patoranking Scholarship, offering 10 fully-paid scholarships for promising students from across Africa to attend the prestigious African Leadership University, and was featured in Forbes Africa’s 30 under 30 class for 2020.
Kwawkese feat. Mugeez (R2Bees) – Mente Mpo
Multiple award-winning Ghanaian Hiplife/Hip-Hop artist and MadTime Entertainment head honcho, Emmanuel Kofi Botchwey, widely known by fans as Kwaw Kese aka ”Abodam” has today released his sixth studio album, ”Victory”.
The 10-track record sets off with a song of its namesake, ‘Victory’. Programmed by Ghanaian US-based Ghanaian multi-platinum and #1 Billboard producer, Coptic (for/feat. Notorious BIG, NIKE, P. Diddy, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Trey Songz etc.), ‘Victory’ takes a dive into Kwaw Kese’s journey in showbiz. It highlights some dark moments in his career, such as the wave of depression that hit him after the gruesome murder of his then manager and good friend, Fennec Okyere. Kwaw Kese also pays homage to God for his life, which is one of ample success; ”Onyame nim wo story, before you got the glory”, he raps.
Next up is ‘Good Man’, the first to register a feature on the album. It features celebrated Dancehall and Reggae artists, Stonebwoy and Black Prophet which is a welcome plus. Other tracks on the record include: ‘Mente Mpo’ (feat. Mugeez); ‘Kapa’ and ‘Cash Up’ (feat. Skonti). Kwaw Kese also enlisted a scope of producers in the frame of Zodiac, Skonti, MOG Beatz and platinum US-based producer, Majestic Drama, to better realize his sixth project. Prior to release, Kwaw Kese released a streak of well-received singles such as the Tony Gynz-produced ‘Dondo’ (Remix) which featured Medikal, Skonti, Mr Eazi and Sarkodie, a Skonti-produced song, ‘Love and Affection’ (feat. Black Prophet) and finally, ‘Bottles’ (feat. Kwesi Arthur).
Speaking on why he titled the album ”Victory”, Kwaw Kese explained, ”I believe I’m an overcomer after going through a lot of ups and downs and still managing to keep up afloat”. ”My plan for the album is to reach out to anyone going through hell in life to remember that, with hardwork and determination, they can become victorious in whatever battle they face”, he concluded.
Renowned for his versatility, universal sound, relatable lyrics and highly energetic performances, it’s an understatement to say the ”King of the Streets” hasn’t been a force to reckon with over the years. Kwaw Kese has performed in Australia, Antigua, Germany, Holland, Italy, South Africa, the United Kingdom, as well as the United States of America, to name a few. He has also recorded with a host of top-flight artists such as Wyclef Jean, 2Face Idibia (now 2Baba), Professor J from Tanzania, Sarkodie, Brymo, New York’s Memphis Bleek, Rell and a myriad of other top Ghanaian acts. Add the above to his mouth-watering discography and Kwaw Kese packs a résumé worth dying for.
All in all, ”Victory” is a captivating body of work, filled with feature-packed songs that are built on strong production values. It’s a record befitting of its title and one that helps paint a vivid picture of Kwaw Kese’s journey in showbiz.
Nomcebo Zikode feat. Master KG – Xola Moya Wam
Singer Nomcebo Zikode returns with a brand new single Xola Moya Wam. The Afro House production which features Master KG debuted on radio stations during the week but has now been released commercially.
Nomcebo bursted into bigger limelight following her legendary collaboration with fellow Open Mic Production star Master KG on Jerusalema. She also helped DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small craft the single Msindisi off their Once Upon In Lockdown project… Like Msindisi, the new single has Amapiano elements.
There you have it! 10 Songs You Need To Hear This Week.
