10 Songs You Need To Hear This Week’ is a 10-track-listing playlist highlighting the best songs released over the past few days from Africa and the Caribbean (Jamaica).
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DaBaby ft. Davido – Showing Off Her Body
Award-winning American rapper DaBaby visited Nigeria in May 2022, where he was hosted by Davido, a leading figure in Nigerian afrobeat music. Pictures and videos of Davido and DaBaby circulated online, followed by behind-the-scenes looks at a video shoot for one of their joint projects.
The two’s long-awaited collaboration, titled “Showing Off Her Body,” has at last been released. An accompanying music video has also been released to complement this song.
Balloranking ft. Bella Shmrda – Elevate (Remix)
With an exquisite remix of his well-known song “Elevate,” Balogun Olamilekan, also known as Balloranking, continues the successful year he has had so far. He recruits Nigerian street-hop singer Bella Shmurda for the remix, and he turns up another excellent verse.
Bils ft. Liya – Undiluted Love
Bils (Built In Lagos State) always goes all in. Three years after the release of his aspirational seven-track EP Mans on the Move, the US-based Afropop act returns with the slightly pensive but always probing BAD GUYS NEED LOVE TOO, measuring the currency of love and the fickleness of attraction in cahoots with some of Afropop’s most storied acts across six tracks.
Decidedly turning the love mania of Afropop on its head, the singer opens the EP with “Breakfast Anthem”, a sulky, choral breakup anthem that introspects on the inevitability of romantic heartbreak. In other places, Bils flips the narrative, rendering himself the pantomime villain, responsible for whatever angst exists in his relationships on club-ready dance tracks like the Ice Prince- and Big Klef-featuring “Reconsider” and “2 Chicks”, which teases his rebound fantasies.
On the back half of BAD GUYS NEED LOVE TOO, Bils moves into confessional territory, emoting over the bleak hi-hats and muted snares of “Undiluted Love” with DMW’s Liya before rounding things off with a pair of incendiary verses on “Chrome Heart”. It’s a high-octane closer that ensures catharsis after a project spent building up defenses and letting them down in pursuit of love.
Mzvee ft. Kwesi Arthur – Flex
‘Flex’ is the second track housed under Mzvee’s latest album ’10 Thirty’ and it features Ghanaian singer-songwriter and rapper Kwesi Arthur.
In a 10-year career that has seen her go from girl-band lead singer to solo showstopper, MzVee has seen it all—first conquering the Afropop landscape with her dexterous fusion of dancehall, R&B and soul before retreating from the spotlight for a brief mid-career-hiatus.
The album that announced her comeback, 2020’s InVeecible, was a defiant addition to her oeuvre that reintroduced her to a public baying for her music. On her fifth album, 10 Thirty, released to celebrate turning 30, the Accra-born singer curates a polished musical offering in homage to herself, touching on themes of contentment, love and self-care with stirring contributions from a cross-continental cast.
Across 10 songs with influences from hip-hop, bongo flava, Afrobeats, highlife and amapiano, MzVee gives fascinating insight into her life, tapping Nigerian street pop star Bella Shmurda for a humorous plea to be left in her lane (“Abeg”) that segues into the Kofi Kinaata-featuring empowerment anthem “Winner”.
Yemi Alade and Tiwa Savage, two of Afropop’s foremost female voices, join MzVee on “Dumebi” and “Coming Home”, respectively, adding their Midas touch to an album that’s primarily about finding peace within and finding joy in the midst of all the world’s mayhem.
Strongman ft. Mr. Drew – Sing Your Name
Talented Ghanaian rapper, Strongman continues his successful year in 2022 with yet another track. He treats his followers and listeners to the Afrobeat song “Sing Your Name,” which features Mr. Drew, a Ghanaian singer-songwriter and performer.
The song “Sing Your Name” features an exquisite hook performed by Mr. Drew and a signature Strongman rap verse.
On the production front, high-profile Ghanaian music producer Master Garzy engineered the production of this song.
Ice Prince ft. Seyi Vibez & Ceeza Milli – Hustle
A new song by Ace Nigerian rapper and songwriter Ice Prince called Hustle has been released. The rapper teams up with talented singer Ceeza Milli and burgeoning Nigerian music star Seyi Vibez on the new tune.
Ice Prince’s first official single of the year is “Hustle,” which was co-produced by upcoming beatmakers SB and Yuba. It is a sequel to the single “Shakara,” which was produced by CKay.
Mzvee ft. Bella Shmurda – Abeg
‘Abeg’ is the third track housed under Mzvee’s latest album ’10 Thirty’ and it features Nigerian singer-songwriter Bella Shmurda.
In a 10-year career that has seen her go from girl-band lead singer to solo showstopper, MzVee has seen it all—first conquering the Afropop landscape with her dexterous fusion of dancehall, R&B and soul before retreating from the spotlight for a brief mid-career hiatus.
The album that announced her comeback, 2020’s InVeecible, was a defiant addition to her oeuvre that reintroduced her to a public baying for her music. On her fifth album, 10 Thirty, released to celebrate turning 30, the Accra-born singer curates a polished musical offering in homage to herself, touching on themes of contentment, love and self-care with stirring contributions from a cross-continental cast.
Across 10 songs with influences from hip-hop, bongo flava, Afrobeats, highlife and amapiano, MzVee gives fascinating insight into her life, tapping Nigerian street pop star Bella Shmurda for a humorous plea to be left in her lane (“Abeg”) that segues into the Kofi Kinaata-featuring empowerment anthem “Winner”.
Yemi Alade and Tiwa Savage, two of Afropop’s foremost female voices, join MzVee on “Dumebi” and “Coming Home”, respectively, adding their Midas touch to an album that’s primarily about finding peace within and finding joy in the midst of all the world’s mayhem.
Krizbeatz ft. Bella Shmurda & Rayvanny – Wild Party
Nigerian producer cum singer Krizbeatz adds to his impressive discography, a new mellifluous song titled ‘Wild Party’ and it features Nigerian street-hop act Bella Shmurda and Tanzanian singer, Rayvanny. Production credits to Krizbeatz.
Kida Kudz & Mr. Dutch – Never Stopping
‘World Citizens’ is a joint project by prolific artists Kida Kudz and Mr Dutch. The four-track project is a cumulation of talent and sounds that is set to assure the listeners that Kida Kudz is the best alternative rapper flourishing in the Hip Hop and Afrobeat scheme. The name pre-empts the message in the collaboration project as the music is basically a stamp from fans all over the world- real-world citizens.
Kida Kudz and Mr Dutch fuse various sounds from the Afrobeats scene from both Nigeria and the UK evoking upbeat emotions and setting ablaze a party aura. Focusing the better part of 2022 on creating timeless numbers such as “Rocket Launcher” sees them bragging to their muse of their material property and their capability to provide whatever they want. Packing euphoric numbers such as “Dancing Animal” which is guaranteed to be a fan favourite both on playlists and on the dancefloor they blow up their sonic tempo transitioning into a mellow serenading soundscape.
With a vision of ensuring an Afrobeat feeling when listening to the album, Kida Kudz and Mr. Dutch employed renowned producers such as Barry Jhay creating an illusion of Nigeria while signing off the project. For Kida Kudz who is making a comeback after the release of ‘Top Member’ in 2021 and serving as a debut project for Mr Dutch, the project is a compilation of summer vibes and authentic Afro aura.
Kurl Songx & Mr Drew – Wow
After taking a long absence, talented Ghanaian singer-songwriter Kurl Songx is back on the music world. On the song “Wow,” he collaborates once again with Mr. Drew, his former Highly Spiritual labelmate.
Following Kurl Songx’s departure from the record company, Mr. Drew and he got into a fight about a purported song theft. That has been resolved and the duo have since performed together more than once.
There you have it, these are the 10 Best Songs You Need To Hear This Week.
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