When we think about Drill music today, most people talk about Chicago and the United Kingdom’s influence on the world, but now, it has reached the continent of Africa, too. With highly-praised releases by Kofi Jamar (EKORSO) (November 2020), Jay Bahd (CONDEMN) (November 2020) and Yaw Tog (SORE) (September 2020), it is time to shine a bright light on Africa’s burgeoning stars.
Today, African music ambassador Richardine Bartee announces her new radio segment on UK’s Reprezent (107.3 FM) called ‘Universal Drill’. The 10-minute spot will air during ‘The Big Bang Show’ hosted by J Hart, Aaron Cohen, and Fifth God. When will it begin? This Spring.
“I’m excited about the opportunity, but I know how important it is to teach and be responsible when introducing music from different territories,” Richardine said. “I am a teacher, though, so I should be fine.”
Ghana is a hotbed for the sub-genre, ‘Asakaa’, with a name deriving from the streets in Kumasi. According to the description on iMullar’s ‘Asakaa’ playlist on Apple Music, the language is spoken mainly by Kumasi’s youth, ‘Saka’.
Richardine’s growing online fanbase has been instrumental in helping her put together the pieces. One of her followers connected her to Jess “Finesse” Chibueze, a Nigeria-based music curator with a Drill playlist called ‘The Flexlist’ after tweeting this:
I need African Drill songs/content for something special I am working on in April. Link me to the hottest African Drill tracks, artists, and labels pushing the sound to the forefront, please.
With support from the Afro-Splash page on Instagram for her outreach and recommendations from a weekly updated playlist curated by iMullar, Richardine plans to highlight the best releases from the continent and abroad. Also, it is essential to note that Pop Smoke’s posthumous album ‘Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon’ is the longest-running #1 Hip-Hop/R&B album since 1990. The world is ready.
If you have music that you want to share with her, Richardine has opened a new email address for Drill submissions. Drillers worldwide can email their pitches to [email protected].