By Yinoluwa Olowofoyeku
Greetings, friends and dear fellow travelers. Welcome back to our most adventurous of voyages around the musical landscapes of Africa and her diaspora. We continue on our expedition to discover beautiful music gems to decorate our playlists with. This week, we were rocked by a storm! (I got quite sick) but we pressed on bravely and did not allow that to discourage us. We were also fueled by a selection of wonderful new creative albums to select from so the playlist was not hampered.
Before we get to this week’s playlist, I’d like to remind you that the second edition of the monthly editorial playlist is currently available. This features the crème de la crème from weeks 5-8, and the information can be found on our DSP pages and our socials @Afrocritik so follow us to stay informed. Also, don’t miss out on the opportunity to get your own music featured on the playlists. Send an email to yinoluu@afrocritik.com for further details on how to get your work considered.
And now, without further ado, we can dive right in to the eleventh edition of the Afrocritik Weekly Music Spotlight which plays host to:
- A Few Big Names: Adekunle Gold gives us a little treat with his Tio Tequila pack represented here by “Do You Mind?,” and “Omo Eko,” superstar producer Juls is back with a new globetrotting offering called “Terrified,” Mr. Eazi teams up with Chop Life Sound System and many more for the Amapiano album Chop Life, Vol 1:Mzansi Chronicles which gives us “Wena,” “Die For You,” and “Indaba”…
- Sensual Afro-R&B Fusions: Nonso Amadi’s stellar debut album When It Blooms is chock-full of wonderful songs such as “Night In Maryland,” “Eye to Eye,” and “Pieces”, Mannywellz’s Don’t Tell Anyone is right up there too, providing “Everything”, “Ouu Ahh,” and “Magic,” Bella Alubo is at her best on “Sober,” and Ugcobo gives us “Umjolo O Healthy” off her Nomfundo Moh project…
- A Sprinkling Of Rap: Our light selection of tracks this week is mostly comprised of “No Fila,” “Rap Jesu,” and “Plan B” off Mojo AF & Ronehi’s boisterous I Know You Miss Me project, “Dancing In The Rain,” and “Everything Is Everything” from DAP The Contract’s incredible PW3RS album, “Mets Dedans” and “Petit Freestyle” come off Widgunz’s decent Francophone rap project Entre Parentheses II, a fun feature from Wale on South African rapper Kwesta’s “Spirit” single …
- Our Weekly Dose of Amapiano: This week’s Amapiano vibes come with a fitting Afro House dessert. This week we have a trio of gentle gems from Msaki’s Platinumb Heart Beating album in “Kuja Utanipata,” “Mjolo for Who,” and “Tomorrow Silver”, even more selections from Mas Musiq’s NINI na NINI album like “Sbali,” and “Uyandiphambanisa,” “Sgudi Sync”, “iThuba,” and “Kude” come off the Sgudi Sync EP by De Mthuda, Da Muziqal Chef & Kwiish SA …
All these highlights and more are waiting for you to peruse on the playlists you should see to the right of this page. If you have trouble with the playlists, feel free to find our profiles @Afrocritik on your music streaming service of choice and the playlists should show up there. I recommend you check out the albums named to find your own gems, too. Feel free to listen in the curated order or shuffle the playlist if you’re feeling adventurous. Either way, be sure to give the songs time to work their magic on you.
Don’t forget to add and follow the playlists, save your favourite songs as updates will be frequent, share the playlists with the people you care about, and get the information necessary to submit your own songs (or those of your people) by reaching out to yinoluu@afrocritik.com.
ENJOY!