Tag: afro pop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Since exploding into the scene back in 2017, the acclaimed Kinshasa-based collective KOKOKO! have captivated audiences globally with a striking, forward-thinking, dance floor friendly sound. The Congolese outfit’s full-length debut, Fongola was released to widespread critical acclaim with DJ Mag writing that it was “quite unlike anything else you’ll hear,” and The Guardian calling the collective a “commanding new voice.” 

Building upon a growing profile, the band played attention grabbing sets across the global festival circuit, including All Points East, SXSW, Green Man and Pitchfork Festival. The Congolese outfit was named best live band by the likes of AIF, NPR Tiny Desk and Boiler Room. 

Thematically and aesthetically, the acclaimed Congolese outfit has had a long-held, fiercely activist and political slant. The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to experience serious human rights violations, including mass killings within the context of armed conflict and inter-communal violence, as well as crackdown on dissent and ill-treatment of detainees. People residing in regions affected by a variety of armed conflict are deeply impacted amid mass displacement and other deepening humanitarian crises. Additionally, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s wealth of natural resources are routinely exploited by large, multi-national tech companies and other conglomerates, which helps to fuel even more conflict in the region. 

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, political protest using words carries a risk of imprisonment, so dissidents and performers often work with their bodies and sounds to express and signal their critiques and commentary. The acclaimed Congolese outfit’s highly anticipated sophomore album BUTU is slated for a July 5, 2024 release through Transgressive Records. The album reportedly sees the collective continuing to pair a resistant, punk-like energy and attitude, informed by the attitude and thoughts of a new generation of Congolese artists and young people with their attention grabbing block party alchemy, but pushed to new, global heights. 

Kinshasa’s after-dark buzz was one of the major inspirations behind BUTU, which means “the night” in Lingala, and the album dives deep into the heart of the chaotic, throbbing city, celebrating and championing the joyful and creative spirit of its inhabits. Continuing their ongoing collaboration with Belgian producer Xavier Thomas, a.k.a. Débruit, the forthcoming album reportedly sees the collective led by Makara Bianko channeling a more electronic-driven, upbeat sound while replicating the frenetic feel of their hometown’s dynamic nightlife: equipment is pushed to its limits through saturated and distorted speakers and the sonic push-and-pull of nighttime sounds. 

The band employs field recordings, recorded from the city’s nighttime sounds and “ready-made percussion” like detergent bottles,. the collective fed those sounds through distortion to get closer to those nighttime sounds. “Compared to Fongola, this album is intentionally way more intense, because it’s quite upbeat and quite full-on,” Xavier Thomas says. The album’s material also pulls from much wider influences and span across West Africa and South Africa, influenced by Bianko’s global travel, which introduced him to new types of alternative electronic music and punk. 

Last month, I wrote about “Mokili” a house music inspired banger featuring glistening synth arpeggios, relentlessly skittering hi-hats and tweeter and woofer rattling thump serving as a slickly produced bed for Bianko’s crooning and impassioned shouts. Continuing a remarkable run of club friendly material with an in-your-face punk attitude and ethos, “Mokili” captures the frenetic and sweaty energy of their hometown and its nightlife scene with an uncanny, novelistic realism. But along with that, the song is a forceful and joyous reminder that Africa is the present and the future. (If y’all didn’t know, by 2050 close to a quarter of the entire world will be African.) 

“’Mokili’ is about moving the world so much that it’s going to tip over sort of,” the acclaimed Congolese collective explains. “This track was a track we were used to trying live in a more improvised way, we never got the chance to record till recently where we added the right touch for the studio. It was the last addition to our album BUTU and became the first single, so it’s really fresh. It has obviously influences from Kinshasa but also Kwaito and 90’s dance music.”

BUTU‘s second and latest single “Salaka Bien” is a euphoric, trance-inducing banger anchored around percussion created on heavy ceramic pots and pans, glistening house music synth stabs and skittering beats that helps to emphasize Bianko’s punchy and swaggering delivery singing lyrics full of winking sexual innuendo. If this track doesn’t fire you up and get you moving, you’re probably dead — literally and figuratively.

“It’s a bass line driven track, with a lot of influences, like punk funk meeting old house stabs with a trance feeling!” The acclaimed Congolese collective explain. “When we play it live there are moments of overwhelming feeling building till it explodes and people let go totally. Do it, do it good, do it till you break it”.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: KOKOKO! Shares Club-Rocking Ode to Kinshasa’s Nightlife

Since exploding into the scene back in 2017, the acclaimed Kinshasa-based collective KOKOKO! have captivated audiences globally with a striking, forward-thinking, dance floor friendly sound. The Congolese outfit’s full-length debut, Fongola was released to widespread critical acclaim with DJ Mag writing that it was “quite unlike anything else you’ll hear,” and The Guardian calling the collective a “commanding new voice.”

Building upon a growing profile, the band played attention grabbing sets across the global festival circuit, including All Points East, SXSW, Green Man and Pitchfork Festival. The Congolese outfit was named bad live band by the likes of AIF, NPR Tiny Desk and Boiler Room.

Thematically and aesthetically, the acclaimed Congolese outfit has had a long-held, fiercely activist and political slant. The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to experience serious human rights violations, including mass killings within the context of armed conflict and inter-communal violence, as well as crackdown on dissent and ill-treatment of detainees. People residing in regions affected by a variety of armed conflict are deeply impacted amid mass displacement and other deepening humanitarian crises. Additionally, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s wealth of natural resources are routinely exploited by large, multi-national tech companies and other conglomerates, which helps to fuel even more conflict in the region.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, political protest using words carries a risk of imprisonment, so dissidents and performers often work with their bodies and sounds to express and signal their critiques and commentary. The acclaimed Congolese outfit’s highly anticipated sophomore album BUTU is slated for a July 5, 2024 release through Transgressive Records. The album reportedly sees the collective continuing to pair a resistant, punk-like energy and attitude, informed by the attitude and thoughts of a new generation of Congolese artists and young people with their attention grabbing block party alchemy, but pushed to new, global heights.

Kinshasa’s after-dark buzz was one of the major inspirations behind BUTU, which means “the night” in Lingala, and the album dives deep into the heart of the chaotic, throbbing city, celebrating and championing the joyful and creative spirit of its inhabits. Continuing their ongoing collaboration with Belgium producer Xavier Thomas, a.k.a. Débruit, the forthcoming album reportedly sees the collective led by Makara Bianko channeling a more electronic-driven, upbeat sound while replicating the frenetic feel of their hometown’s dynamic nightlife: equipment is pushed to its limits through saturated and distorted speakers and the sonic push-and-pull of nighttime sounds.

The band employs field recordings, recorded from the city’s nighttime sounds and “ready-made percussion” like detergent bottles,. the collective fed those sounds through distortion to get closer to those nighttime sounds. “Compared to Fongola, this album is intentionally way more intense, because it’s quite upbeat and quite full-on,” Xavier Thomas says. The album’s material also pulls from much wider influences and span across West Africa and South Africa, influenced by Bianko’s global travel, which introduced him to new types of alternative electronic music and punk.

BUTU‘s first single “Mokili” is a house music-informed banger featuring glistening synth arpeggios, relentlessly skittering hi-hats, tweeter and woofer rattling thump serving as a slickly produced bed for Bianko’s crooning and impassioned shouts. Continuing a remarkable run of club friendly material with an in-your-face punk attitude and ethos, “Mokili” captures the frenetic and sweaty energy of their hometown and its nightlife scene with an uncanny, novelistic realism. But along with that, the song is a forceful and joyous reminder that Africa is the present and the future. (If y’all didn’t know, by 2050 close to a quarter of the entire world will be African.)

“’Mokili’ is about moving the world so much that it’s going to tip over sort of,” the acclaimed Congolese collective explains. “This track was a track we were used to trying live in a more improvised way, we never got the chance to record till recently where we added the right touch for the studio. It was the last addition to our album BUTU and became the first single, so it’s really fresh. It has obviously influences from Kinshasa but also Kwaito and 90’s dance music.”

Filmed by Erick Abidal Editing with Creative FX BY Myrtille Moniot in Kinshasa, the video sees the Congolese collective taking over the media seemingly by force, even without Internet signal. And throughout they let the world dive into the surreal and energetic scenes and people they come across in their hometown.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: N’Faly Kouyaté Shares Breezy, Genre-Defying “Premiers Pas”

Guinean-born, Belgian-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist N’Faly Kouyaté has had a long-held interest in bridging the distinct worlds he inhabited mos too his life: the ancient and the modern, his native Africa and the West. Growing up, Kouyaté received a rigorous and traditional Guinean musical education. When he later relocated to Belgium, he received traditional Western conservatory training.

Throughout his lengthy career, Kouyaté has collaborated with an eclectic and diverse array of internationally acclaimed artists across a wide range of styles and genres, including Peter Gabriel, William Kentridge, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, Ray Phiri and others. But by far, the Guinean-born, Belgian-based artist may be best known for his work with the Grammy Award-nominated, groundbreaking, genre-defying outfit Afro Celt Sound System. 

Kouyaté’s solo debut reportedly sees the acclaimed Guinean-born, Belgian-based artist creating and developing a new genre which he dubbed Afrotonix, which seems him pairing polyphony, electronic production and traditional African instruments like the kora, the balafon and regional percussion instruments.

The Guinean-born, Belgian-based artist’s latest single “Premiers Pas” is a slickly produced, breezy, hook-driven bit of pop featuring atmospheric synths paired with twinkling kora, a supple yet propulsive bass line and skittering tweeter and woofer rattling beats with Kouyaté’s plaintive delivery singing lyrics in Malinké and French. While being club and lounge friendly, the song is rooted in several powerful and urgent messages with the song being a cry for African autonomy without colonial influence, but the song also seeks and demands a more equitable world for all, as Kouyaté also calls out abuse in both the workplace and domestic spheres.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Lakista Chance Shares Sleek and Flirty “Load”

Lakista Chance is a mysterious and emerging Congolese artist. Although little is currently known about her, Chance’s latest single, the flirty and self-assured “Load” is a sleek and slickly produced blend of infectious grooves, Afrobeats and reggaeton rhythms and Congolese melodies that’s club and lounge friendly.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Les Amazones d’Afrique Share Sleek and Righteous “Kuma Fo (What They Say)”

Founded in Bamako back in 2014 by three renowned Malian artists and social change activities Mamani Keïta, Oumou Sangaré and Amadou & Mariam‘s Mariam Doumbia, Les Amazones d’Afrique is a All-Star collective of female, West African artists that embraces international voices through a meshing of heritage and new generation talent while advocating for the rights of women and girls across the continent and elsewhere. Since their formation, the collective has expanded to involve female artists from across Africa and the African Diaspora, including Angélique Kidjo, Nneka, and rising Malian artist Rokia Koné.

Through the release of two critically applauded, Doctor L-produced albums, 2017’s République Amazone, which landed on The Guardian‘s Top 50 of 2017 and 2020’s Amazones Power, which was featured on President Barack Obama’s Spotify playlist, the collective firmly cemented a sound that blends a number of African styles and richly melodic, collaborative harmonies with gritty, contemporary pop. Adding to a growing profile internationally, the members of the pan-African collective have played Glastonbury Festival‘s Pyramid Stage and BBC’s Later . . . with Jools Holland.

Les Amazones d’Afrique’s third album, the forthcoming Jacknife Lee-produced Musow Danse is slated for a February 16, 2023 release through Real World Records. The album reportedly sees the collective embracing a contemporary pop that draws from contemporary hip-hop and trap and is driven by 808s and glitchy synths while still vociferously campaigning for gender equality and the eradication of ancestral violence.

The All-Star collective’s latest single, and first off their forthcoming album, the sleek and hyper modern “Kuma Fo (What They Say)” features five members of the collective — longtime members Mamani Keïta, Fafa Ruffino and Kandy Guira and new members Alvie Bitemo, an activist and actress from Congo-Brazzaville and renowned Ivorian artist Dobet Gnahoré — singing in the native languages from Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, C’ôte d’Ivoire, and Congo-Brazzaville. Built around stuttering 808s, glitchy synths and the collective’s gorgeous powerhouse vocals, “Kuma Fo (What They Say)” is a seamless synthesis of the ancient and contemporary that’s roomy enough for each artist to showcase their unique talents while still rooted in a powerfully relevant social message, advocating for women to step out and seize their place at the proverbial table.

“‘Kuma Fo’ is about women’s freedom of expression.” Alvie Bitemo says. “It’s about speaking up — not asking, not waiting for us to be given the floor. We need to seize it.”

When you look at the Amazons of Dahomey, it was female warriors who made the decisions and took power. It feels like since colonization, certain countries in Africa have moved further away from women’s rights. And in this song, we say that if you bring life into the world, you educate, you organize the family, then you should reclaim your power: your female power.”

Directed by Valérie Malot and Odhrán Mullan, the gorgeous and cinematically shot video was mostly shot in Morocco during the collective’s visit to perform at last summer’s Gnaoua World Music Festival in Essaouira — and displays the collective’s women with their regal, self-assured power and in gorgeous traditional outfits.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Mariaa Siga Shares Breezy and Uplifting “Mame Bamba”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of years, you’d probably recall that I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering Senegalese-born and-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay Mariaa Siga. 

So far, Siga has released three singles, which I’ve written about on this site:

  • “Le murmure des anges,” a track that saw her collaborating with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and buoyant reggae riddim paired with a slow-burning and soulful guitar solo and the Senegalese-born and-based artist’s expressive delivery. “Le murmure des angels” is a song that does two things — give thanks to the enteral while reminding listeners that they should listen to the little voice inside of us, which arms us with much-needed confidence; that voice that frequently says “You know, you got this. You know you’re dope.” 

  • “Ni Mama,” which in her native Diola means “I’m Leaving” sees the JOVM mainstay continuing her ongoing collaboration with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and breezily upbeat reggae riddim paired with wah wah pedalled guitar, shimmering keys serving as a supple bed for the Senegalese artist’s effortlessly soulful and earnest vocal. “Ni Mama” features lyrics in both her native Diola and in French that discuss a familiar sensation for many of us — the need to escape things when daily pressure and stress becomes overwhelming.

  • The FissBassBeats-produced “Daaray Dunya,” a track that saw the Senegalese artist alternating between singing and spitting bars about the difficulties young people face in a mad, mad, mad, mad world while still continuing to hold on to the belief that they have bright future ahead of them. FissBassBeats contributes a tweeter and woofer rattling drill production featuring looped guitar, skittering beats and deep low end. While “Daaray Dunya” is a bit of a sonic departure from her previously released singles, it continues the Senegalese artist’s unique meshing of the ancient and the modern.

Siga’s fourth single, “Mame Bamba” was recorded in Montpelier, France and continues her ongoing collaboration with Artikal Band. Built around a lush and soulful reggae-influenced riddim featuring a supple bass line, shuffling rhythm and twinkling keys paired with the Senegalese JOVM mainstay’s gorgeous vocal, “Mame Bamba” much like the previously released material pairs social messages with breezy and uplifting arrangements.

The Senegalese JOVM mainstay explains that the song pays tribute to Cheikh Amadou Bamba, a Senegalese poet and the founder of the Mouride Brotherhood, a Sufi Islamic sect best known for its focus on work and non-violent resistance to the French.

Directed by Mao Sidbé, the accompanying video reverentially honors Senegalese women, showcasing their industriousness, their beauty and kindness.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Vincent Bugozi Shares Earnest and Summery “Be Honest”

Vincent Bugozi is a Tanzanian-born, London-based artist, bandleader and JOVM mainstay. Along with his backing band, Bugozi specializes in a genre-defying and crowd-pleasing take on Afro Pop that meshes elements of of Afrobeat, reggae, Afro-Cuban music and pop among others.

The Tanzanian-born, London-based artist and his backing band aim to combine the sounds of different cultures to connect people through music and an energetic live show — and help bring positivity and unity in a world that desperately needs it. Bugozi and company will be releasing their latest album AFRICAN SEBA! later this year. Inspired by Tanzanian Tinga Tinga art, AFRICAN SEBA! sees the act drawing inspiration from an eclectic array of sources and collaborating with a collection of musicians from the United Kingdom and European Union, while still deeply rooted in the sounds and styles of Africa. Thematically, the album’s material touches upon the “big themes” — love, sorrow and joy. Interestingly enough, the album will be his first multilingual album. 

So far I’ve written about three of the album’s singles:

  • “Tinga Tinga,” a breezy, genre-smashing banger featuring skittering dancehall-meet-trap beats, 80s Quiet Storm soul-like saxophone and twinkling keys paired with Bugozi’s plaintive vocals and an infectious, razor sharp hook. Pulling from a variety of sounds and styles across the African Diaspora, the song manages to be a wildly accessible bop that will get a lounge or a club rocking and grooving. 

  • “Bossa Nova” is a slickly produced, seamlessly mesh of elements of Afro-pop, reggaeton and Bossa Nova that further cements Bugozi and company’s unerring knack for catchy hooks. 

  • “African Fever,” a track that continues a remarkable run of crowd-pleasing bops featuring a production that meshes elements of dancehall, Afropop, Afrobeats and contemporary electro pop paired with a sultry, dance floor rocking groove.

AFRICAN SEBA!‘s fourth and latest single “Be Honest” pairs Bugozi’s plaintive and yearning R&B delivery with paired with a sleek, glitchy club and lounge friendly production featuring skittering beats, wobbling low end and glistening synth arpeggios and the JOVM mainstay’s unerring knack for catching hooks. But underneath the slick, club friendly production is an earnest, lived-in plea to a lover — or love interest — for honesty, before their heart is unnecessarily broken.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstay Mariaa Siga Teams up with FissBassBeats on a Banger

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering Senegalese-born and-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay Mariaa Siga.

So far this year, she has released two singles which I’ve written about:

  • “Le murmure des anges,” a track that saw her collaborating with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and buoyant reggae riddim paired with a slow-burning and soulful guitar solo and the Senegalese-born and-based artist’s expressive delivery. “Le murmure des angels” is a song that does two things — give thanks to the enteral while reminding listeners that they should listen to the little voice inside of us, which arms us with much-needed confidence; that voice that frequently says “You know, you got this. You know you’re dope.” 

  • “Ni Mama,” which in her native Diola means “I’m Leaving” sees the JOVM mainstay continuing her ongoing collaboration with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and breezily upbeat reggae riddim paired with wah wah pedalled guitar, shimmering keys serving as a supple bed for the Senegalese artist’s effortlessly soulful and earnest vocal. “Ni Mama” features lyrics in both her native Diola and in French that discuss a familiar sensation for many of us — the need to escape things when daily pressure and stress becomes overwhelming.

The JOVM mainstay’s latest single “Daaray Dunya,” was produced by FissBassBeats and sees the Senegalese artist singing and rhyming about the difficulties young people, who struggle to get by in a mad, mad, mad world, and yet continue to believe that they have a bright future. FissBassBeats contributes a tweeter and woofer rattling drill production featuring looped guitar, skittering beats and deep low end. While “Daaray Dunya” is a bit of a sonic departure from her previously released singles, it continues the Senegalese artist’s unique meshing of the ancient and the modern.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Ba Banga Nyeck Shares Breezy and Uplifting “Les champions du futur”

Ba Banga Nyeck is a Alsace, France-based, Cameroonian-Ivorian singer/songwriter, musician and producer, who invented a chromatic balafon, a gourd resonated xylophone, with which he traveled across the world, making stops here in the States, Japan, India and South Africa. Of course, during his travels, he saw the degradation of the planet’s environment.

His latest single, the breezy, hook-driven and polyrhythmic percussive bop “Les champions du futur” is rooted in a much-needed message — championing the preservation of our environment, before it’s too late. Adding to the overall message, the song features some instruments made from recycled and reclaimed materials paired with twinkling keys, glistening balafon, guitar and call and response vocals.

The accompanying and delightfully playful video for “Les champions de future” features Nyeck and his backing band performing the song with keyboards, guitar, horns and balafon, along with instruments made from recycled and reclaimed materials. We also see a chorus of young kids, also playing instruments made from recycled and reclaimed materials. Let’s remember that those babies in the video are the future we should be fighting for.