African music stars to look out for in 2021 Part 1

Its rare for artists to break into super star status especially in africa. In the last 10 years, very few names have made an impact across Africa. Some of them like Diamond Platnumz, Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Cassper Nyovest have made it after working for years in the background. Here is a list of some artists who are likely to achieve the same level of success

 

Nadia Mukami

 

 

The East african songstress and queen of the collabo is destined to break into the African music space. She seems to already be calling it into existence since her tag is "African Pop star." Her most underrated skill is her writing, penning most if not all of her hottest songs. Her star has risen and blown up In just about three years since establishing her career in Kenya's music industry, raising the hope that she will be one of Africa's most potent singers.

 

Sha Sha - South Africa

 

The Zimbabwean born crooner has been building her repertoire for the last couple of years on the underground scene. She released her first single "Miss Independent" in 2015 and immediately made a mark. She was a middling success until 2019 when she featured on the littest amapiano hits like MFR Souls' "Love You Tonight" and Samthing Soweto's "Akulaleki." She also released her debut EP, Blossom, that showcased her versatility. The release contains hints of amapiano, R&B, pop, soul and EDM. She joined DJ Maphorisa's label, Blaqboy Music and with two songs passing the coveted 1 million mark in 2020, her star is definitely on the rise.

 

Tems - Nigeria

 

 

The 25 year old singer, Tems is a Nigerian singer, focused on promoting the movement currently shaping alternative music in Nigeria to advance the culture and conversations alike.
Her voice has been compared to that of Tracy Chapman's the soultry queen of soul.
She was recently recruited (with Davido) by Khalid for his 'Know Your Worth (Remix)', further cementing her as a buddging international star with heavy artistic chops.

Even though she was recently arrested in Uganda, this small escapade is created a groundswell of support for her and some notoriety.

“Try Me”, Tems’ most recent drop, is setting her up for greatness having passed the one million mark on YouTube. Watch it below...

 

Biggest African songs of 2020 Part 1

2020 has been a great year for african music, despite the pandemic and the lack of gigs and touring. More listeners around the world have been exposed to great african music from our stars. From burnaboy to wizkid, Mr Eazi to Master KG, the world has heard the best that Africa has to offer.

Odogwu by Burna Boy
Burna's second single of the year is Odogwu. It.s an igbo name and title that means a great or accomplished man. Burna Boy revealed he was called “Odogwu” when he went to Igbo land and this inspired the title and attitude of the song. Hence, he announces that hes flown over every obstacle to be recognized, and the same way, nobody can stop you. The song is a new twist on Afro fusion and what success looks like for Burnaboy. It paints him as who he is, one of Africa's greatest musicians and stars.Give it a listen below...

SIMI

 

Duduke by Simi
One of 2020's biggest tracks, duduke was a smashing hit and one of the biggest of the year. Produced by well known Oscar, Simi's ‘Duduke’ was thought to be a lovers song for one's partner but the release of the video showed that the intention is to celebrate the unique love a mother shares with her child. Since its April release, it's extremely popular all over Africa with dozens of millions of streams and a number of great covers.

 

Master KG

 

Jerusalema - Master KG
If this was an award ceremony, Jerusalema would have won by a huge margin. The south african banger was one of the biggest songs in the world and is likely to hit a billion views in 2021 / 2022. It spawned a super viral dance challenge months after it's release and a remix with Burnaboy in November.