The Songs You Need to Hear This Week
The best African music of the week featuring SPINALL, Ice Prince x Chopstix, Kwesta, Simi x Kizz Daniel, and more.
SPINALL walks the streets in the “Want You” music video.
Every week, OkayAfrica highlights the top Afrobeats and African music releases through our best music column, Songs You Need to Hear This Week.
Read ahead for our round-up of the best new African music tracks and music videos that came across our desks this week.
SPINALL – “Want You” feat. DESTIN CONRAD & JayO
With his first release of the year, veteran tastemakerSPINALL goes the sensual, mid-tempo route. The production swirls with a drum and guitar base that sets the body moving, resembling the lush soundscapes ofWizkidbut with even more urgency. On singing duties, the duo of DESTIN CONRAD and JayO deliver in tune with the innuendo-leaning direction of the song, painting imagery that shows how badly they want the girl. It’s a song that sounds ready-made for intimate settings, but its progression could also lend itself to more open events. – Emmanuel Esomnofu
DJ Lag, Sir Trill, Sykes - “Woza”
Sir Trill is on a roll. He kicked off the year deep in his amapiano bag with “ iMpumelelo,” then took it up a notch by returning to his rap roots on “iBele” alongside25K and Maglera Doe Boy. Now, he’s launched a daring incursion into Gqom withDJ Lag’s thunderous “Woza.” Joining him is Sykes – the voice behind hits withDlala Thukzin (“iPlan,” “Imoto”) and Kelvin Momo (“Bala”), a perfect partner-in-vibe. It’s a match forged on gqom dance floors, streaming platform playlists, public taxi speakers, and everywhere else, the sgubhu lands the hardest. In a press release, the producer shared that he started making the 3-Step-inspired beat while playing back-to-back sets with Thakzin, a mainstay in the 3-Step scene. “I wanted to capture my take on 3-Step while channeling Afro-Tech influences I’ve been spinning during live sets. When Sir Trill and Sykes added their magic, I knew I had something that merged my Gqom roots with a new sonic direction; it just felt right,” he said. – Tseliso Monaheng
BNXN & FOLA – “Very Soon”
When they first linked up, it was clear thatBNXN’s saccharine vocals beautifully complemented the brooding tones of FOLA. On “Very Soon,” they capitalize on that artistic similarity to craft another song of remarkable emotional power, as they sing about the aftermath of a breakup, promising to be better soon despite the lingering pain. With a melancholic soundboard, it’s a detailed view into the world of a character that’s going through the rubble with nothing but the resolute hope they’ll get on the other side. – EE
Kwesta - “Nyakanyaka”
Kwesta’s becoming, from a young gun ready to tear up any stage, collaborating across genres, to a grootman (elder) of the game, is the stuff of legends. Despite his longevity, he’s kept a youthful curiosity and a pen as sharp as the needles he steps on when the raps emerge. “Nyakanyaka,” off his latest album, The Big Bro Theory, is a masterclass in lyrical control. The way he bends words, forces them to obey him, and crafts rhyme schemes out of thin air is pure wizardry. His content is deeply local yet resonates globally. “I’m on my Tito, I’m in my bag,” he raps on the chorus, a slick (perhaps unintentional) nod to the late Tito Mboweni, South Africa’s former finance minister and first Black governor of the Reserve Bank. But he doesn’t stop at clever punchlines; he breaks syllables down, invents cadences, and feeds the ear pure gold. Rhyming “as we raise” with “temperature”? Just unfair. Kwesta remains an unmatched emcee. A superior artist. – TM
Simi – “Day By Day” feat. Kizz Daniel
It makes perfect sense thatSimiandKizz Daniel would do a song together. They both create music from the mundane elements of life, and the latter is in his most collaborative phase ever, stretching his distinct style to accommodate the musings of his talented peers. On “Day By Day,” the warm, percussive-driven production gives both artists the space to reflect on their blessings, even referencing Fido’s classic, which shares some sonic semblance with the newer record. It’s quite the feel-good affair we have here. – EE
Mashbeatz - “Nobody” (feat. Nasty C and Usimamane)
Earlier this week, a mix by Mashbeatz and DJ Sliqe was released online, featuring exclusives and unreleased heat that quickly went viral. One standout was “Nobody,” a lethal link-up between two of Durban’s finest in Nasty C and Usimamane. The former needs no introduction and, in the past decade that he has been active, has become somewhat of a figurehead for the new wave of South African hip-hop. The latter is a student of the game who’s carved his own lane with tracks like “Cheque” and “Uvalo” and delivered scene-stealing verses, most notably on Mashbeatz and Wordz’s 2024 epic, Only The Brave. On “Nobody,” we get two sentient emcees, high off their own brilliance, swaggering on a beat like it owes them money. “Can’t even jump in no mosh pit / PTSD, I’m from the kasi,” spits Nasty C, a reminder that his pen remains elite, and his run is far from over. – TM
