D-Black Featuring MI Abaga – Champ (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Ghana’s D-Black and MI Abaga were invited to South Africa by SA Tourism a few months ago to help promote the nation in West Africa. While on the trip the two took the time of out of there schedule to shoot a video for their song Champ. Directed by Nick Campos the video is far from a complicated affair featuring the two rapper reciting their verses in front of a garage filed with two luxury super cars while taking occasional break to recite the verses inside the car.
African Hip Hop Blog Chart Watch January 30 2017
Words By Phil Chard
The team here at the African Hip Hop Blog are obsessed with numbers and trend analysis. To satiate our desire to figure out where urban and hip hop music is headed on the continent we have decided to start watching the charts and trying to see if we can read the tea leaves and see where consumer behaviour is trending..
We initially began #AHHBChartWatch on Twitter - where we would analyse the iTunes charts from the continent's three major markets ; South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. However we soon realised that daily updates were not necessary because the charts are pretty stagnant. For example the iTunes Nigeria album chart has been frozen for the past week.
For now we will be using Soundcharts to monitor iTunes charts and Myplaydata.com for the Nigerian radio charts. We do have plans to start collating data from Kenya and South Africa with details from other regions to follow soon after that.
SOUTH AFRICA
Singles
The South African charts are the most active charts in the region with a fair amount of churn in the top ten. As of today Monday the 30th of January 2017 - Migos train smash of a hit is number one. The song has been firmly rooted St the number one spot for a week now. The song appears on the list twice (No. 1 and 10). This is because the single version of the song and the album version of the song are now available since the release of Migos new album Culture.
The first local entry on the chart is OKMALUMKOOLKAT at number with the Gqi taken off his highly anticipated solo debut album.
The next and final entry on the chart is AKA with The World Is Yours. Expect the video for that on February 2.
Albums
The album chart is once again dominated by Migos. Okmalumkoolkat is at number 2. Mlazi Milano has been hopping around the top 3 spots daily for the last week peaking at its current position.
Nasty C's Bad Hair Extensions is currently at three. It too has been hopping around the charts. It peaked at number 2 within the last week before falling out of the top 10 completely only to surge up to number 3 on the 25th of January.
Once again the rest of the chart is dominated by American acts. Special mention must go to Drake and J Cole who have had all three if the km their last respective projects floating in and out of the tip ten.
Nigeria
SINGLES
The Nigerian chart is a little more stagnant when compared to the South African. Missy Elliott surged to number one today with her comeback single I'm Better. The only other appearances from African artists are from P-Square with Personally at 5 (released in 2014) and Caro by Starboy, LAX and Wizkid at 7 (released 2013).
Album
As mentioned before the iTunes album chart in Nigeria has been frozen for a week. M.I's Chairman is still number despite it being over 2 years old.
Kenya
Singles
The Kenyan singles chart has been dominated by Americans, particularly Wiz Khalifa. His song See You Again has been at number 1 for a month. Darassa's Muziki has been hopping around the top 3 spots over the last week. With A.Y's Zigo at 7 still holding strong over a year after it was released.
Album
The Kenyan album chart is dominated American albums and catalog albums like 2Pac's and The Notorious B.I.G's Greatest Hits compilations.
Myplaydata
Wizkid's Daddy Yo has jumped to number 1 and is now the biggest song in Nigeria a month after it was first released just before Christmas. Dammy Krane's and Davido's collaboration Izzue comes in at 2 while Runtown's Mad Over You has dropped from number 1 to 3. Tekno's Pana has now spent 27 weeks on the chart and jumped back into the top 5.
Lil Kesh – Ishe (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Fresh off starting his own label, Y.A.G.I Records, Nigerian artist Lil Kesh just dropped the video for Ishe. The song is heartfelt yet up-tempo song about all the sacrifices Kesh’s mother made for him and the role she played in his success. This is beautiful song, I even got little misty eyed.
The video was directed by Squareball Studio’s Adasa Cockey
Simon & Phil List Their Favourite South African-Nigerian Hip Hop Collabos
by Phil Chard
Nigeria and South Africa are undisputedly the two biggest powerhouses in the African music scene and, by extension, the African hip hop scene. Both countries are home to some of the biggest names in African hip hop, and when the two nations collaborate, it often produces some amazing work. With that in mind here are some of our favourite South African - Nigerian collaborations:
Undeniably the biggest SA-Naija collabo team right now is The A-Team, consisting of Da L.E.S, AKA and Burna Boy. The team has 5 singles in varying combinations since their formation- Special Someone, All Eyes On Me, Baddest, Birthday and Paid. Da L.E.S had discussed his interest in doing a full A-Team project in a few interviews, but noted that scheduling conflicts were hindering its completion. .
The two biggest beneficiaries and the South African – Nigerian Hip Hop Trade Scheme are undoubtedly AKA and Ice Prince. The two have mad enough songs that fit the criteria to fill an album.
AKA has manged to secure a number of big SA-Naija collaborations, the Super Mega was one of the first South African rappers to see the massive potential and benefits with the cross continental collabs. From working with Ice Prince on the N Word remix to the massively catchy Same Shit with Wande Coal to his current single with Nigerian Dancehall star Patoranking titled Special Fi Mi, AKA has been playing his part in facilitating the cultural exchange. AKA’s ear for new sounds and “no fee for collaborations” policy has also resulted in the Super Mega working with a number of upcoming artists and providing them with a much needed boost to their burgeoning careers. This was very evident when AKA got on the remix for one of the biggest songs of 2015 – EmTee’s Roll Up alongside Wizkid.
Since 2015, the youthful duo of EmTee and Nasty C have presented the most formidable threat to the dominance held by the old guard of successful rappers like AKA and Khuli Chana. In 2015 Nasty C cemented his arrival on the scene with the surprise commercial hit Juice Back. On the remix, the Durban ‘ute manged to rope in Nigerian superstar Davido and Cassper Nyovest.
The Motswakoriginator, Khuli Chana has also began looking further afield in recent years , working with the likes of Victoria Kimani and Muthoni, his two most impressive collaborations with Nigerian artists have come via E-Kelly’s production. The first of which was his massively popular No Lie that saw him working Patoranking. The second was the remix to YCee’s Condo which also featured KidX and Pato once again
South African DJ Dimples and his brand are synonymous with partying and party anthems. The DJ gave his turn up anthems the West African treatment when he enlisted Ice Prince and Emmy Gee for Bae Coupe and Burna Boy on the high energy Clean In This B.
Emmy Gee’s Rands and Nairas could be the poster child for South African - Nigerian Hip Hop collaborations; on the original he enlisted the help of AB Crazy who delivered one of his most impressive pieces of writing to date. On the remix for the massively popular song he upped the ante and recruited Cassper Nyovest & Anatii from South Africa and Ice Prince and Phyno from Nigeria to lend their verses to the hit single.
In 2014 Ice Prince was undoubtedly the biggest rapper on the continent. At the time he boasted over 500,000 followers on twitter (unheard of at the time) and everyone and their mama was clamouring for a verse from the Jos rapper. One of the few artists that managed to secure his services was L-Tido who got Ice to lend a verse to his song Fresh And Clean which was the fourth single off his sophomore album All Of Me.
Around the same time Ice Prince parlayed his massive popularity to get verse Sarkodie, Wizkid, M.I, Khuli Chana (Mercy Johnson dropped half a line. Her feature was window dressing)
Tweezy has had one of the most eventful careers in recent years. After producing three of the biggest songs on AKA’s album Levels, the producer has also been part of a few song writing controversies, awards show ticketing snafus and then a successful rebrand and transition from producer to performing artist. All within the space of two years!
His first singles as a solo artist was the song Ambitions. After receiving a positive response from critics and the populace alike Tweezy linked up with Khuli Chana, Victoria Kimani and Nigeria’s Ice Prince on the massively impressive remix.
In a recent conversation, M.I Abaga revealed that he just recorded a song with AKA and was keen to work with Nasty C. Long before talk of these high power collaborations floated across our timelines, the Chocolate City CEO did a song with Hip Hop Pantsula titled Superhuman that appeared on his Illegal Music II project.
And finally, the last song from this collaborative list of some of the best South African and Nigerian collabs is a song that has been my ringtone for close to a year now. Possibly one the of the best dance tracks to ever be released. A song by a Nigerian Rap/Pop star and a South African outfit more famous for their contributions to House. Banger by Runtown and Uhuru shall be taught in schools one day
There are also a number of impressive collaborations that appeared on albums that were not released as singles such as the only Doc Shebeleza remix we acknowledge featuring Burna Boy and Anatii’s Proper featuring Tiwa Savage. There is also Dreamteam’s Talk That Shit featuring AKA and Ice Prince.
Yung6ix Wants You To Put Some Respek On His Name
by Phil Chard
Despite his young career (no pun), Yung6ix has also found himself to be a lightning rod and regular topic of discussion on social media . From a number of ill advised tweets to a recent spat with Cynthia Morgan over a song she claims was leaked was leaked by 6ix and his team. The rapper has vehemently denied those claims and was left perplexed when Cynthia chose to air the issue of social media instead of contacting him directly. In that exchange a number of blogs misquoted him and kicked up another firestorm altogether.
Women and men are not the same, women need to respect themselves more than men
— KING6IX (@Yung6ix) April 28, 2016
You have my email and all my numbers, you couldn't contact me but go jump into conclusions like an athlete and insult me on social media smh
— KING6IX (@Yung6ix) July 14, 2016
Coupled with all this, there have been number of stories about Yung6ix close calls with death and his rumored record deal with Kash Kamp / Trick Billionaire MusiQ. Yung6ix addresses these issues and many more in his new song Respek On My Name featuring DJ Timmy where he basically declares that he is fed up.
You can also stream Yung6ix last release The Man Below
SPHEctacula & DJ Naves Featuring Reason, Kwesta & PH Raw X- IDWGH (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
The Dj duo of SPHEctacula and Naves collectively commonly known as the Kings of The Weekend just released the third video from their KOTW album titled I Don't Wanna Go Home. The video which was produced by Uprooted Media sees the duo linking up with Kwesta, Reason and PH for a night of upmarket club fun. The video also featured a cameo from DJ Cleo, which reunited him and with SPHE once again since their first appeared together in a video back in 2011 for Cleo's Bhampa Side To Side video .
Phyno – E Sure For Me (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Nigerian rapper recently cum Gospel singer Phyno just dropped the Clarence Peters directed video hos latest single E Sure For Me. The release of this video caught me by surprise since Phyno's last single Fada Fada is still enjoying incredible success in Nigeria . According to MyPlay Data the song has been the most played song on Nigerian radio for 13 weeks now.
Nigerian Top 10 radio songs via @myplaydata pic.twitter.com/zSqR87ZQar
— African Hip Hop Blog (@AfricanHHB) August 10, 2016
The video features scenes of Phyno in a graffiti littered room with hanging mics as he recites the song's lyrics giving thanks to Olisa (God) for the success he has been able to attain. E SUre For Me also sounds eerily similar to Falz song 406 Na Di Code. Let us know if you agree in the comments
THe Boiler Room SIts Down With DJ Jimmy Jatt, Don Jazzy & Dr. Sid
by Phil Chard
Boiler Room sat down with the Nigerian trio of DJ Jimmy Jatt, Don Jazzy and Dr. Sid for a discussion that is part of Boiler Room’s Guardian Gateways series. During the chat, DJ Jimmy Jatt ranted about the term Afrobeats and how it unfairly limits African and Nigerian artists, while also chronicling how he helped play a part in the popularisation of new forms of Nigerian urban music during his career.
Don Jazzy spoke of how he first met with Dr. Sid and how they managed to record his debut album Turning Point in just 2 weeks. The Mavin Records front man also speaks of how he started Mo Hits with D’Banj and how they went on to sign Wande Coal, Dr Sid, D’Prince and K-Switch.
DJ Jimmy Jatt – The Greatest Featuring M.anifest, Navio, Modenine & Femi Kuti
by Phil Chard
When it comes to Hip Hop icons, DJ Jimmy Jatt has become more of living institution that anything else. The veteran just dropped a video his track Greatest from the Industry Vol. 1 Album. The track features the piercing saxophone bellows of Femi Kuti as M.anifest opens the song with with 20 fire bars as Navio and Modenine pick up the baton while simultaneously trying to out do each other on the following verses.
#SubmissionSunday | Bridge – They Don’t Know
by Phil Chard
After taking a break from music to focus on his education, nigerian rapper Bridge has announced his comeback with the bass heavy joint titled They Don't Know. On the track Bridhe effortlessly weaves in and out of English and Pidgin lyrics as he raps about his return.
Fela’s Eternal Youth
by Tseliso Monaheng
I'm surfing the net. This is the fastest the connection has been since the weekend. I download a couple of torrents of mostly rap music and leave them seeding overnight. There's an album called Expensive Shit by one Fela Kuti included. The next morning, a one-track-missing Expensive Shit folder is visible on the desktop.
I'd heard about Fela for so long that he'd become legend. He'd defected from active imagination and descended into an abyss of Afro-beaten reveries. Discovering Expensive Shit was the missing link. Suddenly, the legend assumed a tangible state. The title track, inspired by Fela’s stint in prison following one Simbiat Abiola's report that his stick-up kids had jacked her red car at gunpoint, amplified Fela's legend.
What was it about this man that left Obasanjo and his goons so shook?
A non-exhaustive rummage through the gophers of our catastrophe-prone present reveals the answer. More than 40 years after its release, Water still turns party-goers into itinerant militants on the dancefloor. Nineteen years after his passing, Fela's ideas are the fodder fuelling young people's fire across multiple disciplines on the African continent and throughout the diaspora. So, in the same way systems of governance in Nigeria sought to silence Fela, they’re silencing young, militant voices in Maseru; they’re policing Universities and enacting violence on students at Fort Hare; they lie in glass chambers while #discontent is the number one trending topic in Bulawayo.
And that’s just the tip.
For Brooklyn-based Ghanaian emcee Blitz the Ambassador, Fela inspired a specific sensibility: fuck the rules and just do the damn thing. Recently-returned from two performances on the Southern African festival circuit -- one at Bushfire in Swaziland and another at Zakifo, Durban -- he shares a story about how the song Free Your Mind off of the Native Sun album came about.
"[It's] probably one of the most complicated compositions that I made from scratch," he says, referring to the twenty or so parts to the song. He mouthed every part before giving it to his band, the delightful Mighty Embassy Ensemble, to play. "When I sing a part that I think is perfect for the trumpet, I'll end up [giving] that part instead to the bassline," he says.
It’s a technique Blitz often employs, "just to break out of what people [consciously] expect." In this way, he's challenging our thinking patterns as related to music have been constructed.
Elsewhere in his catalogue, Blitz recruits like-minded spirit Nneka for a collaboration. Whenever they link up, they discuss matters pertaining to the continent.
"We're talking about how do we go back home; how do we go back properly; how do we connect with the local [people who have] been building...and be able to merge what we've done internationally with what's happening locally," he says.
His statement brings to mind what a young Fela did following his return from #Brex…sorry, London. He went back to a nascent Lagos. He devised a form of music and pushed his own agenda.
Nneka took a leaf from Fela and has been making socially-conscious yet funky-as-fuck music for over a decade. Her ode V.I.P (Vagabonds In Power) is a Tony Allen-inspired drumline and a Spanish guitar sample -- music provided by longtime collaborator DJ Farhot. She delivers a new-age chant to the corrupt officials who still rule with an iron fist; whose tongues are laden with lies; who charm their way into the hearts of a leaderless continent with the empty rhetoric of 'a brighter future.'
Listening to Nneka is like witnessing a Fela Ransome-Kuti whose mind has been unshackled from the bonds of toxic masculinity.
"Dey rip my pride and dignity away," she sings on V.I.P, and then adds the refrain "dey make me dey suffer."
It’s a roll-call of violent empires instituted through oppressive means. It's a big up to ‘our’ women in Chibok; a dap to the 147 in Garissa; an air punch to the workers and students operating under the watchful eye of Big Brother at University campuses in Jozi.
Jozi offers fertile ground for the pan-Africanist ideals enshrined in Afro-beat. Kwelagobe Sekele is drawn by these and continues to apply them, to great effect, long after Kwani ceased being an Experience. "The music of Fela gets me. I resonate with the zero-fucks attitude and the coming together of different styles and sounds that make up Afrobeat. And it's big and bold and it's Black Consciousness," says Sekele.
Sekele's new project - Yeoville Radio - came about from imagining how a unifying voice in the boho suburb-turned-unofficial township that is Yeoville would sound. “That ship that it is carries all these African [nations],” he says.
Fela's deep. He's spiritual. He's also eternal youth, in the same way that mam'Sibongile Khumalo and bab'Sipho Mabuse are; in how Papa Ramps’ poetry fires on...
Fela's also inspired Nduduzo Makhathini, who took a page off of the originator's script to pen an homage called "King Fela" on his SAMA-nominated album Listening to the Ground. The music and the song comprise some of the most tripped-out Afro-Cubano lock-step harmonies this side of the KZN Midlands, from where the pianist, composer and producer originates. If Lagos were to take a boda-boda across these imaginary lines we term borders, passengers would hear this song playing at full volume on some border official's phone on the Mzansi side of Beit Bridge ,(assuming you have the dollars to bribe said officials at all the borders you would’ve had to cross).
TIA, and that’s just the way it goes.
Fela's deep. He's spiritual. He's also eternal youth, in the same way that mam'Sibongile Khumalo and bab'Sipho Mabuse are; in how Papa Ramps’ (Lesego Rampolokeng) poetry fires on despite an 18-25-obsessed marketing machine designed to put pressure on you to get your shit together before 30, because before you know it the half-a-century thing is happening and you don’t have kids and ermagerrrd it’s time to press the panic button!
Chill with these ideas of an expiring youth. Where there's Fela, there's no 18-25.
#FeatureFridays Interview With Phlow
Words By Phil Chard
Last week's #FeatureFridays winner Phlow simply stomped out her competition in the voting poll by a big margin. With such a large following and a small yet impressive music catalogue to back her, I got hold of the Nigerian rapper to discuss her career thus far, being a women in rap and her career plans.
You seem to have a substantial following based off your margin of victory in the last [#FeatureFridays] poll. Can you give us brief rundown of how long you've been in the rap game?
It's been on and off, technically I got into the the game in 2014. But since 2009 I've been recording stuff. Way back in college I was part of a rap group and we would record songs and covers. My fan base is basically the rap heads here. My sound is not as popular as the usual African sound. But so far i've been able to get a little bit of a fan base
I read that you're a computer science graduate. So are you doing this Hip Hop thing part time or invested in it fully now?
I'd like to say I'm doing both part time. I'm doing the music part time and the work part time. It's a mix of both.
As it stands do you feel that your lifestyle cannot be fully sustained but the music?
In the long I'd like to think so, but between 2014 and now is a really short time so I'm just trying to see where it goes.
How did you link up with Tekzilla?
I met him in 2014. Within two months of meeting we started recording a lot of tracks. I went for this Hip Hop show that happens once a month with a friend. I got there and Tekzilla was the DJ and thankfully they let me perform. It was really good and Tekzilla hit me up and said he was working on a project I got into the studio and we worked on a song that is on the Mind Body and Phlow to [Reputation] the following week he hit me up again and it's been magic ever since.
As a woman in Hip hop how hard has it been to get your name out and get respected and recognised.?
Getting recognised and getting respect in this game are two different things. Getting recognised isn't that much of a problem because not that many of women are doing this. Getting respect is what you really have to work hard at. Some people just assume that you're a girl that you can just throw a couple of rhymes and “it's fine we'll listen to you”but to actually be respected and for them to be like “OK this girl can really really do what she's doing” is really tricky. I was recently part of the Hennessy VS Class [Rap] lyricist competition and it was really fun. I was the only girl and I was hoping I wouldn't have to get picked on that fact. I was one of the winners and I still like to believe that because it was a lyricists competition they really respected what I brought to the table Respect is something I'm working on trying to get every time.
When can we expect your album or follow up EP?
I'm working on an EP right now it's basically done. It's with a Swedish producer called Rayko so that should be dropping sometime in September. . It's a bit of a personal project. It's a different side. Then I've got another EP that I'm working with Tekzilla and another joint project with Cyclone. [The friend who took Phlow to the event she where she first met TekZilla ]
Are you trying to get signed or stay independent?
Well I'm approaching it as an independent. I have a production deal with Str8 Buttah that's where Tekzilla is from. I'm just working with them and seeing how it goes.
How frequently are you getting booked for shows out there?
Not very often actually, we have our own crowd but for the mainstream shows item pretty tricky.
Are there any rappers you're planning on working with on the content?
Yeah. Modenine is one, MI, there Poe, there’s lots of people I'd like to work with.
@Phlowetry
MI Talks About His Upcoming Projects & Finding Value In Being A Nigerian
by Phil Chard
Chocolate City Music CEO MI recently appeared on Nigerian talk show Rubbin Minds where he discussed a number of issues with the show’s host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu. During the 20 minute chat MI spoke about how he runs the label, the artists under it and Choc City’s plans to transition into a business akin to what Universal and Sony have built overseas.
When asked about the state of his career however MI shared some interesting thoughts regarding upcoming projects and his view on going international
Ebuka : Are you happy with where your career is now? You have in the industry for 10,11 years now.
MI: I think the fact that I'm happy as a person and trying to find balance as a human being first, it takes a little steam out of a career because you need to take breaks, to spend time with your family, to be personally fulfilled. You need to secure what you're gonna do next. So me being a CEO and working at chocolate city and planning the next thing after I've been an artist. Personally I'm completely happy, of course you are never meant to be satisfied. You always want to have hunger to do more. For instance 2Face [2Baba] and I are doing a series of projects this year and I'm like a kid in a candy shop looking forward to what's gonna come out if it. Jessie, Ice Prince and I have spoken about doing an album together. I got like 2,3 albums that I'm working on. I'm excited to make music, I'm excited to perform, I'm excited to keep going. But you also want to be happy as a person and say hey let's turn off the lights now, I need some time for myself now.
Ebuka. do you feel you should've done more international work by now?
MI : You know I'm very weird about the international thing I'm not interested at all. I'm interest in building in Africa. I'm interested in building in Nigeria. The biggest thing that we can do internationally is set up our business and our industry right here. America is very funny… when I first came out I was one of the guys that was seen as “you should go international, you should do this “. I just lost interest with that and I said wanna I come back home and work on what's happening back home. It doesn't seem glamorous but that's really our way to the top. For you to be successful in America you need to be American. There culture is so closed and complete. Nobody is gonna listen to you talk about Lasgidi in America. They want you to talk about about 57 Street and New York. I don't want to do that. I want to find value in being Nigerian. I want to find value in my language, in my neighbourhoods, in my people.
Wise words from about finding value within before we look for external approval. I cannot wait to hear what else MI and 2Baba have been cooking up. You can their song Babylon here
D’Prince – Worldwide (Official Music Video)
by Phil Chard
The Prince of Mavin Records (see what I did there) just dropped his comeback , Don Jazzy produced single titled Worldwide. The video features scenes from Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil, The UK and a number of other exotic locations that my passport isn't qualified to identify as D’Prince reminds us that with him “you'll go Worldwide”. Prince reminds of us his skills and versatility as he rides over this uptempo Soca influenced beat effortlessly.
MI & 2Baba Dropped Babylon and I Got Very Excited
by Phil Chard
My fandom for Jude MI Abaga is no secret. So when MI teased us the photos with him and fellow Nigerian legend 2Baba earlier in the week I was literally bouncing off the walls with excitement. A few days later MI and 2Baba unleashed Babylon - a powerful and poignant song that speaks of the political and social ills in Nigeria and expresses the level of frustration and hopelessness felt by the Nigerian populace. Sadly this song's lyrics resonate well with so many other citizens of African states.
There is a possibility that Babylon could be the lead single off a collaborative project . I can only hope and pray that this happens..
See proof of fandom below.
@MI_Abaga speaking to me on this song. You are a continental treasure.. One day we shall enshrine your lyrics in museums and marvel
— Phlynt Phlossy™ (@PhilChard) July 21, 2016
The AHHB Podcast Featuring Rushay, Phlow & GZE
by Phil Chard
The best podcast relating to all matters African of the Hip Hop variety has returned once again. This week Phil gets hold of a true Hip Hop OG - Mr. Rushay Booysen of South Africa to discuss the state of the rap nation and track how far things have progressed over the years.
Phil also speaks to 2 #FeatureFridays winners GZE and Phlow. Where the former shares details of his upcoming album Hustlemania abs the latter shares the details of her introduction into Hip Hop.
We also have music from MarazA, KLY, Flo Dee, YCEE, Ice Prince, Jnr Brown and Well$
Be sure to like and comments on the podcast via soundcloud or iTunes.
Tweet Review | Milli – Don’t Ask Me What Happened EP
by Phil Chard
Nigerian rapper Milli just released his highly anticipated and, in a sense much delayed project Don't Ask Me What Happened. The 7 track EP is his first release under his own imprint Up Next Universe after his highly publicized and somewhat contentious split from Chocolate City Music. We managed to get an advanced copy of the project and gave it a review on twitter.
Note: Don't Ask Me What Happened is not a prelude to the Childish EP as incorrectly stated in the review. According to Milli's team the Childish EP may never drop at all.
Milli - DAMWH Review - Curated tweets by AfricanHHB
Joh Makini Featuring Chidinma – Perfect Combo (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Perfect Combo is the collaboration between Tanzania’s Joh Makini and Nigeria’s Chidinma. The song relies heavily on well worn formulas for R&B and Hip Hop with a pinch of Soukous and rock. In the end it's makes for a nice collaboration even if it is predictable. The video was directed by Justin Campos
Lady Donli – FREE ?
by Phil Chard
Nigerian born artist Lady Donli is currently juggling the pursuit of her law degree and making music in the UK. The multifaceted artist just released her new song FREE? that fuses Electro, HIp Hop and uptempo R&B on a song that has a deceptively upbeat instrumental accentuated by the Panda like ad libs as Lady Donli speaks about some heavy issues like growth. depression and suicide on the path to self discovery.
YCEE – Condo (Remix) Featuing Patoranking, Khuli Chana & KiD X
by Phil Chard
Nigeria’s YCEE just dropped a remix to his 2015 release Condo. In addition to the vocals of Patoranking on the chorus who featured on the original version, the remix features additional vocals from Khuli Chana and Kid X on the bouncy eKelly beat.
You can view the video for the original version of Condo below