Afrocritik’s weekly music spotlight: chill vibes.
By Yinoluwa Olowofoyeku
Greetings, my adventurous music explorers.
It’s great to see you all again as the religious seasons wind down. Q2 is beckoning to us with arms wide open, and as we prepare to transition, it’s time once again for the Weekly Music Spotlight. I’m here with one of my favourite selections in a while.
Last week, I urged us all to tap into a collection of energetic tracks to power us through our days. This week, however, we’re doing the opposite. I stumbled upon a vast trove of beautiful, chill, and soulful songs, which I now present to you so we can all unwind after our heart-thumping previous week.
Don’t forget to follow us on our socials @Afrocritik to stay up to date with the Spotlights as they come out. Engage with us and let us know what gems you’ve discovered from our list. Also, if you or anyone you know is releasing music that deserves to be heard by the musically adventurous, don’t hesitate to drop me a line at yinoluu@afrocritik.com for details on how to get your music considered.
And now, without further ado, let’s dive into this week’s selection of chill and solemn vibes. We have:
SOULFUL FUSIONS: Soul and multi-genre soul-adjacent tracks were the order of the day (or the week in this case). Nalu stirs hearts and emotions with her new single, “Tinamoon”, fellow South-African songstress, Lordkez, does the same with “Aweh”, Ghanaian superstar Cina Soul’s new album Did I Lie blesses us with “Larger Than Life”, “Big Manye”, “Personal” and “Different Place”.
Multi-talented Nigerian duo, Begho and Inci, release an extended version of their 2023 EP in DBINCB (Director’s Cut) from which we get “Relapse”, “Alwaysyuu”, “Distance” and “Knackzzzzz”. Killertunes and Laeork combine for the Lo-Fi bop “Onji”, and Rowlene teams up with Christer for “Breakaway”, while Kunmie’s Before We Became Strangers EP gives us “Arike” and “One More Chance”.
RAPTUROUS RAPPING: It’s been a while since we had a whole segment dedicated to the talented wordsmiths we have across the continent but they showed themselves impressively this week. Ghanaian heavyweight, M.anifest, released his New Road and Guava Trees album which is represented here by “FYTD”, “Gye Nyame and Vibes”, “Ease My Minds”, and “Highlands”.
Zimbabwean rapper, Nadia Nakai, contributes massively with “Don’t Know Why?”, “Shots in LA”, “My Body” and “M.E.G.A” off of her aptly titled Braggacy album.
FRANCOPHONE FREQUENCIES: The playlist gets a prominent multi-lingual along the way as we have a number of chill Francophone vibes to ecouter. Cameroonian singer, Locko, gets introspective on his Purple Love album from which we get “Insomie”, “Qui est tu”, “SOS”, and “Miondo”. Ivorian singer, Diane Dddd, gives us a new project in Juste un Vendredi from which we pulled “Shawty Preferee”, “Mieux Comme ca”, “O Boy”, and “1 Djo”.
VIBEY AFRO-FUSIONS: Here’s a shock for our seasoned veterans; our usual trip to the South of Africa for the final category has been postponed this week. Instead, we will double down on this week’s theme and keep the vibe chill.
Tay Iwar returns with “Bad Belle”, Jess ETA partners with Benjamz for his Casanova EP represented by “Smooth Criminal” and “All Along”, Keleya ups the pace with “Woto Woto”, Tim Lyre and BINA fuse for “Storytime”, Bhadboi OML and Gimba jointly present the smooth “247”, and Magixx assists ru. with “I Think I love you 2”.
As we know by now, this list is just a sample of the great chill music awaiting you in our playlist. I encourage you all to go forth and explore the albums and artistes mentioned so that you might also uncover some of your own personal gems. And, if you’re a budding musician with a sound worth sharing, don’t hesitate to message us to find out how to get your songs considered for the Spotlight.
As I take my leave for the week, I implore you to fully embrace the music and let it embrace you. Hopefully, you form some new memories, discover melodic places, and vibe as hard as you can to the music on this list. I implore you to go adventuring on your own and maybe even share some of your great finds with me. Enjoy the journey and have a blessed week full of musical highs.
Warm regards.
Yinoluwa “Yinoluu” Olowofoyeku is a multi-disciplinary artist and creative who finds expression in various media. His music can be found across all platforms and he welcomes interaction on his social media @Yinoluu.