Browsing Tag

afrobeat

Spotlight Feature: London’s Princess Wonda continues to hold dominion over Afro-Fusion with the sensuously soul-awakening rhythms in Shooby Doo’

Posted on 6 July 2024

London’s Princess Wonda reached the pinnacle of luxuriant radiance with her latest installation of Afro-Fusion, Shooby Doo. With melodies which wash over you with sublime elegance, harmonious harmonies and rhythmically kinetic grooves, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more elevated release than this.

The sensuous, sun-kissed, and sublime on the senses single fuses traditional African instrumentation with elements of modern dancehall and an aura of lush transcendence to envelop the listener in a sense of soul-awakening serenity. The UK-born Nigerian Afro-Fusion icon’s radiant presence shines through, making it an emotionally euphonious experience that surpasses sound.

Recorded at Pirate Studio, with engineering by Dami Bones and production by Mofizzay and Mr Marz, Shooby Doo is set to be the rhapsodic sound of the summer. It’s a testament to Princess Wonda’s artistry, celebrating Afrobeat’s rich cultural heritage while inviting listeners to rekindle their zest for life.

Princess Wonda, known as the “Queen of Afro-Fusion,” continues to push the boundaries of Afrobeat with this release, shattering stereotypes and championing the role of women in African music. With multiple UK chart entries, including two number ones on the UK World Music Chart and a sold-out headline show in London, she has established herself as a formidable force.

Following her successful debut album, Fantasy Fair, and her hit singles, Bust My Mind, and My Body, Shooby Doo adds another sublime layer to her impressive repertoire. As we look forward to her upcoming EP in 2024, Princess Wonda’s journey remains as promising as ever.

Princess Wonda Said

“The inspiration behind ‘Shooby Doo’ stems from a deep appreciation for the rich cultural heritage of Afrobeat and the dynamic energy of contemporary music. The lyrics resonate with themes of love, passion, and pleasure, inviting listeners to embrace the positive energy as the pulsating beats and sultry vocals capture the aura of joy and celebration.” 

Shooby Doo was officially released on July 5th, stream the single on Spotify and Soundcloud now.

To ensure you never miss a release, follow Princess Wonda on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Remmorii became the king of cross-over appeal in ‘Radio Silence’

Posted on 28 May 2024

Radio Silence by Remmorii epitomises genre fluidity, offering a flood of slick and smooth grooves that easily do the lyrical gravity justice. The melody master’s focus on flow over genre fit is enriched with tinges of Afrobeat flavours within a pop framework. This, combined with RnB hip-hop vocals that spill soul, grants the track substantial commercial crossover appeal.

Raised in Brampton and influenced by Hamilton, Remmorii, a Canadian alternative hip-hop artist, emphasises authenticity and melody in his music. With a name derived from the Latin “Memento Mori,” he reminds listeners of life’s fleeting nature, encouraging them to embrace every moment. His music, characterised by organic sounds, skilfully blends rich basses, crisp mid-tones, and smooth trebles, creating a polished edge that is distinctly his own.

In Radio Silence, Remmorii’s lyrics resonate with a soul ready to scream about an era plagued with alienating confusion. The track’s rhythmic intricacies and emotive delivery reflect his commitment to merging substance with irresistible appeal. If this single is any indication of what’s to come, Remmorii is poised to lead the future of the music industry with his unique voice and poetic lyricism.

For fans of pop and beyond, Radio Silence is a must-listen. Keep Remmorii’s name on your radar; his ability to inspire and uplift through artistic expression is as rare as it is remarkable.

Radio Silence is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

GeeMarr ignited a carnal flame with his exotically expansive RnB hit, Fire & Desire

Posted on 8 April 2024

GeeMarr, the UK’s RnB firebrand, ignited the genre with his latest single ‘Fire & Desire‘. The stylistic fusion of RnB, afrobeat, pop, and soul elements showcases GeeMarr’s versatility and creativity when blending diverse musical influences.

The intro of ‘Fire & Desire’ is a nostalgic nod to the 80s era of RnB, setting the stage for a contemporary twist that GeeMarr executes flawlessly. The track pulsates with modern cuts, seamlessly integrating autotuned reggaeton-esque vocal lines with sun-pierced melodies. The sax lines spill soul by the smorgasbord, weaving through the song and adding a rich, emotive layer to the already vibrant soundscape.

GeeMarr’s lyrics in ‘Fire & Desire’ resonate like mantras, creating a heady sonic haven that you’ll want to occupy all summer and ensuring that the midtempo vignette captures the sweetness of finding someone who evokes feelings of both love and lust. Even if you’re riding solo, you’ll get a taste of how sweet adding fuel to your carnal fire is.

Born in Jamaica and raised in South London, GeeMarr’s global influences are evident in his music. His repertoire spans Afrobeats, R&B, and Soul, and ‘Fire & Desire’ is a culmination of his artistic evolution. After a 5-year hiatus and a series of captivating freestyles on social media, GeeMarr is not just making a comeback; he’s redefining his sound.

GeeMarr’s involvement in every stage of his music, from writing and producing to mixing and mastering, ensures that his sonic signature blazes through ‘Fire & Desire’. This track is a must-listen for fans of RnB and anyone looking for a summer anthem that combines the best of global beats with the soulful depth of RnB.

Stream the official music video for Fire & Desire which dropped on March 28th on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sojourn to Tijuana with The Dream X’s Latest Serving of Hip-Hop Exoticism

Posted on 2 April 2024

After The Dream X racked up over 600k Spotify streams with his sophomore single, Tijuana, we had to know what the hype was about, and we quickly found it within the instrumental exoticism of the vibrant sojourn of a release which will leave you riding high on the waves of the oceanic production.

With the hazy melodies working in contrast to the bitter-sweet lyricism which explores the anti-climax of post-breakup hook-ups, there are as many layers to the emotions as there are to the genre-fluid instrumentals which fuse Latin guitars with a pseudo-trap backbeat and afrobeat colour.

Tijuana is the kind of track you’ll hit play on and feel the compulsion to crank up the volume until it’s slamming through your speakers and melodiously reverberating through you so you can savour the honeyed elixir which pours from The Dream X’s vocal harmonies which groove between his rap bars.

The Utah-based rapper, singer, producer, and actor is a fucking phenomenon, and we’re already desperate to hear what comes next.

Stream Tijuana on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sixsense – AYANNA: A Darkly Luminous Journey in Alt-RnB

Posted on 26 March 2024

Sixsense, the London-based alt-RnB visionary, redefined the genre with his latest single ‘AYANNA’. The emotional odyssey blends Afrobeat and Latin RnB into a soundscape that is as dark as it is scintillating.

‘AYANNA’ opens with a floodgate of visceral emotion, drawing the listener into a world of rhythmic compulsion and painful introspection. Sixsense takes genres known for their bright, euphoric atmospheres and steers them into uncharted territories of depth and darkness. The result is a compelling contradiction: a track that resonates with the lightness of its tones yet delves into the profoundest of emotional depths.

The artist’s talent is undeniable. His voice, a commanding presence in the London music scene, is set to proliferate the charts. With ‘AYANNA’, Sixsense is not just on the cusp of contemporary trends; he is pioneering a new direction in genre-fluid, vibe-driven music.

Described as a love song intertwined with the pangs of growing up, ‘AYANNA’ encapsulates that bittersweet nostalgia of memories lost to time. Following the success of his 9th studio release, ‘CUENTAME’, this track continues to showcase Sixsense’s knack for crafting lyrics that resonate.

Raised in Santiago de Chile and London, and influenced by his Jewish-South American and Australian heritage, Sixsense brings a unique perspective to his music. His self-taught musical journey, beginning with an electric piano in his youth, is evident in the intricate blend of acoustic melodies and electronic rhythms in ‘AYANNA’.

AYANNA was officially released on March 8; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rukudzo called time in her fiery pop hit, Big Things

Posted on 6 November 2023

The Hertfordshire, UK singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rukudzo exhibited what a perfect pop hit should sound like in 2023 with her latest hook-rife and soul-lavished single, Big Things, which allows indie guitars to weave an intricate melodic tapestry across the lush layers of reverb and the Afrobeat rhythms that give the genre-fluid track a solid backbeat.

The sonic ingenuity, which also leaves room for Rukudzo’s signature rock attitude, is only matched by the poignant lyrical message which unravels as a fiery vignette of a depiction of the necessity of knowing when to be forbearing in a relationship and when to draw the line and call time.

In every conceivable way, Rukudzo made an unforgettable impression with Big Things. You’ll be humming the melody for days and revelling in the introspection for even longer.

Big Things will drop on November 3rd, stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Grab a Seat: Elevated Focusion embraced the future of fusionism with his alt-electro hit, Tabla Tea Party

Posted on 22 July 2023
https://on.soundcloud.com/KERbZ3gaPJ9vjupF8

The Queens, NY electronica pioneer Elevated Focusion, AKA Johnny Rhythms, caused a solid eight on the Richter scale by dropping his ground-breaking fusionist LP, featuring the standout single, Tabla Tea Party.

The rocksteady release became the ultimate celebration of the vibrant culture in NY by stitching a tapestry of contrasting facets of counterculture against each other to create a galvanic forcefield of friction your rhythmic pulses won’t want to resist.

With East Coast hip-hop and afrobeat bringing the danceable rhythm and the vocal lines breaking the monocultural mould while lavishing the soundscape with rock n roll attitude and soul, every new progression in Tabla Tea Party is a sonic revelation.

By putting mixing and mastering in the hands of Chris Conway, who worked on every LP that inspired the Elevated Focusion project, the East Coast flavour packs a mouth-watering punch; grab your seat at the Tabla Tea Party while the hype is hot.

Stream Tabla Tea Party with the rest of Elevated Focusion’s eponymous LP on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: OTH€LLO introduced the future of Afro Fusion with his debut single, SZA 4 NGAZ

Posted on 17 July 2023

The Montreal-born, Harlem-based Afrobeat innovator OTH€LLO took gospel out of church and implanted it firmly in his ethereal dream of an Afrobeat RnB debut single, SZA 4 NGAZ.

Fittingly, after his music journey began by being introduced to Congolese gospel and secular soukous tunes by his Congolese immigrant parents, the sensuous single, which celebrates staying true to your roots while practising radical acceptance, finds plenty of room for religious imagery and tonality.

After a sensuously ambient RnB intro complete with saturated in warm delay indie guitars, SZA 4 NGAZ starts to tease hip-hop elements with the fiery canter of his verses before winding it all back down in the dynamically versatile hit that reached the pinnacle of Afro-Fusionist authenticity.

SZA 4 NGAZ is a sublimely promising start to OTH€LLO’s career. His carresively pure vocal lines paired with his down-to-earth lyrical style are enough to kickstart a new revolution in soul.

In the words of OTH€LLO:

“This song is an exploration of how growing my dreads again after cutting my first set was like falling again. It sonically narrates the process of self-love and self-acceptance through a fiercely Afrocentric and sexual perspective.”

After releasing SZA 4 NGAZ, OTH€LLO is back in the studio orchestrating his debut EP. If the forthcoming material is as arcane as his debut, you’ll want to save plenty of room on your radar.

SZA 4 NGAZ was officially released on the 1st of July; hear it on Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Groove away heartbreak with the hot-to-handle afrobeat hit, Shakara Love, from Mr Yomi.

Posted on 11 June 2023

Waves of euphoria crashed in with the latest single from the heir to the UK afrobeat scene, Mr Yomi; Shakara Love is the perfect introduction to one of London’s hottest rising artists.

At tonal value, Shakara Love is your archetypal vibe-steady summer earworm, but lock into the captivating soundtrack and explore the depths of unrequited love, narrated by Yomi’s luxe with animated soul vocal lines which effervesce around the steamily ascending Afrobeat melodies that will leave you yearning to hit the dancehall floor.

It is one thing to create a high-vibe anthem from a track that gravitates around a bright lyrical theme. It is another entirely to hit the rhythmic ground running with a sunny-side-up sensibility while versing on raw emotion.

Shakara Love hit all major streaming platforms on May 26; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Tunde 2deep came in hot in his Afrobeat EDM hit, SUCCESS FEVER

Posted on 29 May 2023

Cape Town’s hottest independent artist, Tunde 2deep, elevated the emerging Afrobeat EDM scene with his euphorically mantric single, SUCCESS FEVER.

With Dancehall running right through the rhythmically intoxicating progressions, EDM beats that pound floor-filler material into the release and Tunde 2deep’s infectious brand of high-energy soul, SUCCESS FEVER is an introspective anthem that the Afrobeat scene will never forget.

All too often, high vibe anthems fail to speak to the people that need to hear that before the highs come the lows, SUCCESS FEVER conveys the fears and dark days which punctuate the journey to greatness and lets the listener know exactly how to overcome them. Regardless of the mood SUCCESS FEVER catches you in, it will be brighter once the entrancingly sun-slicked earworm has had its intrinsically rhythmic way with you.

“Afro-EDM has been gaining popularity in recent years; the hype inspired me to blend traditional African rhythms and instruments with electronic dance music. Success Fever is a high-energy track that celebrates achievements. I fully believe that greatness exists within us all; you just have to know how to unlock it; I hope this single is the key for my listeners.”

Add SUCCESS FEVER to your motivational Spotify playlists, or stream the official video via YouTube.

Follow Tunde2deep on Instagram and Twitter.

Review by Amelia Vandergast