This week, African music unearths emotion in its rawest, most masterfully crafted forms. From introspective soul to genre-defiant Afro-fusion, these new releases speak of love, loss, resilience, and the hunger for connection. Whether it’s Samthing Soweto’s velvet grief or Bloody Civilian’s rebellious groove, there’s no filler here, just flame.
Kizz Daniel – Uncle K: Lemon Chase (EP)
Kizz Daniel’s Uncle K: Lemon Chase EP is both a celebration and a reckoning. The seven-track project, delayed from its original 2024 release due to personal loss, is a mosaic of his emotions—love, grief, joy, and peace—woven together through his unmistakable pen and voice.
Opening with the triumphant “Black Girl Magic” and closing with “Police”, a haunting collaboration with Johnny Drille and Angelique Kidjo, the EP traverses a wide emotional range. He enlists a robust guest list—Odumodublvck, Bella Shmurda, Phyno, Runtown, and Fola—who each bring their individual shade to his ever-evolving palette.
The production team reads like a greatest-hits roll call: Reward Beatz, Blaise Beatz, Magic Sticks, Bando, and Ayzed. Their contributions turn Lemon Chase into a sonic journey that’s rich but never overbearing. “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade,” Kizz Daniel reflects—and ‘Lemon Chase’ is proof. It feels just like a warm-up to his Uncle K album or the Vado at 10 celebration, like a personal memoir in music form, marking his growth from hitmaker to heartfelt storyteller.
Ric Hassani – Moving Train
Ric Hassani has long been Nigeria’s leading romantic bard, and with “Moving Train”, he delivers what may be one of his most profound declarations yet. This is like an emotional precursor, powered by loyalty and undeterred by the noise of the outside world.
“They can say love is a losing game, but I am still on a moving train to you,” he croons, defying cynicism with the sheer force of commitment. The track’s production leans into his signature blend of soft-pop and African soul, providing a cinematic backdrop to his lyrical vow. As the emotional cornerstone of his upcoming album ‘Lagos Lover Boy’, “Moving Train” positions Hassani once again as a navigator of love in a complex world. In an era where fleeting romance is the norm, he champions consistency and turns it into art.
Bloody Civilian – Ladida
Bloody Civilian is back, and she’s not playing it safe. With “Ladida,” she channels rebellion, sensuality, and controlled chaos into a record that grabs you by the collar and drags you to the dancefloor. But this isn’t an average banger; there’s a rawness here that resists polish in favour of truth.
Produced by Bloody Civilian herself, the track is a testament to her multidimensional artistry. Her vocals glide over the production, not only in the form of melody but as attitude—defiant, emotional, unflinching. It’s a sonic tantrum wrapped in finesse, pulsing with a tension that mirrors the internal wars many quietly endure. “Ladida” serves as her first release of the year and teases a larger project on the horizon. Coming off the experimental brilliance of ‘Anger Management’, this single suggests Bloody Civilian is steering her own ship; full throttle, no brakes, no compromises.
Falz – The Feast (Album)
Falz’s sixth studio album ‘The Feast‘, is more than a collection of tracks or a sequel to his 2024 ‘Before The Feast’, it’s an introspective banquet. After over a decade of musical reinvention, activism, and comic relief, the rapper peels back every layer, offering a deeply personal journey through identity, heritage, vulnerability, and evolution.
“This album is the most personal I’ve ever made,” Falz says, and it shows; from spiritual unrest to moments of triumph, the album feels like a diary of becoming. Guest features from Odumodublvck, Qing Madi, and Dotti the Deity add texture to Falz’s introspection, but he remains the nucleus. Production-wise, the album glides across styles; Afrobeats, trap, boom bap. ‘The Feast‘ never feels disjointed; it is a reminder that Falz isn’t a versatile, visionary artist. His discography already holds some of the finest Nigerian hip-hop releases of the past decade, and this project may be his most cohesive yet.
Samthing Soweto – Deda
Samthing Soweto’s returns with a throbbing new single ‘Deda”. After a lengthy period of silence marked by personal challenges and reflection, the South African artist re-emerges with “Deda,” a velvet-cloaked ballad where grief and gratitude melt into one another. Samthing Soweto’s ‘Deda’ lingers with the listener, and with each play, it aches.
Built on atmospheric synths and light percussion co-produced with John Lundun, “Deda” captures the sound of a man healing in real time. Samthing’s vocals, as textured as ever, carry the song’s core emotion like a prayer. Each note feels deliberate, each lyric a page torn from a diary of sorrow and survival. “Ngiyabonga to everyone who stood by me while I was quiet,” he wrote before the song’s release—a rare, transparent moment that underscores the intimacy of the record. “Deda” is the second single from his forthcoming 17-track album ‘Touch is a Move (Good Morning)‘, arriving this July. If this song is any indication, the album may cement Samthing Soweto’s legacy not just as a voice but as a vessel.
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