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Reçu hier — 22 avril 2026
  • ✇BellaNaija Music
  • Asake & DJ Snake Drop “Worship” and It Hits on a Deeper Level
    After months of anticipation following that historic Red Bull Symphonic performance in Brooklyn, Asake has officially released “Worship” (also known as Alhamdulilah) featuring French-Algerian powerhouse DJ Snake. The song isn’t your typical high-tempo Afrobeats rager; instead, it’s an atmospheric, mid-tempo record that leans heavily into Asake’s reflective and spiritual side. Lyrically, “
     

Asake & DJ Snake Drop “Worship” and It Hits on a Deeper Level

20 mars 2026 à 12:14

After months of anticipation following that historic Red Bull Symphonic performance in Brooklyn, Asake has officially released “Worship” (also known as Alhamdulilah) featuring French-Algerian powerhouse DJ Snake.

The song isn’t your typical high-tempo Afrobeats rager; instead, it’s an atmospheric, mid-tempo record that leans heavily into Asake’s reflective and spiritual side. Lyrically, “Worship” is a song of gratitude and resilience. Asake uses the verses to acknowledge his journey from the streets of Lagos to global stages, centering the track around the refrain of “Alhamdulillah.”

Bringing DJ Snake into the mix adds a massive global layer to the sound. For those who only know him for “Lean On” or “Taki Taki,” Snake is a Grammy-nominated producer with a deep history of blending electronic music with diverse cultural sounds. Born in a Parisian banlieue to Algerian parents, he has spent the last year diving back into his North African roots with his new album, “Nomad.” On “Worship,” he trades his usual heavy trap drops for a cinematic, percussive arrangement that lets Asake’s Fuji-style vocal layers really breathe.

The music video, which matches the song’s gravity, moves away from the typical flashy “Mr. Money” tropes. Instead, it features striking desert imagery and a more grounded, ritualistic aesthetic that mirrors the song’s themes of faith and focus. It’s a deliberate pivot for Asake, arriving just as he returned from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah, making the track feel like a very public, very intentional “Alhamdulillah” for this stage of his life.

The post Asake & DJ Snake Drop “Worship” and It Hits on a Deeper Level appeared first on BellaNaija - Showcasing Africa to the world. Read today!.

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  • ✇OkayAfrica
  • You Need to Watch This Cinematic Exploration of Immigration
    French Algerian DJ Snake has unveiled “Patience,” a music video in form, but in every other sense, a cinematic short film. Shot in Senegal by French director and cinematographer Valentin Guiod, the seven-minute visual is a poetic exploration of migration and endurance that pays homage to Amadou & Mariam’s 2008 classic, “Sabali.” The song and its film are made more poignant by the recent passing of Amadou Bagayoko, whose performance in the film would be his last. Set against the sun-soaked te
     

You Need to Watch This Cinematic Exploration of Immigration

5 juin 2025 à 18:35


French Algerian DJ Snake has unveiled “Patience,” a music video in form, but in every other sense, a cinematic short film.


Shot in Senegal by French director and cinematographer Valentin Guiod, the seven-minute visual is a poetic exploration of migration and endurance that pays homage to Amadou & Mariam’s 2008 classic, “Sabali.” The song and its film are made more poignant by the recent passing of Amadou Bagayoko, whose performance in the film would be his last.

Set against the sun-soaked terrain of the West African nation, “Patience” follows a young man navigating the emotional and physical terrain of departure as he leaves home in search of something better. His story is one of millions across West Africa, where economic precarity, climate change, and instability continue to push people to migrate.

Actor Omar Sy (Lupin, Les Intouchables) makes a powerful appearance, grounding the film’s emotional weight with a deeply felt yet understated performance.


The release of “Patience” is accompanied by a behind-the-scenes mini-documentary, which offers insight into the film’s production and its resonance with both cast and crew.



“It started with a song I’ve loved for years — ‘Sabali’ by Amadou & Mariam,” DJ Snake tells OkayAfrica. “I used to listen to it on repeat. One day, I played a loop from an edit I had been working on for my team, and everyone felt the same thing: this was something special. That moment sparked the beginning of “Patience.”

“But I didn’t want to just release a song. I felt the urge to give it depth and purpose. The migrant crisis is often reduced to numbers and headlines, but behind it are stories of hope, loss, and courage,” DJ Snake continues. “I didn’t want to make a political statement — I wanted to offer something emotional, something poetic. The short film became a way to express that: using beauty and silence to speak to the heart, and to remind people of the humanity behind these journeys.”


A couple sits under a tree in a scene from DJ Snake\u2019s music video film Patience.


Once the idea for the music video struck him, he hurried to complete the song while also sharing the concept with creative director Charly Dengelser. In turn, Dengelser began scouting for producers.

He found Hugo Nathan of the production company Birth, whose main challenge was how the team would visually interpret the song. “We did want to touch on immigration, but to portray it as more of a symbolic departure [...] Bringing on board Omar, a great cinematic talent, [suddenly] increased the project exponentially,” says Nathan, who also appears in the documentary.

“[DJ Snake] told me the theme he wanted to explore, and then he said he wanted to do it in Senegal,” Sy says in the documentary. “When you look at Africa in the context of Europe, and these African youth with these dreams and desires about life in Europe, and they take immediate risks – it’s between a successful exile and death. And they’re aware of it when they take the risk, but they do it anyway.”


“Shooting in Senegal was incredibly powerful,” DJ Snake says, “Omar Sy is a close friend, and having him involved gave the project a lot of heart and intention. Amadou & Mariam — whose iconic track “Sabali” inspired the song — are true legends, and I’m honored to have their support. But what really brought the story to life were the younger actors, like Alassane Diong and Anna Diop. Their performances were so honest and moving. They carried the emotional weight of the film and gave it its soul. Working with them was a real highlight.”


In the documentary, Dengelser shares a memory of the first time he heard DJ Snake’s re-work in a Parisian neighborhood. “[He] was working on a new track with a musician, and at the end of the session, he told us, ‘I have something here.’” That something is a sonically balanced track that combines drill sensibilities with a song that has been interpreted in other genres, from the Southern trap of Future to the electronic turns of Theophilus London.

DJ Snake, who has partnered with an international maritime and humanitarian organization dedicated to saving lives at sea called SOS MEDITERRANEE, concludes: “It’s the story of a young African man who does everything possible for an exodus or exile in Europe. Unfortunately, this is the case for many young people who are prepared to die to get out. It’s a story that has been repeating itself since the beginning of time, and that rings more and more true for us today.”

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