Every week, OkayAfrica highlights the top African music releases — including the latest Afrobeats and amapiano hits — through our best music column, African Songs You Need to Hear This Week.

Read ahead for our round-up of the best new African music tracks and music videos that came across our desks this week.

Victony & Fridayy – “Glory II”

Releasing a sequel to his latest single just some weeks after the original, Victony is flexing the reach of his artistry. Here he’s joined by Fridayy, who’s built up an impressive resume of collaborations with Afrobeats acts. The grass-to-grace narrative of the original is maintained, as Victony’s rap-informed flow is matched for intensity by his guest’s choir-reminiscent vocals. A fine blending of sensibilities, it’s a song that delivers beautifully on its role as an ode to God’s enduring grace. – Emmanuel Esomnofu

Kabza De Small - “Siyabonga”

Kabza De Small moves in his own lane. His long-awaited fifth album lays his heart bare, clarifies his intent, and reaffirms his status as the top don in the electronic music game. Not that he ever left; in the past year alone, his music was performed by an orchestra, he dropped one of 2024’s standout tracks in “Hayi Baba” (with Chronical Deep and LaTique), and laced bangers alongside Darque, DJ Maphorisa, Xduppy, and Dlala Thukzin. He’s a man on a mission: to stretch the sonic spectrum, school our senses, and come out on top every time. “Siyabonga,” featuring Nontokozo Mkhize and Mthunzi, shows Kabza at his most tender, most curatorial. It leans into 3-Step, embraces you, cradles you. It’s a prayer – “asisabi lutho, isandla sakhe siphezu kwethu imihla yonke” (we fear nothing, His hand is upon us every day) – and everyone’s invited. - Tšeliso Monaheng.

Lojay – “Tenner”

After announcing the August release of his long-awaited debut album, Lojay has set the wheels rolling with a fiery song intended for the dance floors. Pairing his svelte vocals with hyper-vibrant pop beats is an artistic choice favored by the artist, and it continues to prove a winning formula, as he paints a riveting portrait of a lady he’s enamored by. Bold metaphors, swirling notes, and banging drums are ever-present throughout the song’s runtime, but the fusion doesn’t eclipse Lojay’s voice at the center of the fanfare. – EE

Adekunle Gold – “Coco Money”

Always one to reinvent himself, you’ll be hard-pressed to find Adekunle Gold in the same spot. On “Coco Money,” he returns to the indigenous throb that influenced his early music, pairing disco sensibilities with the unmissable drums of Juju music. It’s a quintessential fly talk song, an arena the artist particularly excels in. The vocals and the energy matching each other’s vivacity, it’s a renewed demonstration of the artist’s prowess as a songwriter. – EE

TOSS, Maglera Doe Boy, Young Stunna - “Hermano”

“Hermano” is the rap Olympics – a relay of distinctive, heavyweight voices in African music. Themed around Black township life, with fashion nods to la sapeur, Black dandyism, and ukuswenka, the video brings the song to life in elegiac style. The back-and-forth between TOSS and Maglera Doe Boy deserves its own support hotline; there are simply too many quotables to catch in one go. Then comes Young Stunna on the chorus, a welcome breather from the lyrical warfare unfolding. Together, the three move like a league of their own: elite yet grounded, daunting but disarming, feisty and tender in equal measure. It’s an overload of excellence, so pace yourself. - TM.

Mr Eazi – “Corny”

On his latest song, Mr Eazi shows why he’ll always be an interesting voice within Afrobeats. The chill number produced by P Priime showcases the artist’s expanding vision as a storyteller, as he reveals the intricacies of a romantic relationship. “No go do you cunny,” he sings atop the mid-tempo production, charting a seductive vibe that sways with the lyrics of the record. – EE

Blue Pappi - “G-Wagon” (feat. LaCabra)

Blue Pappi’s on a roll, and he’s only just getting started. The emcee, vocalist, and producer, who hails from Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal – home of the legendary Ladysmith Black Mambazo – follows up last week’s high-octane, Kane Keid-featuring “Dairy” with a mellow, left-of-centre tune that allows him and fellow Qwellers member LaCabra to exercise their rap muscles and cross uncharted flow territory. The cadences are impeccable, and the music, very stripped back, very lo-fi, allows them to swim with intention, playing lifeguard to your treasured eyes and ears. No word is wasted, and every moment of silence is as necessary as breathing itself. South African hip-hop is enjoying its moment in the sun, and these two are but part of a bubbling movement whose legend shall be spoken about in years to come. - TM.

Mlindo The Vocalist - “iMedi Yakho” (feat. Sir Trill)

Following the success of his breakout debut, Emakhaya, and the vulnerability of his self-titled sophomore album, Lindokuhle, Mlindo The Vocalist enters his third chapter with something deeper: perspective. It's a delicate balance of talent and emotional maturity that cuts above the clatter to go for the heart. Uhambo – The Journey is an album shaped by his own lived experience. It carries the weight of heartbreak, the beauty of healing, and the clarity that comes after navigating life’s highs and lows. On “iMedi Yakho,” a duet with Sir Trill, he repurposes the melody to Oliver Mtukudzi’s hit, “Neria,” and injects an Afro-pop swing to its step. The flavours ooze from the speakers straight to your soul. - TM.

Chrissy Spratt – “Call On Me” feat. Nonso Amadi & Serøtonin

Chrissy Spratt is no newcomer to the Afrobeats scene. Through her covers, the Canadian-based artist has curated a strong presence, even going on tour with Chike. Now, the Hi-Way 89 signee has released her latest song, a three-way collaboration with the talented singers Nonso Amadi and Serøtonin. As the line-up infers, it’s a vulnerable embrace that offers the love of a partner, with Spratt holding the thematic core through her piercing verse and vocals. It continues the purposeful run-up to a project expected in August, as she’s shown an impressive ability to handle several genres. – EE

Maleek Berry was starting to sense that something was missing. The British Nigerian singer-songwriter and producer was aware that the emotional and technical elements that once enlivened Afropop music were being overlooked by those who grew up with it.

"Good songs, great songwriting, great storytelling… Afrobeats fans are yearning for that right now. That's why I had to go away and put together a collection of amazing songs that people can relate to for years to come. Not only party to, but cry to, get married to, have babies to," Berry, born Maleek Shoyebi, tells OkayAfrica in an exclusive interview.

The result of that time off is Berry's debut album, If Only Love Was Enough. It's Berry's most anticipated work, which arrives just about a decade into his time in the industry as one of the most important pioneers of contemporary Afropop music.

A predominantly R&B and Afropop blend, 'If Only Love Was Enough' pays homage to the early 2010s Afrobeats sound with a strong awareness of the times. The album features new-age artists like Ruger, as well as longtime collaborators of Berry like Tiwa Savage and Wizkid. In a music landscape that has been hurtling towards global expansion and evolving its sonic identity at a dizzying pace, Berry wants to slow things down a bit. If the project sounds like a time capsule, it is likely because it has been in development for several years and incorporates a range of sonic influences from various eras.

"I've gone through so many different versions," Berry says. "I've gone through many phases of not liking a particular song or not liking a certain group of songs, and changing them over and bringing them back. The album was supposed to have dropped a long, long time ago, but I'm glad I waited this long, and I've finally arrived at this version now. I'm very proud of it."

If Only Love Was Enough is not, thematically or structurally, a cultural statement after all. The songs here explore unrequited love, romance, and existential reflections, all classic Maleek Berry themes, but the project is highly symbolic. It's a well-articulated response to the creative slump that Nigerian music has found itself in recently. Berry is aware that, on a sonic level, this project has the potential to kickstart a return to basics, reminding music makers and Afrobeats listeners of the magic and thrill of a musical era that should never have been forgotten. "In my opinion, it's going to bring a breath of fresh air and carve out a whole new direction musically and sonically for the space as well," he adds.

Berry from the past

Much of what has made Maleek Berry's sound distinct is his devotion to drawing from the past while keeping his ears open to what the present has to say. His journey into the Nigerian music scene began in 2011. While on vacation in Nigeria at the time, he would connect with some of the voices who were already molding the scene — Davido, Naeto C, Wande Coal, and Wizkid — and eventually got his first major hit with "Carolina," featuring Sauce Kid and Davido. Then there was 2013's "The Matter" featuring Wizkid. A recurrent feature of that sound was an intelligent blend of percussion and hip-hop flows. It was modern, quintessentially Nigerian, and helped blaze a trail for what the genre would go on to become.

On If Only Love Was Enough, Berry seeks the expertise of former collaborators who also ruled the scene in that era while also drawing from the R&B music he grew up listening to. "I wanted to bring those worlds together. I had to do a little bit of looking into myself as well and getting out of my way, listening to my previous projects, figuring out the greatest songs that I've written that people liked, and not overthinking it, and making sure I have something on the album for everybody."

For Berry, the sounds of the early 2000s are timeless because it was also a time with minimal distractions.

"People were writing some of the best music ever to come out. The world was a lot less distracted during that period. That was one of the main reasons for my prolonged absence. I had to go and live life to experience what it felt like to truly live the meaning of these songs. This is what real artists used to do back in the day."

Berry worked with longtime collaborators like Legendury Beatz to keep himself rooted in the sound he wanted to create. "All of us started together back in the day, working with Wiz during the Star Boy era. There were points where I was stuck, and I had certain creative blocks, and I'd go down and ask their opinion."

Berry was also tempted to jump on the amapiano wave, but his close collaborators were opposed to the idea. "We've had many moments like this during this album creation process. Legendury Beatz would sit me down and be like, 'You know you have a sound, right? You created something back then that is tangible.' Getting reminded about that and what that sound meant to people, and what it still means to people today, gave me the confidence to stick with this sound and stick with the theme."

Berry hopes that If Only Love Was Enough will be inspirational. "I always want people to be inspired by my music," he says. "I want my music to stand the test of time. So, the same way my fans are still listening to music we released in 2013 or 2016, I want to have the same impact with this music, if not more." Even more important to Berry is how this work might inspire his peers. "All of us are sharpening each other, and I want my peers to hear this album and be blown away just like everybody else."