The playlist: African pop – Eddy Kenzo, Ntjam Rosie, Nneka and more
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Version 0 of 1. Riky Rick – Boss Zonke Riky Rick of South African music, style and culture collective BoyzNBuck$, returns amid high anticipation. He has recently severed ties with prominent hip-hop independent label Motif Records but shows no signs of slowing down. In this video he and his crew cavort around their various stomping grounds in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban with the requisite 3-series BMW. Nneka – My Love, My love We’ve grown used to seeing Nneka in warrior mode. Her 2008 breakout album No Longer At Ease launched her as one of the most militant African singer-songwriters of her generation. Her new album My Fairy Tales is due out soon, and from the looks of this intimate new video, we’ll be getting a softer and more candid version of her. Eddy Kenzo and Patoranking – Royal Rising Ugandan pop star Eddy Kenzo wastes no time in fulfilling our prediction from just a few weeks ago. This fresh-off the-press track with fellow come-up Nigerian dancehall artist Patoranking (one of BBC 1Xtra DJ Edu’s 2015 top five picks) is his second release in as many days. Negash Ali – Harmonize Negash Ali has spent the most part of his young, promising career writing with producers such as Lucas Secon (Christina Aguilera, Cee-Lo), Viktoria Hansen (Alicia Keys) and more. Now ready for his own share of the limelight, he releases his new three-track EP Collage on 23 February, and Harmonize is its quietly soulful and introspective lead single. He was born to a 16-year-old mother who fled the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1990, and after five years spent in various refugee centres in Denmark, settled in Aarhus, so the Eritrean singer-songwriter and producer has no shortage of personal experience to draw from. Ntjam Rosie – Dear to Me Ntjam Rosie, the Cameroon-born, Netherlands-based artist’s fourth album The One marks her self-production debut. Crafting a sound that recalls earthy India Arie and nods nostalgically to Patrice Rushen’s 80s jazz R&B style, she confidently delivers a unique soundscape of her own. |