The 7 Songs You Need to Hear This Week

Every week, we highlight the cream of the crop in music through our best music of the week column.

Here’s our round up of the best tracks and music videos that came across our desks, which you can also check out in our Songs You Need to Hear This Week playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.

Follow our SONGS YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS WEEK playlist on Spotify here and Apple Music here.

Check out all of OkayAfrica’s playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.

Angelique Kidjo ‘Do Yourself’ ft. Burna Boy

Beninese icon Angelique Kidjo joins forces with Nigerian musical heavyweight Burna Boy to deliver their joint army of fans a fun-loving, wholesome pro-African anthem of note. The renowned singer’s single with the ‘African Giant’ comes off last year’s album, Mother Nature.

Rema ‘Calm Down’

Rema, prince of Nigerian music, has announced his new album, Rave & Roses, which is due on March 25. He’s also shared the lead single from the project “Calm Down,” a guitar-led mid-tempo compostion produced by Andre Vibez and London. “Calm down is about the events that led me to finding love at the time,” Rema mentions. “It started at a party where I saw a girl who stood out from other girls so I felt like shooting my shot. We spoke and danced… but her friends didn’t let me get any closer which killed the vibe, but afterwards when they weren’t there, we stayed in touch and hit it off.”

Amaarae ‘SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY’ Remix ft Kali Uchis & Moliy

Ghanaian singer-songwriter Amaarae has FINALLY gifted fans a stunning, high-energy, female-centered music video for her global hit “SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY.” The singer released visuals for the remix featuring sultry Colombian-American singer-songwriter Kali Uchis and fellow Ghanaian songbird Moliy. The song has conquered some incredible feats since its 2020 debut, and viral takeover on music sharing app TikTok.

Ibeyi ‘Sister 2 Sister’

Ibeyi, the duo of Afro-Cuban, French twins Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz, are announcing their upcoming new album, Spell 31, due out May 6th on XL Recordings. Their also sharing its first single “Sister 2 Sister” which focuses on their own sibling relationship, Latin roots and, even, samples their early single “River.”

Asna x anyoneID ‘Abissa’

Ivory Coast-born Asna comes through with an energetic and ear-grabbing new single and video for “Abissa.” “For this second single, I had a revelation when I heard the N’dombolé (sacred drum) during the Abissa (celebration of the N’zima New Year),” Asna mentions. “I felt teleported to a Berlin rave, as its organic rhythms and textures reminded me of techno and trance.”

Reekado Banks ‘Ozumba Mbadiwe’ (Remix) ft. Fireboy DML

Nigeria’s Reekado Banks shares the remix to his addictive single “Ozumba Mbadiwe” featuring Fireboy DML.

Ogi ‘I Got It’

Los Angeles-based Nigerian-American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ogi shares her first ever single in the form of the No I.D.-produced “I Got It.” “This music represents me coming into myself and not being afraid of saying things I wish I said to other people,” Ogi mentions. “It’s as if I’m speaking directly to someone who’s in my head .”