{"id":93121,"date":"2021-11-26T16:38:14","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T14:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=93121"},"modified":"2021-11-26T19:23:01","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T17:23:01","slug":"9-albums-you-should-listen-to-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/9-albums-you-should-listen-to-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"9 albums you should listen to this week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Greatness 2.0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DJ Neptune<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greatness 2.0 clocks in at 27 features, some names familiar and some new. Mr Eazi, Yemi Alade, and Patoranking are among those back for another taste of greatness. However, this project has gone further to include new collaborators, notably South African amapiano mainstay Focalistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAM spoke with DJ Neptune for the album release who had this to say, \u201cThere\u2019s amapiano vibe for the South African audience, there\u2019s \u2018Gaza\u2019 for the Ghana dancehall audience, there\u2019s \u2018Cash\u2019 for the Drill Kumerica market, and then there\u2019s afrobeats for the afrobeats audience. And I also had my brother (Harmonize) from Tanzania on \u2018My Woman\u2019 for the East African market.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, there\u2019s something for everyone, whether it\u2019s Mr Eazi\u2019s love ballad on \u201cDo and Undo\u201d or the hip hop rewind on \u201cRise Up\u201d with Laycon, Waje, and Ladipoe. Greatness 2.0 is a perfect looking glass into Nigerian pop, and the rising African music tastemakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s a Mixtape<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denise Chaila<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denise Chaila is back with a 5 track \u201cMixtape\u201d that\u2019s a hard slap for the artist-activist. Leading off with \u201c061\u201d where Chaila raps, \u201cyou came to the 061, we\u2019ll show you how to get things done,\u201d the track goes on to encourage listeners to write their MP and clears \u201carians out of your area\u201d with a ruthless flow. This combination of politically conscious lyrics and bossy bars blooms in this latest project, though we find space to breathe the poetic and spoken word background of the artist in \u201cI A M (Interlude)\u201d that weaves in affirmations from a variety of tunneled out voices. \u201cI will not be insecure because you are not comfortable with my confidence,<\/em>\u201d is one of the stronger takeaways from the bold and brash project. \u201cEnergy\u201d is also a touching ode to Denise\u2019s mother performed for the PAM team before our interview at Pitchfork Paris (feature coming soon).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Back to Basics<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

R2Bees<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

R2Bees, made up of Omar Sterling and Mugeez, are a Ghanian hip hop duo who have been making music since 2007. They\u2019ve shared the scene with figures like WizKid, DaVido, and Wande Coal among others and now they\u2019re out with a 15 track album that invites Mr Eazi, WizKid, Joeboy, King Promise to execute a sweet melange of juju highlife and afrobeats hip hop. The project is full of feel good energy and desire, but stands out on tracks like \u201cGet Get No Dey Want\u201d or \u201cOdo Nti\u201d where the duo test new production terrain peeking their head into electronic music. \u201cSure Banker\u201d is a seamless blend of highlife and amapiano that we have yet to see, and the heavy bars laid on top make for a totally original reinterpretation of both genres. Finally, \u201cFormation\u201d with DarkoVibes is a perfect afrobeats dance floor bounce. Back 2 Basics <\/em>is a worthy listen A to Z.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ZaZa Vibes (Extended)<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

L.AX.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigerian singer, songwriter and recording artist L.A.X comes around with a deluxe version of ZaZa Vibes<\/em> almost a year after its initial release. The album, now a mainstay for Nigerian pop, with tracks like \u201cCommando\u201d, \u201cSempe\u201d, and \u201cGo Low\u201d, all massive hits that have been spinning since last summer, is a testament to L.A.X\u2019s keen hit-making sensibilities. The extended deluxe invites new titans to the fray including Mr Eazi, Simi, and Tiwa Savage to reinterpret some of the album\u2019s most contagious tracks. We also get a brand new cut \u201cAyaya\u201d feat. Bella Shmurda that is sure to make a similar impact. Overall the deluxe is a welcome revisitation to a classic album of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sex Over Love Deluxe<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blaqbonez<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sex Over Love<\/em>, Blaqbonez\u2019s latest album, was a creative pivot from the heavy battle raps that defined his come-up. Instead, he sought to redefine his style to accommodate a larger audience, with big ambitions for superstardom. \u201cI\u2019ve made a decision that it\u2019s always best to evolve rather than try to please the same people. At the end of the day, nobody wants to keep hearing the same exact song over and over\u201d, he told PAM in an interview. Nigerian music\u2019s official bad boy now releases five new tracks in a deluxe version of his recent album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Solotude<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abdullah Ibrahim<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following his critically acclaimed 2019 record The Balance<\/em>, the legendary South African pianist and composer now returns with Solotude<\/em>, an album recorded at his latest concert at Hirzinger Hall, Germany. Due to lockdown restrictions at the time of recording, Ibrahim decided to record a solo piano performance instead of the annual concert that he normally plays to celebrate his birthday. On this new album, he explores modern jazz styles, reinterpreting well-loved songs and recent album tracks, as well as some new compositions such as \u201cIn-Tempo,\u201d \u201cOnce Upon A Midnight,\u201d and \u201cSignal On A Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Giant + Guitar LP reissued<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omar Khorshid<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in 1945 in Cairo, Omar Khorshid pioneered an Egyptian brand of rock in the 1970s, a sound full of musical experiments, particularly when it came to the guitar. Following the reissue of his mythical album With Love<\/em> last February, Wewantsounds now turns to Giant + Guitar<\/em>. Recorded by renowned Lebanese sound engineer Nabil Moumtaz, the album features the sound of Khorshid\u2019s unique electric guitar playing mixed with Arabic melodies over beautifully psychedelic arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SYCLE<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danitsa<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of Congolese, Chadian, Serbian, Spanish and French descent, Danitsa\u2019s music is an explosive blend of her different cultures and influences. Four years after the release of her first album Ego<\/em>, critically acclaimed, she releases todat her new album SYCLE<\/em> on the Island Records label. SYCLE <\/em>is \u201can immersion in Danitsa\u2019s artistic world and a synthesis of these last four years of experience, between international tour and travel<\/em>\u201d. With this new project, the singer showcases how she has found herself artistically, to offer us a mature and accomplished set of songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Holy Water Over Sons<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daedelus & Joshua Idehen<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having collaborated with Madlib and sampled by Drake, Daedelus is a pre-eminent and influential beat creator, joined here by rising poet Joshua Idehen. On Holy Water Over Sons<\/em>, powerful yet vulnerable poems contemplating life as a black man are accompanied by otherworldly, future electronics. Its eight tracks of minimal mechanoid lamentation and ethereal electro-blues pulsate under meditations of race, depression, identity and grief. \u201cWe are living in a dark timeline<\/em>\u201d, Joshua says. \u201cIt felt dishonest not to speak on what I was feeling, watching everything unfold in the UK and US at the time<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greatness 2.0 DJ Neptune Greatness 2.0 clocks in at 27 features, some names familiar and some new. Mr Eazi, Yemi Alade, and Patoranking are among those back for another taste of greatness. However, this project […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":93145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3944,87],"tags":[4019,25241,40956,27628,40813,30852,6819,30853],"location":[],"yst_prominent_words":[8576,8509,8996,8993,12204,8414,8933,9391,12786,8402,8435,9834,8508,8543,8438,8449],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93121"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93121"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=93121"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=93121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}