Africa Is a Country

Weekend Music Break 60

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Weekend Music Break 60

By
Zachary Rosen

Wherever the sun is in the sky, it’s the right time for new music. Here’s this week’s collection.

French producer Débruit’s entrancing beats act as a surprisingly strong compliment to Sudanese singer Alsarah’s mesmerizing vocals. Gorgeous otherworldly visuals in the video for “Jibal Alnuba” off the two artists’ new collaboration album aljawal الجوال (The Traveler), blend with the music to make the whole ensemble an impressive creation.

Fata, Mbaye Dieye and Waly Seck demonstrate just how naturally hip-hop blends with popular Senegalese Mbalax rhythms in “Nguenté”.

MC/Singer Esperanzah Denswil from Holland by way of Suriname transforms into her captivating, resurrected alter ego Pink Oculus in her new single “Sweat”. And she certainly knows how to weave a story: “Legend has it that Pink Oculus once made a journey through the Egyptian desert with just a pouch of gold dust, 8 pairs of phoenix wings and a drink of water. This journey lasted 13 days and 13 nights and when she had found her way back to her homeland all her hair had gone from black to bright pink.”

The Finest Lady of South African house DJ CNDO delivers another addictive track with “Intokazi”.

Elevating Cameroonian hip-hop are JOVI and Eko Roosevelt in the jazz-infused “Bush Faller”.

Color saturated footage from the cellphone of South African producer MUZI acts as fitting visuals for the intense driving energy of his banger “SYMBOLS”. Download MUZI’s Bundu FX EP here.

Mozambican singer Kakana’s voice exudes positive vibes amidst vibrant colors in “Xiluva”.

Young South African singer Nakhane Toure proves he’s one to look out for in his passionate first single, “Fog”. In the video, simple black and white visuals show how complex identity can feel.

Leather and levitation characterize the high energy Duas Caras & Trez Agah track “Um em um milhão”.

Kanana and Rabbit are the Kenyan Bonnie and Clyde in “Ni Mapenzi Tu”.

And as a bonus this week we have the new single from Ghanaian singer Jojo Abot, the unique electronic-jazz fusion “Aim Straight”. With such a dynamic voice, Jojo is poised for takeover.

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Further Reading

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.