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

A sick health system

The suspension of three doctors following the death of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s son has renewed scrutiny of a health-care system plagued by impunity, underfunding, and a mass exodus of medical professionals.

Afrobeats after Fela

Wizkid’s dispute with Seun Kuti and the release of his latest EP with Asake highlight the widening gap between Afrobeats’ commercial triumph and Fela Kuti’s political inheritance

Progress is exhausting

Pedro Pinho’s latest film follows a Portuguese engineer in Guinea-Bissau, exposing how empire survives through bureaucracy, intimacy, and the language of “development.”

The rubble of empire

Built by Italian Fascists in 1928, Mogadishu Cathedral was meant to symbolize “peaceful conquest.” Today its ruins force Somalis to confront the uneasy afterlife of colonial power and religious authority.

Atayese

Honored in Yorubaland as “one who repairs the world,” Jesse Jackson’s life bridged civil rights, pan-Africanism, empire, and contradiction—leaving behind a legacy as expansive as it was imperfect.

Bread or Messi?

Angola’s golden jubilee culminated in a multimillion-dollar match against Argentina. The price tag—and the secrecy around it—divided a nation already grappling with inequality.

Visiting Ngara

A redevelopment project in Nairobi’s Ngara district promises revival—but raises deeper questions about capital, memory, and who has the right to shape the city.