Bigger and bigger

Every month, Hipsters Don't Dance send us their "Top World Carnival Tunes." This is September 2015's chart.

Marc St, via Unsplash.

It’s been a while since we last did a chart; In news from our part of the world, Carnival passed (great as per usual), various African nations had their annual picnic in the park events in London (bigger and better each year), and Skepta took over the world. Here’s our chart for September 2015:

J Hus x Friendly

The Gambian MC recently ran into some trouble which we won’t get into. He is one of the most exciting new MC’s in the UK at the moment. By combining afrobeats with dancehall and well, UK road rap, he has definitely found his lane. This can work for the traditional dreary road rap or lighter things such as this track.

Frenchie x #Cele (Featuring Naira Marley)

This combination of Congo and Nigeria popped out of nowhere and it’s frankly great. Naira Marley hasn’t been on this sort of happy vibe in a while, so it’s great to see him really get to strut his stuff.

Big Nuz x Phaqa

Rip R. Mashesha. Incwadi Yothando is a classic and one of the few songs to actually make Hootie Who cry and skank at the same time.

Just wanted to take some time to point out that carnival is the one time of year that Afro or Caribbean promoters decide to all put on some mega acts on the same weekend. So we saw a Mafizokolo show on the same night as a Living Drumz Show in London. Hopefully these types of bookings will spread out more over the year as the genre grows bigger and better.

Fay-Ann Lyons x Block the Road (Feat. Stonebwoy)

More Afro/Caribbean link ups, this time Ghana and Trinidad. It seems as if Stonebwoy is working with everyone at the moment. This is one of the first fruits of those collaborations.

Heavy K x Therapy (Feat. Burna Boy)

Heavy K’s double disc LP came out earlier this month and features a who’s who of South African house music. Also on there is Burna Boy handling this uptempo beat with no problem. The more we listen to Burna Boy the more we see a tinge of Craig David but this is all him here.

Further Reading

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.

Gen Z’s electoral dilemma

Long dismissed as apathetic, Kenya’s youth forced a rupture in 2024. As the 2027 election approaches, their challenge is turning digital rebellion and street protest into political power.