Playlist 4: Five new African music videos to check out

CENTRAL AFRICA

Tizeu ft. Mawndoe - 'Kening Kening' remix (Cameroon)   Tizeu recently launched this remix of the track 'Kening Kening', from the Cameroonian group's first album, entitled Words. The new version of the song features Chadian artist Mawndoe. 'Kening Kening' tells how people take advantage of others in society. They are ready to fabricate stories just to have a drink or a free place to stay. In this context, these people are called 'Kening Kening', flattering profiteers. Tizeu (aka No Name Crew) are establishing themselves worldwide with their inspired lyrics about social issues that the youth can relate to. Mawata and Jiji Almady, two of the group's founding members, have been in this musical adventure since 1999 and look set to continue.  

WEST AFRICA - French

Ibaaku – 'Djula Dance' (Senegal)   Creative, captivating, innovative, amazing, original! These are the adjectives that come up most often at the sight of this great video 'Djula Dance' by Ibaaku (aka Stéphane). On this beautiful track, Ibaaku skillfully uses African sounds, incorporating modern Afro-pop melodies and complex dance rhythms. This first video from the album Alien Cartoon, made for a parade of Senegalese stylist Selly Raby Kane, demonstrates a very successful experiment, served by a superb direction by Loïc Hoquet. With the album released in January 2016, you can bet that Ibaaku will surely establish itself as a flagship artist of a new movement in West African dance music. Though the artist may still be somewhat unclassifiable, he nicknames his music "Afro-hypnotic electro".  

WEST AFRICA - English

Phrimpong ft. Skulboy - 'Africa' (Ghana)   Like the continent it extols, ‘Africa’ by Phrimpong consists of several elements. Three are highlighted: singing, rapping and afrobeat. With a video shot in Prampram, Accra and Nzulezu in Ghana’s western region, Phrimpong shows an image of Africa not usually seen in the news. The video conveys the pleasure both Phrimpong and Skulboy take in their land’s beauty. The singer told Music In Africa, “I drew inspiration from the history of our beautiful continent, its abundant resources and the cordial interpersonal relations among others.” Phrimpong’s 'Africa' is one we should believe in. His video is one we should all watch.  

SOUTHERN AFRICA Onesimus ft. Major 1 - 'Miracle Money' (Malawi)   'Miracle Money' is Malawian artist Onesimus's latest single and has already broken download records in Malawi, reportedly scoring some 11 000 downloads in just 11 hours. The song itself benefits from a contagious groove inspired by the latest South African house trends, particulary from Pretoria, where the artist has been spending much of his time recording his gospel album, Epikaizo Volume 2, which includes this his latest hit. The video, directed by Sukez, consists primarily of slickly choreographed dance moves interspersed with samples of evangelical speeches on TV - a nod to the money-minded pastors and prophets currently cashing in on people's insecurites, blurring the lines between materialism and spirituality. Catchy it may be, but soul-nurturing gospel it certainly isn't, no matter how 'born again' the artist may be.  

EAST AFRICA Semhar Yohannes - 'Wedi Mislene’ (Eritrea)   Semhar Yohannes’ new video 'Wedi Mislene' is not only breathtaking but it gives one a taste of Eritrean traditional music. The video, which revolves around a woman who is in love, is well put together despite the simplistic message. According to Halenga Records, who produced the video: “The whole story is built on a medieval setting and is based on orally transmitted tales in the highlands of Eritrea. The lyrics are in Tigrinya, the most spoken language in Eritrea, and the dialect and cadence of the words are purposefully old.” The lyrics are full of praise of a man that the woman is eyeing. She is not afraid to express her desire: “Oh, formidable man with a grace that casts an immense shadow, I am even scared to approach you, let alone to stand in front of you,”  the woman declares in the fifth verse, before continuing, “No need to ask questions, the answer is written in my face.”