Bensoul
The Party & the After Party
(Afropop)
It has been five years since Bensoul (Benson Mutua Muia) made his solo debut with the hits Lucy and Favorite Song.
As the title of his second album (and his first after leaving the Sol Generation stable) suggests, this is a collection of feel-good party songs. In Bensoul’s own words the music here is about “living life to the fullest”.
The After Party sets that mood for the album, which then intensifies with the amapiano-influenced Kesha, a collaboration with singer-songwriter and producer Ywaya Tajiri.
Bien Aime-Baraza lends his distinctive vocal style to Extra Pressure while Rwandan singer The Ben features on the laidback R&B love song Uno.
The multi-instrumentalist who plays bass, acoustic and electric guitar, keyboard, drums and violin pays homage to an urban music veteran who laid the foundation for him and others by collaborating with Nameless on Holiday.
Tanzanian star Harmonize turns the spark on the amapiano party anthem Chupa kwa Chupa, one of the catchiest songs on the album.
Bensoul pays tribute to “his first love” his mom who passed in November 2023, on the rousing Forget You with a choral background adding to the poignancy of the song.
Seun Kuti, Egypt 80 & Daman Marley
Dey
(Afrobeat/Dancehall)
Suen Kuti, the youngest son of the legendary Nigerian Afrobeat king Fela Kuti, connects with Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, second youngest son of the king of Reggae, Bob Marley, on this funky new single that celebrates the beauty of African heritage.
This recording is sparkling with the Afrobeat (without an ‘s”) vibe driven by the distinct horn section and percussions.
Photo credit: Pool
Thanks to Egypt 80, the band founded by Fela in the 1970s, this recording is sparkling with the Afrobeat (without an ‘s”) vibe driven by the distinct horn section and percussions.
The two artists first met at a festival in France in 2009 when Damian had just released his highly successful album, Welcome to Jamrock, and they have maintained contact since.
When Seun completed composing the new album, he sent all the songs to Damian to pick his choice for a collaboration and the Jamaican chose to jump on Dey.
This is the lead single from Seun’s upcoming album Heavier Yet (Lays the Crownless Head) officially released on October 4, 2024.
He calls it a “historic moment” for the two musicians whose fathers championed protest music, to record together for the first time.
According to Seun, here are “two performers, both from the dynasty of Africa with a huge continental divide singing about similar struggles”
Cat Burns
Early Twenties
(Soul/Pop)
This exceptional talent from South London arrives with a brilliant debut containing 25 songs that reflect the turbulence of early adult years, characterised by confusion over relationships and identity.
Born Catrina Burns to parents who migrated to the UK to escape the war in Liberia in the 1990s, the singer turned 24 in June this year.
The album starts with the song Alone, inspired by her friends who are enjoying life on their own despite the pressures of getting into relationships.
“I think Gen-Z just are quite dramatic. I wanted drama to begin and grip you and then take you on a journey,” Burns tells Apple Music.
The album starts with the song Alone, inspired by her friends who are enjoying life on their own despite the pressures of getting into relationships
Photo credit: Pool
The album travels from Go, the song that got her noticed on TikTok during the pandemic, to the inspirational Live More and Love More to People Pleaser which in her words “just wrote itself” as a happy-go-lucky song.
When India. Arie heard cover versions of her songs recorded by an unknown British girl in 2020, she got in touch offering any support required.
So, when Burns wrote Healing, she sent it to her idol who loved it and recorded her verse. It is a message from an older person offering a reassurance that whatever you are going through, you’ll come out of it, and everything will be OK.
Chandler Moore
Live In Los Angeles
(Gospel)
Ahead of the much-anticipated concert by Chandler Moore in Nairobi on August 17, this new album offers a taste of the uplifting power of the American contemporary gospel music star
Moore has described this album that was recorded over two nights in May 2024 in Los Angeles, California, as his return to the roots of the music that he grew up with in church as the son of a pastor.
The highlights are the lead single Lead Me On, the rousing I Have a Father and Omemma (Igbo meaning the ‘God who does good’). Some of the biggest names in contemporary gospel music: Israel Houghton, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Naomi Raine, feature as guest performers
There is no better way for fans of the Dove and Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and worship leader to gear up for the Nairobi performance that will also be headlined by Kirk Franklin and the gospel collective Maverick City Music.
