Every week, we highlight the very best of new music for your listening pleasure. In no particular order, check out our selection of the best new songs you need to hear featuring music from Oumou Sangaré, B-Fela, Kat Penkin, 31 Stars and more.

1. Izu Osirus ft Flavour – Amaka Don’t Run

Nigerian-American musician Izu Osirus and Flavour release new song titled ‘Amaka Don’t Run’. On the exciting new single the two musicians promise to always be there for their partners as they sing sweet melodies of assurance. The collaboration came together after award-winning artiste Flavour heard Izu Osirus’ single ‘Fire Hot’ and fell in love with it. The two then got acquainted with the help of a mutual friend. Flavour would later headline a show at Globe Theatre Los Angeles with Izu Osirus as the opening act. After the show, they got together and brought ‘Amaka Don’t Run’ to life. 

2. Bjorn Rydhog – New Day Coming 

Swedish musician Bjorn Rydhog releases new single “New Day Coming”, from his upcoming EP with usual producer Johan Sigerud (JRSS). It is an inspiring song that gives listeners the hope to face tomorrow. “The single ‘New Day Coming’ and the upcoming EP, have a celebratory and hopeful feel. This time the songs goes even deeper, trying to express the beauty and love that’s all around. Music that’s perfect for listening alone under the starlit sky, as well as accompanying the warm and sweaty post-pandemic party nights. A musical companion guiding us over troubled water.”

3. T.Shan – Coast

Singer, songwriter, rapper, and visual artist T. Shan returns with his sun-drenched single “Coast.” The self-directed music video illustrates the facade of romanticizing Los Angeles. On this single, the New York MC experiments with a sound influenced by 1960s California. Radiating with high energy throughout, the track combines a timeless-vintage-sounding production with T.Shan’s heavenly harmonies to create a bittersweet banger that leaves you aimlessly wandering around in the dog days of summer. 

4. REA SOM – Menina de Flores

Swiss band REA SOM releases new song ‘Menina de Flores’, an ode to Brazilian music. In the song, the Head of the band, Rea Hunziker, reminisces about a trip she took to Brazil in the summer of 2007. She was very much fascinated by the country’s music, beautiful sights and culture. This even led to the formation of her band. Rea began to emulate the great Brazilian women voices Maria Rita and Elis Regina, learned Portuguese and soon started to write her own lyrics. After another stay in Rio de Janeiro, Rea wrote her first compositions and worked out her vision of REA SOM with her musicians. Many of the lyrics inspired by her stays in Brazil, deal with life’s questions and recurring emotions.

5. TAB Family – Hold Me Down

On this Slow Zeus-produced jam, Ayo Busari, Ayuba SOQS, FAUKREO and TAB Family shower complements on their respective lovers. In the song, the singers show appreciation to their partners for the love and support they continuously receive from them. The afro-powered production for ‘Hold Me Down’ creates a cushion for the soft and soothing vocals that spread throughout the song creating a complete love song perfect to set the mood for a romantic evening with your lover.

6. SkinnyDay & LuisRey – The Fountain Of Youth

On SkinnyDay & LuisRey’s new song, they sing about the challenges an individual may face when age starts catching up to you. The two brothers go on an adventure in pursuit of the fountain of youth. They later discover that life is not really about a destination since all mortals eventually have to come to terms with growing old but it’s rather about the good times and meaningful moments during that journey.

7. Muyo- L’EAU (Water)

Brussels-based songwriter and producer, Muyo is out with new song ‘L’eau (Water)’, an experimental song with jazz and afro-influences, vibrating drum patterns and heavy bass. On ‘L’eau (Water)’, we can witness Muyo bring her African roots to the forefront and this is evident from the African percussions used and the African dance choreography portrayed in the dreamlike Ali Charlemagne-directed music video.

8. MiddleGround – Breathe In

UK-based duo MiddleGround are out with new single “Breathe In”. The Steve Ryan and Scott Fouracre produced song is full of life with soothing electric keys, punchy basslines, and layered harmonies over a laidback drum groove. ‘Breathe In’ is an upbeat song about keeping a cool head to make the right decisions and following your passions.

9. Canyon – IN THE PAINT

Canyon releases new song ‘In the Paint’, he does this with an assist from Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire. On ‘In The Paint’, we see the two rappers combine witty bars, distinctive ad-libs, and slick wordplays to create a thrilling hard hitter. The hard-hitting bars that spread throughout the song prompts listeners to pay attention and follow the story. Since the age of 11, Canyon has been fascinated by music and how it can transform lives. He began his career in music at age13 and received massive support from the global audience. The support from his audience was motivation enough for him to leave his job in the tech industry and pursue his passion full time. 

10. Kuneli – Makoma (Promise)

On Kuneli’s ‘Makoma’, she professes undying love to her love interest and asks for him to be equally loyal and faithful to her. Driven by melodic guitar riffs and vibrating drum patterns, the hopeless romantic Kuneli passionately serenades her lover forcing listeners to want to do the same with their lover or fall in love all over again. 

11. King Kay & Dahlin Gage – Deja Vu

On Deja Vu, King Kay and Dahlin Gage talk about a young man’s pursuit of a girl he believes he has already met. The self proclaimed King of Vibes brings this love story to life with an assist from Ghanaian musician Dahlin Gage who delivers a verse in Ga, a popular language mostly spoken in the southern part of Ghana. Given away by the title, Deja Vu is a mid-tempo catchy song about how a man was instantly infatuated by the beauty of a woman who he swears to have met before. He pleads with her to give him a chance even though his approach may look like a corny pick up line.

12. Liam Back – The Pineal Eye

On the self-produced ‘The Pineal Eye’, Hamburg-based singer and producer Liam Back sings about resorting to deeper solutions to his problems after not being able to rely on his close friends and acquaintances. “This song is about decision making. Not based on what we see but based on our intuition. René Descartes believed the human pineal gland to be the “principal seat of the soul.” ” Liam who began making beats in 2007, created the instrumental for this after acquiring a new instrument. According to him, the skeleton took about 10 minutes to create and 2 days for mixing. 

13. Oumou Sangaré – Sarama

Renowned Grammy award-winning Malian musician Oumou Sangaré outdoors new song ‘Sarama’. The single is part of her impending album ‘Timbuktu’ scheduled for release on 29th April. This will be The Songbird of Wassoulou’s first new material since 2017’s critically acclaimed ‘Mogoya’. ‘Timbuktu’ is a stunning collection of songs with sonic influences from blues, folk and rock and  the fusion of those elements with her distinctive Malian sound and vocals resulting in a timeless body of work, free from borders and genres. “Music is within me,” Oumou declares. “Without it, I’m nothing, and nothing can take it away from me! I’ve put my life into this record, my whole life–this life in which I’ve known hunger, the humiliation of poverty and fear, and from which today, I draw glory.”

14. DJ Power – Special Delivery

On Special Delivery, award-winning disc jockey/producer DJ Power assembles legendary Dancehall phenom Vybz Kartel, top UK Drill rapper SL and reggae legend Junior Reid on a dancehall infused Drill production. The track also features rising Toronto rapper NojokeJigsaw and Brooklyn drill rapper Scrilla Hef. The Kieran Khan-directed music set in Jamaica tells a story of a drug lord holding his worker accountable for a mysterious disappearance of a shipment. This leads to a relentless pursuit to retrieve what he lost.

15. Stein & Maad Mike – Party Night

In his latest collaborative single, Stein combines seamlessly with Swedish Producer Maad Mike to create ‘Party Night’, a song with a self-explanatory title. Famous for his profound, prolific lyrics and versatile, fluid flows, dancehall artiste Stein creates an uptempo repeat-worthy record with memorable and relatable lyrics that reflects his persona. It gets listeners to either bob their heads or head straight to the dance floor, basically just to live in the now and forget about your problems.

16. YfnVon – Rain Freestyle

YfnVon delivers a scathing rap verse on a song he titles ‘Rain Freestyle’. In the Yoaspire-directed music video, YfnVon is pictured spitting hard-hitting bars about random happenings in the company of his friends. It looks almost as if he was telling them about how his day went. The New York-based video director does well to capture the nightlife of the irrepressible youth. ‘Rain Freestyle’ is a catchy, raw and gritty rap song with the lyrics revolving around the theme of money, crime, sex and violence.

17. PapaRaZzle – Sip On It

Nigerian Afropop singer/songwriter PapaRaZzle is out with ‘Sip On It’, the lead single from his recently released 2-track EP. Over this laid-back production that comprises of a fusion of Afrobeats of pop, PapaRaZzle sings about the excitement that comes with a budding relationship and wanting to spend some quality time with his love interest. With his soothing vocals, catchy hook and very relatable story, PapaRaZzle certainly brings something refreshing to the table. Check out the full EP as well. 

18. 31 Stars & StarChild Yeezo – Catch a Vybe

’Catch a Vybe’ as titled, is a tropical feel-good song that comprises instrumentation from modern-pop and electronic dance music. It puts listeners in a carefree state of mind and sets the body in motion. It’s a song about having fun and basically living in the moment. ‘Catch a Vybe’ was written in 2018 during a songwriting camp in Los Angeles where the pop duo – 31 Stars collaborated with 11 singer/songwriters. “We had heard Starchild Yeezo’s work before and the tracks he had worked on with Far East Movement. A really good songwriter and an incredible singer too!  We instantly knew we wanted him to sing the song he was going to write because he would do the utmost justice to it.” 

StarChild Yeezo’s luscious vocals on the well put-together production give listeners a glimpse of what to expect from 31 Stars’ impending debut EP

19. Kat Penkin – Checkmate

Fresh on the scene, Brighton-based R&B/pop artiste Kat Penkin releases her debut EP ‘Checkmate’. According to the soulful singer, “Checkmate is a 6 track wonder to take you through the Rollercoaster that is a lockdown break up”. Born in Devon, raised in Perth, Australia, Kat has been hard at work writing and developing her nostalgic, but fresh sound. Blending relatable lyrics with Pop, R&B and soulful influences, her music is a unique melting pot of sensibility and sass.  On the title track, Kat Penkin gets straight to the point with the lyrics — “So much arguing, not enough sex”— her tongue-in-cheek lyricism offers candid, witty insights into what life was like during the lockdown. Kat Penkin’s debut EP ‘Checkmate’ is an illustration of her genre-bending versatility and of course a preview of what to expect from this exciting rising star. 

20. B-Fela – AutoMoto

B-Fela makes a return to music with his new song “AutoMoto” a follow-up on his 2020 release “No-Isolation”. Over vibrating drum patterns, B-Fela sings about living the fast life. According to him it is his account of the activities he engaged in during his brief hiatus from music. “In this song, I give a glimpse into my life whilst being away from music. I hope anyone listening can catch a vibe to it, whilst feeling the emotions I put into the song!”

21. Vvrn – Uyeza (Ft. Eto8 and Ginger Nkosi)

Vvrn releases new song “Uyeza”, an afro-spiritual house track. Eto8 and Ginger Nkosi’s contributions to the song help make it complete by blending their voices with such apparent effortlessness. Driven by melodic string instruments and vibrating African drum patterns, the two musicians showcase their raw, organic vocals and chants in Zulu. 

22. Ann Hoku Lyn – Love Rebel 

On Ann Hoku Lyn’s Love Rebel she responds to hatred with love by preaching against systems put in place to cause division among humans. A true love rebel, Ann Hoku Lyn chose not to sign to Usher’s label when she was in her twenties, preferring to continue to write songs and stay true to her musical path. Now she and her husband Truth Musiq record music in their home studio on the island of Hawaii. Love Rebel features local artists Moni and Binti Bailey and is the third single of Ann’s upcoming album.