The year is coming to a close which means and we’re back with another year-end list of our favourite music. 2022 saw the world start to properly re-open following multiple pandemic lockdowns and the musical floodgates came with it. If 2021 was breathless then 2022 was unrelenting in it’s release of music. From big mainstream acts to smaller and newer upstarts, the avalanche of music never stopped and we’re here to bring you some of our favourites in this 4 part series that will cover 100 songs released within the last year. We’ve searched far and wide to provide an eclectic list of choices that include our usual genres like Hip-Hop, Amapiano, R&B and Alternative as well as broadening our choices to more music within Jazz, Alté, Folk and Afrofusion. With choices from all across the African continent, these are some of our special highlights, Our Songs of 2022.

Usual Disclaimers: 1) For the purposes of this series we’ve kept the choices to one selection per artist in a leading role with the exception of work that’s credited in a group/collaborative body of work. We stress that these are personal favorites and not necessarily what we think are the most representative songs of the year. If an artist dropped both solo work and group/collaborative work in the same time span, we’ve counted each effort as separate, ie this consideration would apply to acts like Maglera Doe Boy & Monelle who both dropped solo music as well as collaborative tapes within the calendar year. 2) Only works that were released between December 1 2021 – November 25th 2022 were considered.

Group 1 [Listed alphabetically, not in ranking]

All of Me – Gina Jeanz featuring Jordan Baker [produced by Gina Jeanz]

Kicking off our list is a bated slice of R&B from Namibian DJ and Music Producer, Gina Jeanz. Found within her eclectic Lucid Theory project is Jordan Baker’s discontent plea for attention and candidness with All of Me. All of Me finds Jordan Baker expressing frustration due to her partner’s lack of involvement in their engagements. This frustration is encapsulated with the song’s central refrain “Give me some of you cause I’ve been giving you all of me”. Gina Jeanz provides a really chilled production that maintains a simmeringly pensive quality that Jordan Baker’s vocal floats on top of. Part of All of Me‘s magic lies in how subdued it keeps itself in spite of it’s lyrical context. It presents Jordan Baker’s sentiments as frank but melancholic in such a way that it feels like these were the words left unsaid. All Of Me is the type of relatable storytelling that sooths and is a solid addition to your more chilled playlists.

Away – Keamo [produced by Keamo & Lebohang Lebakeng]

Our second pick keeps us within the realms of frustrated ballads as Keamo makes a pained plea for distance in Away. With an opening lyric that reads “I need some space from you, I’m in a state because of you. I need away from you…”, Away is a song that finds this soulful chanteuse at her wits end. Backed by a pensive acoustic production and solemn harmonies, Keamo launches into this song with teary contempt as she begs her partner to let her go. The song’s production remains bare allowing Keamo’s vocal to take centre stage as she milks her emotions for all they’re worth. Away is a song that allows you to wallow in its heartache. It’s a strong showcase from one of South Africa’s newer R&B voices that shows off Keamo’s potential as a formidable vocalist and storyteller. It’s simple and straightforward heartbreak music for when you want to wallow in your own despair.

Bad Man Wicked – BNXN [produced by TSB]

The next pick finds us switching gears to a laidback slice of alté from Nigerian sensation, BNXN (formerly known as Buju). Found as the second track on Bad Since ’97, this biographical number that is just a vibe. Bad Man Wicked is a song that brings us into BNXN’s psyche as he grapples with his growing encounters with fame as well as how far his journey with music has taken him. TSB provides a percolating piece of alté that BNXN inhabits with a quiet confidence that moves from nonchalant to braggadocios pride. Bad Man Wicked oozes with a cool energy that can get you in a gliding mood. It can boost you with The Bad Man confidence to make you move like you’ve got nothing to prove. Still fresh on my playlist, Bad Man Wicked has been on high rotation for a minute and is showing little sign of letting up any time soon.

Damn – Ria Boss featuring T’Neeya [produced by EDWVN]

Keeping with feel-good jams from West Africans our next pick is a funk number from Ghanian diva, Ria Boss. Ria Boss released Remember, a concept studio album that plays like a captured live concert from the instrumentation to it’s sequenced transitions. Our pick from this experience is the project’s conceptual grand arrival that really zones in on the concert experience, Damn. Backed by a full band, back-up singers and horn section; Cat-Mama introduces herself as she dives into this song of affirmation and self-love. Conceptually Damn is a song that finds Ria Boss and T’Neeya singing about a goddess of a woman who is so fly and boundless in ability that seeing her makes you say “Damn!” This song is a feel-good jam session filled with jazzy instrumental flourishes, call and responses sections and cheeky crowd engagement. It’s enjoyable music that your can to let your hair down to, dance and receive affirmation. A high point in a solid concept album that simply makes you go Damn!

Don’t Leave Me – Joda Kgosi featuring Tyson Sybateli [produced by NOTBENJAMIN]

Our next pick is a ridiculous piece of R&B that finds the Lunatic singer chaotically leaning into lunacy as she pleads with her partner, that she’s wronged, to stay in their relationship. Joda Kgosi has built a considerable part of her young catalogue writing mid-tempo diss/kiss-off tracks aimed at previous lovers who’ve wronged her: see Truth Is, How Dare You, Sour Milk or Lunatic. So very little prepared me to for the heel turn she makes with Don’t Leave Me and how she switches with gloriously hypocritical abandon. NOTBENJAMIN’s production opens with this foreboding intro that primes the listener for a sinister entrance, Kgosi wastes no time in presenting herself as an agent of chaos when the production unravels. The opening lyrics literally reads: “No! I’m not going anywhere, you can leave me. I’ll follow you there. You can call me stressed, pressed and obsessed, I agree with it! Strokes too good for me to just be fine with it…” The toxicity only builds from there as Joda relishes threatening, dissing and gaslighting this person whilst nonchalantly demanding they not leave her, even if the things she’s been accused of are true. Tyson Sybateli shines as Joda’s scene partner trying to flee the scene whilst calling her out on her antics. His feature manages to carry the anxiety of the situation whilst he rides the trap beat injecting it with his signature humour. Don’t Leave Me is a chaotic ride that has its artists conceptually committing to the madness. It’s feels like a deliberate choice from an artist that’s trying to broaden the scope of their persona, and I’m enjoying seeing her starting to take such risks.

Read more Joda Kgosi related content here and Tyson Sybateli here. Listen to Tyson Sybateli’s All That Yazz Interview here.

Don’t Run – aifheli [produced by Fa x Fu]

The begging continues as we move to a dreamy love song dripping with yearning anxiety, aifheli’s Don’t Run. Don’t Run is a catchy dance song simmering with unresolved emotion. It’s the type of dance song that could tonally be reimagined as an urgent heartache ballad (which I would honestly love to hear). Conceptually Don’t Run finds aifheli insecure about the state of his relationship. The song finds us swirling within his inner thoughts as he questions if he’s moving too fast and potentially losing his partner’s interest in the process. Fa X Fu’s synth-filled production is so chilled that it manages to mask how anxious the text’s disposition really is. When you couple Fa X Fu’s production with the bright warmness of aifheli’s vocal tone, the result is a satisfyingly dreamy listening experience that makes you yearn to have somebody close. Someone you want to declare your undying feelings to but are scared of the outcomes of such a risk. Don’t Run is a beautifully written love song delivered by one of the South Africa’s more subtle voices within alternative R&B space. It doesn’t move too fast, it keeps you right in its groove so you don’t need to run.

Read more aifheli related content here.

ekoneni – SimulationRxps [produced by Onke Qhankqalala]

Our first hip-hop song on this list comes from one of Cape Town’s most promising rappers out right now, SimulationRxps. SimulationRxps’ endearing live from elokshin currently stands as one of my favourite local hip-hop albums of this year. Our pick from the projects is a bustling deep cut that arrives within its second half; ekoneni. Conceptually, ekoneni is an ode to the hustling mentality and finds SimulationRxps trying to rally people on the corner to be more proactive in forging their own path in-spite of circumstance. In my humble opinion, ekoneni has no right to be as jaggedly slinky as it is and that’s the exact reason why it’s gone platinum on my playlist. Onke Qhankqalala delivers a booming trap production packed with so much bounce that I often imagine a hydraulics lowrider going wild when the production hits its groove. SimulationRxps practically slithers on the chorus with how he rides the beat and peppers his adlibs resulting in a listening experience that feels dangerously cool. ekoneni is jagged in its allure and stands as a solid showcase from one of Xhosa rap’s more contemporary trailblazers.

Floating (Falling For You) – Sonder The Africanime [produced by Sonder The Africanime]

Sonder The Africanime is an alternative artist whose music feels like an avalanche of delicate harmonies breathing within a rustic world. Our pick from this ethereal singer-songwriter is a song that feels like it could have come from a Twilight-esque soundtrack, Floating (Falling From You). Floating (Falling From You) is dreamy soft rock that really finds them floating with infatuation as they realizing they’re falling in love. Backed by hazed guitar instrumentation, Sonder provides a performance that is coy and somewhat gleeful as they indulge the intimate feelings and urges they’re experiencing. Floating is a lullaby of intimate comfort; simple and mesmerizing.

Hollywood Dreams – Zri [produced by Zri]

Zri is an artist building his own mellow brand of hip-hop soul within the alternative space. 2022 found the young man expanding and experimenting with his persona across multiple projects, one of his most poignant moments came with his Neptune closer, Hollywood Dreams. “Cause sh*t get hard for a n*gga like me and people tell me I got Hollywood dreams! Wait until they see me on the TV screens…” Hollywood Dreams is a wistful song that finds Zri defending his aspirations whilst revealing some of the motivating factors that drive the music he chooses to make. Backed by a slowed down Motown-esque sample, Zri introspectively reflects on his childhood upbringing giving gives specific attention to his mother. He reflects on how she navigated bringing him up alone as a young woman and the effects those experiences had on the both of them. Zri’s delivery sounds forthright in such a way that feels like you’re being exposed to an unfiltered side of the artist. Hollywood Dreams is a captivating self-portrait of this young artist that has grown more endearing on each listen.

Read more Zri related content here.

Keeping Appearances – Roho featuring DoouShii [produced by DoouShii]

Keeping things mellow our next pick is a loosie from one of the coolest voices in the alt-R&B space. Roho has been one of my favourite artists since hearing his intoxicating 2017 classic, NSA. The elusive artist had a sparing 2022 that saw him feature on two of my favorite songs within the first half of the year, however both songs are lead by artists who have other picks further on this list. He kept appearance in the second half with the steamy standalone that is our pick, Keeping Appearances. Keeping Appearances finds Roho and DoouShii exploring the appearances they keep within detached sexual escapades. The song finds Roho internally reeling whilst trying to match the energy of a partner he wants more from. Roho’s yearning for more emotional intimacy from a seemingly aloof partner and this repressed conflict is affecting Roho’s sexual enjoyment of their interactions. DoouShii’s verse finds him in the opposite position, painting himself as someone who explicitly only wants sex from a girl and will be cold in his interactions that fall outside of that context. Keeping Appearances is a toxic and messy piece of bedroom R&B that can serves as a steamy soundtrack for complicated NSA situationships. It’s a solid holdover from an artist I’m impatiently waiting to drop a more comprehensive body of work.

Read more Roho related content here and Dooushii here.

Lerato Laka – Maleh [produced by Chidiebere Victor Ikeigbo]

Our next song is an afro-fusion experiment that asks what would happen if a South African jazz standard was infused with Latin American sonics and a touch of dancehall, enter Lerato Laka. Lerato Laka finds Maleh telling the story of two people who have chosen to devote their lives to each other. Lerato Laka is a meeting of classic and contemporary. The track begins with a dancehall riddim that could playlist amongst pop songs like Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You whilst a Spanish guitar enhances the song’s romantic appeal. Maleh chassés onto the track with a demure vocal that seeps more of the classic jazz influence in. As the track continues to build the latin influences continue to grow before launching into a full lounge experience by the turn of the chorus. As Ikeigbo’s production further develops so does the intensity of Maleh’s enamoured vocal performance in this satisfying melting pot of Jazz that’s pulling from so many sources. You’ve got this Sotho love song being sung over Latin jazz with Spanish Guitar playing and dancehall-esque riddims. Its a satisfying listening experience from jazz musicians who are having fun bending the genre into more contemporary spaces. Maleh’s album is filled with more of these daring explorations and I’m thoroughly enjoying the voyage.

Let You Tell It – Sipho The Gift [produced by Sipho The Gift]

Sipho The Gift has been having one his most musically adventurous years with his releases. The pick we’ve chosen feels like a bated dip into electrohop with the retaliatory Let You Tell It. Let You Tell It is a song that finds a vexed Sipho The Gift refusing to take all of the blame for the downfall for a relationship. Riled up, he’s ready to burn bridges as he declares “Well sh*t, I let you tell it then it’s my fault. I bet you blame me for it all. You drove me crazy up the wall, I guess there’s nothing to resolve.” Sipho The Gift rides in with a vindictive energy that’s infectious, delivering one of his strongest hooks thus far. In it’s current state, Let You Tell It is solid kiss-off anthem that works at the gym and when you just want to stew, but the tension of the vocal really makes it prime for continuous EDM and drum and bass remixing. It’s a subversive addition to an adventurous artist looking to broaden his horizons musically and romantically.

Read more Sipho The Gift related content here. Listen to Sipho The Gift’s All That Yazz Interview here.

Love of My Life (Acapella Version) – Love, Sechaba [produced by Love, Sechaba]

Love, Sechaba is one of the most expressive vocalists within South Africa’s alternative space. He’s an artist who carries the indulgent flare of a funk/blues performer and has the vocal chops to back it up. His writing is often introspective but written in such a way that he can vocally explore the song’s emotional core and drive it to anxious limits. This year Love, Sechaba released the criminally short Love of My Life, a song that finds him deciding to walk away from a partner who he once called the love of his life. An acapella version of the song dropped and it’s really the only version I listen to because the vocal artistry compellingly stands on its own. This man weeps, wails and mourns his relationship backed by a rhythm, bass section that culminates in a band breakdown all of his own vocal making and I stan. Love of My Life is a showcase of an artist who enjoys performing and using his voice an all-purpose instrument. My only problem with the song is that it’s a literal 2 minute tease… I have been waiting months now for something more comprehensive and I lie here still waiting for more.

Read more Love, Sechaba related content here.

Moment – Miles [produced by Dooushii]

Switching gears, our next pick comes from one of my personal favourite voices in South African hip hop, Miles. There’s a revealingly earnest quality that runs through a lot of my favourite songs from the booming husky toned rapper, this quality has been resonant with each of the songs that have landed on our list since 2020. Our pick this year goes to the jagged yet steely deep cut: Moment. Backed by a persistently pensive DoouShii production, Moment is a track fueled by the dogged spirit of someone’s who’s well worn into looking for their break and is begging for the release of actualization. It’s a really enjoyable underdog anthem that finds Miles resolute whilst rallying for his moment in the sun. It’s brimming with the anxiety of an “I want” musical number but with the hip-hop aesthetics that are true to Miles current state of mind. Simple yet steely, Moment has been a welcomed addition to my gymming playlists and personal soundtracks geared to self-motivation because when it really comes down to it “I need me my moment, I need me my moment, moment!”

Read more Miles related content here, DoouShii here

Out Of Time – Archi [produced by Archi]

Keeping within hip-hop our next song is an alternative trip that pushes us into unhinged territory, Archi’s Out Of Time. Out of Time is a song that finds an already drunk Archi within a state of psychosis, asking someone to help bring him back to sanity. The track finds a paranoid Archi reeling as he tries to nonchalantly catch us up on his self-isolation trip and feelings of impending doom. Mans is fighting for his life and accepts that he’s the cause of his own demons. Out of Time feels very reminiscent of early 00’s stoner rap with its spaced production, vocal approach and the groovy flows Archi chooses to ride on. Archi takes pleasure in bringing life to this chaotic state of mind both lyrically and with the vocal arrangement. The result is this entertaining song that is lyrically deranged yet fun song to sing along to. A mellowed out dance song fit for Halloween or a more spaced out groove.

Night Kings – Blaklez featuring Thato Saul [produced by Silas Beats]

Blaklez has released some of the most satisfying hip-hop singles of 2022 for my money. Our first pick involving the Cap City giant is a collaboration with one of the city growing icons, Thato Saul, Night Kings. Night Kings is a song that finds each rapper bringing us into what a night can look like for each of them respectively. Silas Beats’ menacing production is a burst of masculine energy that makes you want to mean mugg as you bump to it. Blaklez and Saul paint portraits of their current disposition that’s held together by the song’s central refrain: “Man makes the money, money never makes the man”. Blaklez casually cuts loose as a man of means. Leaving his partner to enjoy and celebrate a night out with his boys whilst Thato Saul preys like a thief in the night with a signature verse detailing the hustles he gets into once the evening draws. Night Kings is a fun piece of gangsta rap from two storytellers who enjoy entertaining in that art form. It’s the type of mood-boosting hip-hop that keeps you going in the gym or as your trying to pump yourself up to take on the world.

Pass Me The Light – Isulam & Some.Unique.Individual [produced by VB Versatile Beats]

Our next pick is a unique piece of psychedelic blues courtesy of Some.Unique.Individual, hereby referred to as SUI, and Isulam. Pass Me The Light is an intoxicating song that feels like it was made in a hazy jazz bar. The song takes a conversational approach that begins with SUI casually asking someone to pass him a lighter as he introduces himself with the song’s refrain. As the refrain moves to the chorus, the iconography of the light becomes a metaphorical one as it’s becomes clearer that what SUI is asking for is a reprieve from the darkness of the world. Pass Me The Light is a song that really lives in it’s intoxicated expression from the blues instrumentation to SUI’s vocal delivery. Isulam intensifies the intoxication with an electrifying guitar solo that feels descendant of the Jimi Hendrix’s style as SUI repeats the song’s refrain before a mood-lifting tambourine breakdown ends the song. Pass Me The Light is a delectable piece of psychedelic blues that is delivered by artists cool enough to rock the space. If you’re looking to to experience an intoxicated trip, this is a piece you shouldn’t pass on.

Read more Some.Unique.Individual related content here.

Rada Safi – Khaligraph Jones [produced by Khaligraph Jones & TML]

Jumping back into hip-hop, our next pick is a braggadocios banger from one of Kenya’s top rappers, Khaligraph Jones. Khaligraph Jones’ Invisible Currency is one of the most polished African hip-hop records I’ve heard this year, from top to bottom the album is littered with an array of enjoyable radio-ready records; my favourite being Rada Safi. Jones cuts loose in Sheng with a song celebrating his current life and position. Loosely translating to clean vision, Rada Safi is a boastful record that finds a relaxed Jones taking account of his blessings whilst feeling limitless in his ability to get whatever it is he wants. The song is a victory lap of someone who is so well-worn within success that they have very little to prove and that comfortable energy is what makes this song so infectious. Rada Safi is a feel-good anthem fit for long drives, celebrations and Sunday barbecues. A jam that’s not trying to do too much because it’s already done enough.

So Bad – Simi featuring Joeboy [produced by Blaise Beats]

Our next pick is flirty piece of Afrobeats coming from two of the genre’s most acclaimed exports, Simi and Joeboy. So Bad is a fun pop song that finds Simi as a confident vixen who’s being chased by a previous suitor. The opening lyric of the song reads “He says he never ever got over me, even when he travelled overseas. Well I don’t mean to brag, my vibe is attractive.” Simi delivers that one line with enough cheeky charisma to cement how comfortable she is in this position whilst showing how she plans to make him work for her attention. Joeboy replies as yearning suitor wondering why she’s playing so hard to get. That’s really all the song is about. So Bad is a pop song for the summer that really lives off the charisma of its performers and both deliver. It carries just enough playful scintillation to soundtrack your Detty Decembers.

Umsakazo – Silas Africa [produced by Jay Stuyvesant, Unami Kombanie & Lesedi Nkatlo]

Our next song is a love letter to South African music from one of it’s more affecting underground vocalists, Silas Africa. In what is his debut solo offering Silas Africa details how music is his escape with the melancholic Umsakazo. Umsakazo is soulful Afropop that sonically pulls from Amapiano and Kwaito whilst simultaneously honoring some of the greats from those spaces. The song finds the Soweto native wishing he could win the lotto so he can fix his problems and experience the Sandton life. Explaining that when the realities of life become to much for him to bare, he escapes to the radio and music to keep going. Silas soars in this touching tribute to the music of Brenda Fassie, Mpura, Bongo Muffin. It’s soul food delivered by one of our most criminally underexposed voices within South Africa’s underground scene.

Read more Silas related content here, Unami Kombanie here and Lesedi Nkatlo here.

Unanicheza – Bey T, Boohle & Soa Mattrix [produced by Soa Mattrix]

Our first Amapiano song on this list is a fun collaboration between two songbirds from Kenya and South Africa, Unanicheza. Bey T and Boohle join forces to yearn and reel over men who’s attention they’re being denied of. Backed by a groovy Soa Mattrix production, Unanicheza finds both girls reeling from being ghosted as they question their suitors on why their feelings are being played with. Bey T and Boohle are playful and coy in their frustrations which makes for a really fun pop song that you can cry in the club to or just have fun. Separately, as someone who’s both Kenyan and South African, it’s always a happy treat to find a banger that pulls both sides of my heritage into a fun concoction. Unanicheza is really just a vibe that I enjoy hearing every time it comes on.

Read more Soa Mattrix related content here.

Wassulu Don – Oumou Sangare [produced by Nicolas Quéré and Pascal Danae]

Our next pick finds us travelling back to West Africa with an anthem from Malian legend Oumou Sangare. Oumou Sangare is a powerhouse vessel of music. Her latest album, Timbuktu, saw the melding of more traditional Malian music with genres like blues, rock and country. My pick, Wassulu Don, is an upbeat thumper that finds this diva within the realms of blues rock and the result is truly exhilarating. I’m not going to lie to you, I’m completely out of my depth in trying give any concrete details on the meaning of this song. What I have is surmised from is that Wassulu Don is a tribute to the region in which Ms. Sangare’s mother is from and it’s women. Wassulu Don is African rock n roll with all the sass, flare and showmanship that comes with it. Oumou Sangare feels right at home in this mix of blues, rock n roll and Wassolou. The insistent electric guitar breathes an aggression into the track that Ms. Sangare rides with an effortless vigor. The Wassolou back up responses propel the power forward whilst traditional adds a unique stank that continuously matures on repeat listens. Simply put, Wassulu Don is one of the most refreshing blues-rock experiences I have heard in a while. It’s an anthem made for music festival glory.

Read more Oumou Sangare related content here.

What I Like – KashCPT [produced by Junaid Baker]

KashCPT is an artist deadset on becoming a crossover chameleon with how he chooses to push his versatility. One of his recent explorations saw the bright-toned rapper divert from direct hip-hop for more some simmering seduction with What I Like. What I Like is an addictive bedroom scorcher that pulls from multiple soundscapes in its quest for seduction, primarily dancehall and trapsoul. Junaid Baker’s production intros with a mellow dancehall riddim that is being surrounded by major trap sonics from the hi-hat patterns to the eerie synths before settling into a sensual groove. What I Like lets KashCPT yearn as he coos sweet-nothings to an alluring performer. He slinks onto the track embodying Caribbean affectations and a dancehall flow rapping about the bad ting he wants private attention from. When he gets her attention he pleads with her to do the things he likes. KashCPT’s tone and vocal phrasing further genre bend the song, bringing more trapsoul and contemporary R&B energies to the mix with his singing. The result is a catchy pop song that feels trapsoul and afrobeats adjacent, because it doesn’t fully commit to either, but still works. KashCPT is already among the most versatile artists within his peergroup in South African Hip-Hop, experiments like What I Like reveal an artist who’s crossover ambitions seem much broader.

Read more KashCPT related content here.

With You – Kudz featuring Jvsn and Tamson Day

Kudz loves indulgent R&B and I appreciate him for it. The producer curated my favourite R&B posse-cut of last year with the wedding ready Head Over Heels, this year he returned with a restless duet featuring melismatic singers who came to wail, With You. With You finds Tamson Day thinking about leaving a relationship that she feels has devolved into a loveless state. Jvsn replies as the previously dismissive partner that is now bearing his soul as he begs her stay with him. It’s a solid base for drama that both Day and Jvsn milk with dynamically emotive vocal performances. Day kicks off the song with an understatedly detached performance before Jvsn ramps things up with some premium R&B histrionics that Day decides to match as the song climaxes. I mean if his line delivery of “Baby girl, when I look into your eyes…” isn’t classic R&B indulgence I don’t know what is. With You is a heartache duet that is filled with singing in the rain type melodrama and I ate it right up. It’s really as simple as that.

Read more Kudz related content here.

Zooted – Sammy So Sag [produced by Emani]

Sammy So Sag was one of my favourite discoveries early into starting Next Gen Greats, he’s an alternative hip-hop artist who’s music overflows with personality in a way that’s singular yet entertaining. So it was exciting to hear of his return to music with aptly titled How Samma Got His Groove Back because this is a groovy record that truly finds him back in the swing of things. Our pick from the jazzy hip-hop hybrid is its horny opener Zooted. At it’s core base Zooted finds an inebriated Sammy praising the power that his partner’s sensuality holds over him. He finds her vagina so intoxicating that her sex alone is a drunkenly powerful experience. Zooted is simple but fertile ground that Sammy uses to reintroduce himself and his headspace whilst delivering fun and inventive wordplay. It’s a strong reintroduction that allows Sammy to play on his quirks and drop bars whilst teasing some of his musical dexterity. Zooted is groovy enough to play on your raunchier Sunday playlists, it’s a good time from an artist having a good time.

Read more Sammy So Sag related content here.

100 Day$ – Money Badoo featuring DJ Sliqe & Yanga Chief [produced by DJ Sliqe & Kimishi Beats]

Our final song from Group 1 is a hook-heavy banger from one of the hip-hop’s more slinkier artists, Money Badoo. Money Badoo has had a bit of breakout year with the success of Pornstar establishing her as a formidable artist within pop, R&B and melodic rap. Our pick from the project is a swaggering piece of hip-hop about hustle and sacrifice, 100 Day$. 100 Day$ is a vibe that’s really focused on packing in as many hooks as it can in it’s quest to be sonically addictive. DJ Sliqe sets the tone with a club-ready trap production that Money Badoo prowls with a feline presence. Badoo sounds inebriated as she provides one of her most inventive and agile vocal performances as she waxes lyrical about her hustle and how’s she’s put in the hours. Her commitment to her intoxicated persona sometimes comes at the cost of enunciation but not to the overall vibe of the song. Yanga Chief spits a braggadocios verse that keeps the vibe going with fun one-liners and catchy flows. 100 Day$ is a fun hip-hop banger coming from an artist who’s ready to take more space in the genre’s foreground.