Category: Next Gen Spotlights

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Vent – Nanette [produced by Nanette, Lee Global, Zadok & Batundi], Top 22 Songs of 2022

Yazz The Student

Armed with a piercing voice and a revealing pen, Bad Weather finds Nanette establishing the persona of a contemporary balladeer who’s mode of storytelling is often dripping in anxious energy. Our pick for this list is a song that finds her lyrically swirling within that anxiety whilst providing one of her best vocal performances thus far in Vent. Continue reading Vent – Nanette [produced by Nanette, Lee Global, Zadok & Batundi], Top 22 Songs of 2022

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Sete – K.O featuring Young Stunna & Blxckie [produced by Calliemajik Beats, K.O & Glody ‘GloBeatz’ Kasongo], Top 22 Songs of 2022

Yazz The Student

If there’s one thing K.O knows his way around it’s a hit. The iconic artist is nearing an almost two-decade run of capturing the zeitgeist, if not outrightly shifting it, with his music. This year saw him extending this run by producing one of the biggest hits of his career and of this decade with the sumptuous Sete. K.O recruits Blxckie & Young Stunna for this extravagant Afrobeats banger that finds them fawning over their partners, assuring these ladies that they will be set with them. Continue reading Sete – K.O featuring Young Stunna & Blxckie [produced by Calliemajik Beats, K.O & Glody ‘GloBeatz’ Kasongo], Top 22 Songs of 2022

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Red Wine – Preye [produced by Ikon Ekwuyasi & Joshua Ahazie], Top 22 Songs of 2022

Yazz The Student

Just like good wine our next pick matures and refines itself with time. Preye delivers a deliciously sensual serenade about lovemaking with the steamy Red Wine. Red Wine is bedroom R&B that finds Preye indulging in an intoxicating night of intimacy as she laments on the power that great sex holds. Continue reading Red Wine – Preye [produced by Ikon Ekwuyasi & Joshua Ahazie], Top 22 Songs of 2022

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Pulchritudinous – Manana [produced by Noble, Manana & Maxonproduction], Top 22 Songs of 2022

Yazz The Student

“Pulchritude… ‘It’s derived from the latin word pulcher meaning beautiful, isn’t it?’” You know, I would have never guessed that my favourite pop song of 2022 would be titled after a word so obscure in use that the only reason I know the word is because of my obsession with Akeelah and The Bee growing up. Whether intentional or not, it’s a fitting connection because just like Akeelah, Manana is a poetic wordsmith with an encyclopedic range of words at his disposal. Continue reading Pulchritudinous – Manana [produced by Noble, Manana & Maxonproduction], Top 22 Songs of 2022

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Pressure – Wizkid [produced by P.Priime], Top 22 Songs of 2022

Yazz The Student

Wizkid is here for a good time and makes exquisite music for those occasions. Our selection is one of the more primal cuts from his latest offering, the venereal Pressure. Pressure is one of the slinkiest songs to have scintillated my ears in 2022… Continue reading Pressure – Wizkid [produced by P.Priime], Top 22 Songs of 2022

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Last Last – Burna Boy [produced by Chopstix, Mds, Ruuben and Off & Out], Top 22 Songs of 2022

Yazz The Student

There’s something quite ironic about a heartbreak anthem of this magnitude being built on top of one of this century’s sassiest R&B diss tracks… It shouldn’t work as well as it does but Burna Boy is a revelation, Last Last is defiantly captivating. Continue reading Last Last – Burna Boy [produced by Chopstix, Mds, Ruuben and Off & Out], Top 22 Songs of 2022

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Kick It With You – Thato Saul featuring Marcus Harvey [produced by MashBeatz], Top 22 Songs of 2022.

Yazz The Student

Kick It With You is a grand display of affection that finds Thato Saul trying to show how serious he is about a girl. It is finely-tuned hip-hop soul that doesn’t relent on Saul’s general optics in its pursuit of romance, and that’s really what makes this such a captivating listen for me. This isn’t just a love song, it’s a Thato Saul love song tightly fitted to his image. Continue reading Kick It With You – Thato Saul featuring Marcus Harvey [produced by MashBeatz], Top 22 Songs of 2022.

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Ivy League – Kelvin Momo featuring Ch’cco, Yumbs, Ta Skipper & Thlolo [produced by Kelvin Momo], Top 22 Songs of 2022

Yazz The Student

If Kelvin Momo is an Ivy League Graduate of Amapiano then the title track of his project is a thesis on the intersection between South African jazz, house music and Amapiano. Ivy League is a towering display of musicality that makes 17 minutes feel like 8 as Momo immerses you in a blend of South African musicology. Continue reading Ivy League – Kelvin Momo featuring Ch’cco, Yumbs, Ta Skipper & Thlolo [produced by Kelvin Momo], Top 22 Songs of 2022

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iLL Prelude – Zoocci Coke Dope featuring Tellaman & Stogie T [produced by Zoocci Coke Dope], Top 22 Songs of 2022.

Yazz The Student

iLL Prelude is climactic music that feels primed for stadiums. As a lover of hip-hop and theatricality, iLL Prelude is the exact kind of hip-hop excess I’m drawn to. It’s music you use to pump yourself up for life’s battles or when you just want to immerse yourself in grand soundscapes. Continue reading iLL Prelude – Zoocci Coke Dope featuring Tellaman & Stogie T [produced by Zoocci Coke Dope], Top 22 Songs of 2022.

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Heaven’s Gate – Tyson Sybateli featuring Francis Jay [produced by IllRose], Top 22 Songs of 2022

Yazz The Student

Tyson Sybateli tapped into a new creative gear with the release of Home. The album saw his style of storytelling become more exploratory in arguably his most thematically-driven body of work thus far. Less autobiographically personal in text, the record carries some of the artist’s most daring, accessible and personality driven records. My personal highlights being the soaring Growth that kept me going through the thick of things and our official pick, Heaven’s Gate, which provides concept storytelling that has enthralled me in any mood. Continue reading Heaven’s Gate – Tyson Sybateli featuring Francis Jay [produced by IllRose], Top 22 Songs of 2022