With a slamming mix of funky house and Afrobeats, MUZI’s brand new single, ‘I Know It’, offers a respite from the darkness of the past year, a sense of hope and optimism for the future – something that is much needed in the current climate. ‘I Know It’ is the 5th single from upcoming ‘Interblaktic’ album, slated for release 1st October.
Released yesterday (8th September) by way of Apple Music 1 exclusive premiere, ‘I Know It’ details Muzi’s obsession with his phone as a way to comment on society’s social media/phone dependency. The accompanied visuals feature the artist locked in a gaze with his smart phone. “During my time of healing, I got addicted to being on my phone and social media to take my mind off of things. I wrote this song to sort of talk about my phone as if it were a woman I was in love with,” Muzi says.
With the ‘Interblaktic’ album just a few weeks from release, ‘I Know It’ brings an exciting precipice of Muzi’s release campaign with fans eagerly anticipating the artist’s 4th studio album.
Following the release of this latest single ‘Ojuju’ last month, which earned praises from the likes of HighSnobiety, Complex, Rolling Stones and Pitchfork, Afro-fusion sensation OXLADE he drops the must-see visual today, directed by Demola Falomo.
The latest offering forms part of his brand new four-track EP ‘Eclipse’, which saw him trending on Twitter for hours following its surprise release last week.
Here your chance to check out the video to the single below…
Following the success of his last album Augustine’s Legacy, which was dedicated to his late father and his first child and has now accumulated over 16 million streams on Spotify alone, Texas-based international rap artist S.O. releases new EP. ‘Larry Ginni Crescent’, which sees him tracing his footsteps back to his hometown in Nigeria, where he was born and raised. The new project is nostalgically named after the street in Lagos, Nigeria that S.O. lived on as a child called Larry Ginni Crescent.
Written and composed by S.O. and produced by long-time collaborator and Grammy Award nominated producer GP, alongside burgeoning Nigerian producers TBabz (Travis Greene, Faith Child, Aaron Cole) and SteveRawd, the Larry Gini Crescent EP is driven by lead singles ‘Kinda Love’ and the previously released ‘Corner (O Ti De)’ – the former is a summer-ready afropop love song from S.O. dedicated to his wife, where he exudes the virtues of their love, while the latter is an infectious head-bopping track that sees S.O. boasting about who he has in his corner, as he sings “no babalawo in my corner, just God putting things in order”.
Chronologically, the EP opens with the infectious up-tempo ‘Prosper’, which was penned in direct response to S.O. losing his grandmother last December and sees him putting an afrobeats twist to the popular Bible verse “no weapon formed against me shall prosper”. Elsewhere on the EP, S.O. is full of gratitude on the uplifting sing-along number ‘Good To Me’, while the up-tempo dance floor filler ‘That One’ sees S.O. fusing afrobeats, rap and a motivational message together to great effect. The EP then winds down with the sexy R&B driven ‘Want You’ and the afrohouse influenced ‘Wonder’ with its cautionary tale about battling sin and temptation.
Speaking about the inspiration behind his new Larry Ginni Crescent EP, S.O. says: “This is a project that is connected to my African roots – Larry Ginni Crescent is the name of the street I lived on as a child back in Lagos, but it’s also deeply sentimental for me and it is dedicated to my grandmother who passed away from COVID late last year. As a proud Nigerian, I have always loved my heritage, from the food and the language to the music and the culture, and afrobeats is one of the branches on the Nigerian tree that’s rooted in the diaspora.
This project has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while and the lockdown opened the door for that. I got to collaborate with two special Nigerian producers TBabz and SteveRawd, as well as my long-time collaborator GP. Not only am I a Nigerian but I am also a Christian and that comes out in this project. So ‘Larry Ginni Crescent’ can be described as deeply Christian and deeply Nigerian. From the songs about faith, to songs about love, everything connects to this one point – al that we do, all that we experience, can be used for our art. I hope it moves you”.
With over 40 million global streams and sold-out shows across America, Europe and Africa, and having also lived in Lagos, London and now Texas, S.O. is the true definition of an international artist. Since his now classic debut mixtape 5 Solas, S.O. has gone on to chart in the top 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart, in the top 30 on both the Billboard Rap album chart and the Billboard Christian album chart, and in the top 5 on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap album chart across his four albums and two EPs. As his new project Larry Ginni Crescent arrives, S.O. is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Check out the blog’s song recommendations below:
Must Listens: Corner (O Ti De), Good To Me, Kinda Love, Want You
Africa’s fastest-rising newcomer AYRA STARR‘s blazing and percussive single, ‘Bloody Samaritan’ is anthem of affirmation which is spearheading this new era in Ayra’s career as the lead single from her album ‘19 & Dangerous’ on dropping, out now.
This searing summer anthem bristles with self-confidence as the Gen Z rising star banishes negative energy. She boasts, “I see you watching my stories, I see you gauging my lifestyle, I see you watching my movement, this bad bitch bad every day.”
Since debuting in January, Ayra has amassed over 23 million global streams. Her self-titled debut EP was led by the single ‘Away’ which to date has clocked over 3.8 million views on YouTube. The single was featured on BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Africa 360 playlist and championed by Manny Norte who was first to spin it on UK radio via Capital Xtra. Jessie Reyez, Ray BLK and Love Island’s Yewande Biala are also fans
On the day of the EP’s release, Ayra simultaneously hit No.1 on Apple Music Nigeria’s Song, Album and Video charts. The incredible buzz coming out of Lagos saw her chosen by Apple Music as their Africa Rising artist – an exclusive new talent development programme that previously earmarked Tems and Amaarae.
Why not check out the hype and watch the video for ‘Bloody Smartian below…
Black Federation’s artist CLOGZ comes through with soft hybrids of Afrobeats, Folk, Caribbean and Amapiano with latest single, ‘Water’, featuring fast-rising fellow label artist H.O.M.A who adds his magic touch to the experimental piece.
Depicting the pain of unrequited love, ‘Water’, serves as the lead single from Clogz’ upcoming project ‘Love Notions’. Have a listen to the single below, released yesterday (17th August).
New Lease Music 