3 BIG GLOBAL RELEASES FROM AFRICAN MUSIC ICONS.

From CKay giving us ‘Love Nwantiti’ and it becoming a viral TikTok sensation, to Wande Coal bringing out ‘Iskaba’ and ‘Kpe Paso’ featuring Olamide, these multi-faceted African artists (to name a few) have yet again blessed us with their brand new debut releases. Here are 3 big global releases from some of the greatest African music icons to add to your summer playlists…

Olamide, CKay – Trumpet

Nigerian music icon and music executive Olamide has linked up with ‘Africa’s BF’ CKay for his brand new single ‘Trumpet’, which has already gained 2.3 million views on Youtube and is reportedly taken from his upcoming album. The record opens to the sound of ocean waves with CKay and Olamide trading soothing vocals over a mid-tempo beat. Accompanied by a music video with colorful scenes to match the energy of the song, the two sing innuendos to a love interest.

Praised by Billboard, Pitchfork, Forbes, and Rolling Stone, Olamide is not just a legendary artist, he is also the head of one of Nigeria’s most influential and successful record labels YBNL Nation which he founded in 2012 and has launched the careers of artists such as Asake, Fireboy DML, Adekunle Gold, and many more.

CKay is the fast-rising Afrobeats star who is multi-platinum all over the world with his song ‘love nwantiti’ which took TikTok and the world by storm in 2022.

Wande Coal – Let Them Know

Lagos born, Nigerian recording artist and multi-faceted Afrobeats legend Wande Coal is back with a brand new debut single ‘Let Them Know’, which is taken from his highly anticipated and long-awaited upcoming album ‘Legend Or No Legend’ that arrives on May 18. On the record, Wande sings about keeping his relationship with a love interest under wraps and tells her to do the same. This new offering comes on the back of his hit single ‘Kpe Paso’ featuring Olamide, which has gained over 10 million global streams, as well as critical acclaim from the likes of Hypebeast, The Guardian, and Okayafrica, among others…

Wande Coal is one of the few artists that has attained legendary status in Afrobeats with a career which has spanned over a decade, with OkayAfrica dubbing him the ‘best voice in Nigerian pop’. With over 200 million global streams to his credit, he is a singer, songwriter, and producer, and is the voice behind afropop essentials ‘Iskaba’ (2017), ‘So Mi So’ (2018) and the Patoranking collaboration, ‘My Woman, My Everything’ (2015). 

Bad Boy Timz, Zlatan – I Salute

With his highly anticipated debut album ‘No Bad Boy, No Party’ only a matter of weeks away, and following the success of his last two singles ‘Big Money’ and ‘Faya’, which have amassed over 10 million plays online, award-winning Nigerian afropop sensation Bad Boy Timz is excited to unveil a first real taste of the upcoming album. The infectious afrobeats and amapiano fusion track sees Bad Boy Timz linking up with Zlatan to deliver an early contender for the summer song of 2023.

Produced by Grammy Award-nominated musician and producer P.Priime (Wizkid, Burna Boy, Fireboy DML, Asa), ‘I Salute’ captures Bad Boy Timz in his versatile artistic element, and it also reveals his collaborative spirit – something listeners can expect more of on his upcoming ‘No Bad Boy, No Party’ album. Themed around celebrating life, which is a key tenant for Bad Boy Timz as he lives out his ‘Jordan Year’ in triumphant fashion, having recently turned 23, the No Bad Boy, No Party album is set to cement Bad Boy Timz as one of the best new afrobeats risers on the global stage. The last two years have seen the fast-rising star grow from strength to strength, including winning the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award at the Headies Award, amassing over 100 million global streams, and charting on the Billboard US Afrobeats Song Chart.