Best New Music: Libianca Gets Real About Mental Health On “People (Check On Me)”
aural healing for those in need
For 22-year-old Libianca, the success she enjoys with her single “People (Check On Me)” is the product of years of hard work and commitment. It is also another testimony of the power of social media platforms to catapult music acts into internet-aided stardom (see CKay’s “Love Nwantiti”). Officially released in December 2022, the track began gaining traction on social media; on TikTok alone, the videos tagged with Libianca’s name have amassed over 75 million views. Aside from all those factors, what makes “People (Check On Me)” a clear standout is the song’s subject matter: it is a topic that reminds listeners that they are no different from the next person who wears the biggest smile in public but weeps in the privacy of their home.
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On the song’s intro, Libianca shouts out her hometown of Bamenda in Cameroon. After that, the words that follow immediately suck you into the song. “I’ve been drinking more alcohol for the past five days/Did you check on me?/Now, did you look for me?/I walked in the room, eyes are red and I don’t smoke banga/Did you check on me? (Did you check on me?),” she sings. Those words are simply Libianca’s reality but it carries an accusatory edge that confirms to the listener that they are involved in the song, whether they appreciate it or not. You are forced to think of the persons you know or have met who fit the description of Libianca’s words. That instant relatability is one of the song’s strongest points.
In case you didn’t know, Libianca is no newcomer to the music business. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States of America to Cameroonian parents, she started playing musical instruments and getting vocal lessons from a young age, and around 15, she signed to a record label. She is also a sound engineer, songwriter and creative director. Last year, she was a participant in The Voice, an American singing competition, where she was tutored by American country music act Blake Shelton and performed covers of SZA’s “Good Days,” The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears,” Billie Ellish’s “Everything I Wanted” and Doja Cat’s “Woman.” During the show’s Blind Auditions, Ariana Grande, who was one of the coaches, had told Libianca: “You’re so good, you’re so beautiful, I’m obsessed.”
On “People (Check On Me),” Libianca addresses depression and anxiety. “Nobody wey know the paranoia oh/‘Cause I put a smile on my face/A facade you can never face (Ooh),” she sings. It is common knowledge that nobody readily puts out their woes for the world’s consumption. The act of faking appearances or emotions is a skill humans have perfected for many, many years. What would be expected, though, is that family and friends are one’s confidants but that isn’t always the case because sharing familial and personal ties doesn’t make a person’s internal turmoil decipherable. Libianca seems to know this when she sings, “And if you don’t know me well, well, oh/You won’t see how buried I am inside my grave.”
Sonically, Mage the Producer offers Libianca a soundscape that captures the hopelessness that saturates the track. The mid-tempo rhythm strays into the path of Afropop with Libianca’s Soul-tinged vocals and emotions colouring the tune. While Mage the Producer plays behind the board, ace British-Ghanaian record producer JAE5 mixes and masters the song, ensuring that the instrumentals and Libianca’s vocals are a perfect fit.
In today’s world, the internet has become both a blessing and a curse. Multiple social media platforms have made lives easy and made connectivity possible as people scattered across continents can communicate with a single click. Whether it concerns business, social, political or romantic interests, distance is no longer a problem; intentions are expressed and understood without hiccups. On the other hand, it has contributed to a more insular world, where people and real-life situations are mostly sources for viral content and nothing more. It is these circumstances that fuel the world of Libianca’s “People (Check On Me).”
Three days ago, Libianca released the music video to the song. The Ceojay-directed music video, which is an in-house production handled by Libianca and her team of video directors and photographers, mirrors the moodiness of the song. In the opening sequence, Libianca rises from sleep to start her day while she goes on to prepare food and invite her friends for dinner. By the end of the video, Libianca’s friends fail to show up and she remains indoors, dejected and alone. A piece of advice appears on the screen, encouraging viewers to check on their people because their “sense of kindness can break the wall of isolation and the feeling that no one cares.”
At the moment, Libianca is signed to RCA Records and JAE5’s 5K Records; it is a major step up for the previously indie artist, which means more attention and opportunities. Other music artists, including Nigerian singer BNXN, have expressed appreciation for Libianca’s craft and have done covers of “People (Check On Me).” Libianca’s song calls on listeners to remember our humanity and that for the time we are on earth, we are all we have got.
Stream “People (Check On Me)” below.
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Best New Music: Tiwa Savage and Skepta Are Stuck In A Loop On “On The Low”
After over a decade helming some of the most romantic cuts in Afropop, Tiwa Savage’s dalliance with R&B is...
There are only a few artists in Afropop with the range, longevity, and lustre that Tiwa Savage has. Since she emerged on the Nigerian music scene in 2011, Ms. Savage has set an inimitable standard in terms of platforming the point of view of women at the pinnacle of Afropop, working to show that women are multi-dimensional and layered, capable of going through the motions of joy, angst, distress, and optimism just as much as the next person. By unapologetically leaning into the very minutiae of what makes her tick as a woman, she’s become a fan favourite and an undisputed legend of the genre.
Impressively, she’s done this while making great strides sonically. From the throbbing afropop of ‘Once Upon A Time’ to the swaggering house-inflected triumph of ‘R.E.D,’ and the dense polyrhythmic structure of ‘Celia,’ Tiwa Savage has continued to tincture her R&B-adjacent sound with influences from home and abroad. It is an accurate reflection of Tiwa Savage as a person: grounded by her Lagos heritage but shaped by global influences. For the last six months, she has been talking up her forthcoming fourth album, describing it as a full-throttle return to the R&B sound that was her stock in trade before she returned to Nigeria in 2011 to establish herself as an Afropop powerhouse.
In April, she released the emotive “You4Me,” clearly establishing the direction for her new album, ‘This One Is Personal.’ Produced by Mystro Sugar, “You4Me” put a fresh spin on Tamia’s ’90s classic “So Into You” with percussion work by Magicsticks adding a decidedly Afropop sheen to the song. Upping the ante, Tiwa Savage returned with “On The Low,” a delightful sung-rap bop featuring British-Nigerian rapper, Skepta. Like “You4Me” before it, “On The Low” is steeped in R&B tradition, finding Tiwa Savage pining after a love that feels like a taboo or forbidden pleasure. Produced by Rymez and Mystro, it is a surefire pointer that Tiwa Savage wasn’t joking when she said ‘This One Is Personal’ had overt R&B influences.
After over a decade helming some of the most romantic cuts in Afropop, Tiwa Savage’s dalliance with R&B is helping to propel her artistry to new heights. Just as the soundtrack for ‘Water & Garri,’ her debut as a filmmaker, pared down universal emotions like longing, desire, and anxiety into digestible bits on standouts like “I Need You,” “Lost Time,” “Love O,” her latest song chronicles the intangibles of a romance that’s quite not out in the open. “I know you want to link on the low / We have to stay discreet, you don’t know,” she sweetly intones on the song’s hook, clearly obfuscating the true status of the relationship but revealing just enough to let her listeners know that the dynamic of this relationship is not the usual.
It’s a premise that is established from the opening lines of the song when Skepta breezily starts with an offer to travel, presumably after being unavailable for a while. “Yeah, I’m off tour, we should celebrate / Dedicate some time for you, baby, it’s a date,” he says. It sets off a sequence where Tiwa Savage admits to being annoyed by the complexities of this relationship.
Still, there’s something about the thrills of these tenuous romances that keeps one tethered to them, and Tiwa Savage manages to capture the dilemma of the situation when she sings, “Boy, you make me stressed, you don’t know / Then you send me sweet texts on the low.” Her measured delivery and tonal inflections lend an air of believability to the story that would be inaccessible in lesser hands.
It helps that even as she revisits her R&B origins, the singer still maintains a strong connection to the sonic references that made her an Afropop juggernaut. There is seriously impressive percussion across “On The Low” with enough Yoruba ad-libs sprinkled across to remind any doubters that this is a Nigerian star paying homage to an elemental part of her evolution without losing touch with her roots. It sets the stage for This One Is Personal’ perfectly.
Listen to “On The Low” here.
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Best New Music: TMZY And Yiizi Explore The Motions Of Romance On “Ayawa”
TMZY and Yiizi’s nimble mastery of melodies, penchant for colourful storytelling, and palpable chemistry...
There has never been a more rewarding time to be a music lover. The democratic access that social media allows means that listeners are exposed to a wide variety of acts whose music mines the minutiae of their lives and the circumstances of their experiences as inspiration for their work. In many ways, that sense of believability is crucial in distinguishing acts that stand out in our crowded digital world, and rising singers, TMZY and Yiizi, possess that believability in spades. Their music, reflecting the pulse and vibrancy of their Ebute Metta upbringing, ruminates on the dynamics of modern dating. They are at once frustrated, enamored, and oddly amused by the financial necessities of dating as a young person in Lagos.
Last year, after teasing listeners with freestyles filmed all over their hood, they made a big splash with their debut, “Money Over Love,” a zestful, youth-fuelled dedication to the utility of cash as the primary catalyst for romantic love. Another single, “Omalicha,” expands on the precepts set out on “Money Over Love,” praising a love interest for her alluring qualities. It all set the stage for their debut project, ‘Money Over Love,’ which takes its name from their debut single.
On ‘Money Over Love,’ the brother duo presents a fuller vision of their sound, while tincturing their melodies with vocabulary sharpened by interests that intersect between the streets and online lingo. No track reflects TMZY and Yiizi’s nimble mastery of melodies, penchant for colourful storytelling, and palpable chemistry like the project’s opening track, “Ayawa.”
Like most of what has come from the brothers before now, they are head over heels for a lover and are keen to show the depth of their feelings. “Ayawa,” the Yoruba word for “our wife,” is used as a metaphor for living happily ever after with their loved one. Impressively, they manage to weave their sticky-sweet verses in Yoruba, English, and pidgin without losing any of the rhythm that listeners of the brothers have become accustomed to. Listening to the song, there are giveaways that the brothers are dialed into the cutting edge of music. “Ayawa” is cut from the sample drill style that American rapper and producer, Cash Cobain, has popularised, with the brothers choosing a humorous sample as a backbone for this track.
In just a little over two minutes on ‘Ayawa,” the brothers manage to pack in a week’s worth of thrills, promising a trip to Las Vegas, decking her out in designer outfits, and a visit to her parents’ to formalise their affairs. Almost impressively, they have a more nuanced grasp on healthy romance, candidly asking, “Would you stand by me?” It is a welcome micro-evolution from where we met the brothers on “Money Over Love,” and a reminder that they are master wielders of narrative with the world buying into their enjoyable music.
Listen to ‘Money Over Love’ here.
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Best New Music: Indi Is Effortlessly Cool On “Over”
“Over” is arguably the strongest addition to Indi’s growing discography yet. It’s sexy, cool and...
Since the turn of the year, the underground music scene has been experiencing a surge of vibrancy, marked by the emergence of a talented new generation of young musicians. Loose terms like New Age and Cyber Youth have been used to describe this new wave of artists, but what’s certain is their ingenuity and profound artistry. Some of the best music coming out of this new movement has come from Indi, a singer, songwriter, and producer who sounds like she’s aching and flirting at the same time. Her songs, most of which barely cross the 2-minute mark, blend Y2K aesthetics with the boldness of contemporary Hyperpop. Think Clara La San meets Charli XCX.
Indi only started putting out music officially in mid-2024, but she’s fleshed out a clear sonic identity in such a short time that one might think she’s been at this for much longer. A Pop singer with light R&B contours, she employs a refreshing approach, somewhere between accessible and experimental, that stands in contrast to the overwhelming monotony of mainstream Pop music in Nigeria.
Tracks like “Atbu,” “Caution,” and “Promise” are built similarly: melancholic, upbeat, and made irresistible by her DIY charm. The singer’s latest single, “Over,” follows this same pattern, fusing cutting-edge club music to melodies and rhythms rooted in R&B and Pop. Her enticing melodies, a key feature of her sound, seamlessly swirl around a glitchy beat courtesy of frequent collaborator Awful Daniel and Three Cyk-Beta.
Most of Indi’s lyrics are often delicate depictions of relatable emotions like desire and teenage angst. They can, however, be pretty repetitive and opaque. “All these lights but I still want you more,” she sings with a spike of anxiety on “Over,” slyly referencing a love interest. This lyrical anonymity is offset by the song’s silky Electronic pop production and Indi’s ethereal vocal passages, which give much of her music deep emotional resonance, much more than her lyrics do.
“Over” is arguably the strongest addition to Indi’s growing discography yet. It’s sexy, cool and forward-thinking. It’s also quickly become her most streamed song yet, a testament to it’s irresistible charm. In a clime that mines nostalgia for the sake of it, Indi borrows from the past to create something refreshingly familiar and futuristic at the same time. This unique ability has placed her at the forefront of this new wave of eccentric artistes who are looking to make their mark on our ever-evolving music scene.
Listen to “Over” here.
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