Every other week, new projects are being released around Africa. It’s a prolific period for artists, spurred by the many potential gains of pulling off a good project. Beyond commercialist expansion, it’s an opportunity to introduce a new aspect to a performer’s artistry, or consolidate on established sonic preferences. It’s a big day for new releases in Ghana, with marquee releases from Kuami Eugene, DarkoVibes and Medikal. Read on for more details, as well more spotlighted projects we highly recommend this new music Friday.

Kuami Eugene – ‘LOVE AND CHAOS’

Kuami Eugene is one of the most bankable hit-makers in Afropop. A catalogue brimming with ultra-popular songs has made the Ghana native a beloved parochial superstar with a pan-African reach (see: his contribution to “Love Nwantiti”). After much anticipation, he’s dropped his third album, ‘LOVE AND CHAOS’, which continues his investigations into and expressions of romantic feelings, from love to lust. In curating his latest set-list of ready-made hits, he’s joined on the 13-track project by Nigerian singers Guchi and Magixx, British-Congolese rapper Backroad Gee, and more.

TOBi – ‘PANIC’

Canadian-Nigerian has been working his way into the vanguard of the stateside (and North American) alternative R&B movement, filling his music with resonant coming of age themes across his two major label projects, ‘STILL’ and ‘ELEMENTS Vol. 1’. On his new album, he continues to slip between soulful melodies and smooth raps, as he shares what it’s like as a young man finding his way through life. Introspective rap savants MAVI and Kenny Mason, as well as Funk-R&B fusion artist Topaz join him across the gently sweeping 12-track project.

DarkoVibes – ‘BUTiFLY’

Since pivoting to a solo star, after years as a member of La Meme Gang, Ghanaian singer/rapper DarkoVibes has committed to making music with a stunning amount of range, snagging a decent stack of hits in the process. ‘BUTiFLY’ is his third project in three-plus years, and it’s as indulgent as Darko has always been, playing around with Highlife-inspired pop, trap, EDM, and more. The guest list is just as packed, with appearances from Nigerian superstar Davido, Ghanaian rap icons M.anifest and Omar Sterling, and more.

SGVO – ‘VO’

Within the sprawling soundscape of South African dance music, SGVO occupies a niche, experimental corner, his alchemy of house and dub music into fuses into an entrancing whole. For his new project, the producer and DJ is expanding his purview without diluting the core of his sound, as he invites in more collaborators the he ever has. Across the 13 songs that comprise ‘VO’, he’s joined by superstar producer Kabza De Small, close collaborators Artwork Sounds, vocalists Babalwa M and Jessica LM, and more.

Medikal – ‘Planning & Plotting’

You can count the number of African rappers as prolific as Medikal on one hand—that’s if you can even find any. Coming in less than a year after 2022’s ‘SOCIETY’, the Ghanaian rap veteran has now released his seventh project in just over four years. Deviating from the more introspective lean of his last project, ‘Planning & Plotting’ is Medikal in his most recognisable element, elbowing through beats and sending out barbs at naysayers. Featuring Headie One, Sarkodie, Jay Bahd and more, he swings over booming trap and drill beats with trademark authority.

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