Much as we’d like music drops to slow down and give us a chance to catch up with the unique tunes that are sprouting from across the world, the reality of the music business in the post-2010 era is very much different. With amazing songs dropping at an unrelenting pace, it is not always easy to cut through the noise and sheer volume of it all to find the music that will accompany our melancholy, inspire our next creative breakthrough, tether us our loved ones more securely, or take us to a place of unencumbered elation. 

In line with our goal of curating content for our community, we select some of the most essential daily releases for your reading and listening pleasure; our last Songs of the day column featured drops from polymath Tekno, Ghanaian youngster Yaw Tog, and indie artist Dwin, The Stoic. Today’s column highlights songs from Ladipoe, DJ Spinall, Myles, D Truce, Midas The Jagaban, and Seyi Shay. 

LADIPOE – “FEELING” (FT. BUJU)

Last year saw a definitive turn in the career of Ladipoe as his Simi-assisted “Know You” encapsulated the lonesome energy of Nigeria’s COVID-19 lockdown. He followed the success of “Know You” with breezy flows on “Yoruba Samurai,” closing out the year with a series of features that put him on a pedestal going into 2021. Featuring BUJU on “Feeling,” his first single of the year, Ladipoe works around the singer’s dulcet vocals for another classic rap-sung collaboration that has the right mix of swag and tight lyricism. Atop Andre Vibez’s beat, Ladipoe encapsulated the peppy lifestyle that the song is all about. 

SEYI SHAY – “PEMPE” (FT. YEMI ALADE)

There has historically always been a dearth of pop collaborations between pop leviathans in Nigeria, and for much of the 2010s, Seyi Shay and Yemi Alade were totemic presences in the music industry that strove in different directions. “Pempe,” a belated collaboration between the duo sees them lean into the characteristics that powered their rise. Seyi Shay calmly sashays around the drowning percussion of Kel P’s instrumentals, delivering a gem of a hook before Yemi Alade further spices things up with her pleasant verse. 

JULS – “CHANCE” (FT. TAY IWAR & PROJEXX)

British-Ghanaian DJ and artist, Juls is preparing for the release of his forthcoming album set to drop this summer. Ahead of this, he’s now shared the project’s lead single, a groovy anthem single titled “Chance” featuring Projexx and Tay Iwar. Over slinky keys, percussive patterns and groovy Afropop drums, both artists sing smoothly about being given another chance by a romantic interest. “I need your love, shaped in a glass of rum/Maybe it’s the way you move on the dance floor, got my mind fucked up” sings Tay Iwar as he teases and urges a lover to entangle with him. The song’s propulsive rhythm will surely have you on your feet and whining along to it.

D-TRUCE – “RUN THE CHEQUE”

2019’s ‘2 Birds, 1 Stone’ featured canvas-style music from D-Truce, the rapper fleshed out his contradictions, bothers, and celebrations over mid-tempo beats that bolstered the conceptual feel of the project as a snapshot of his life in motion. Bar a few features here and there, he has not really dropped a lot of music. His latest song, “Run The Cheque” is a thematic divergence from ‘2 Birds, 1 Stone.’  On the song, he is more or less concerned about staying paid up, but his flow on the song is almost sneering, hinting at more life reflections to be dissected on his forthcoming project, ‘Smoke Break.’

THA BOY MYLES – “BOP LOVE”

When Tha Boy Myles dropped “Boma” in December 2020, all the signs of his natural aptitude were on display as he mixed vibrant storytelling with an almost nonchalant delivery that his featherlight voice buffered. His debut project, ‘Mylestone’, a six-song EP released today, features more of the high-quality writing and melodious crooning that makes him a star-in-the-waiting. “Bop Love,” a low-flickering R&B-tinged number is Myles at his most assured, seeing him move between grandiose promises and playful flirting with the ease of a veteran. 

MIDAS THE JAGABAN – “CLOUD 9”

London-based Midas the Jagaban draws influence from the work of celebrated Nigerian masked singer, Lagbaja, in more ways than one. Sonically, she intersperses her music with tidbits from the social activist’s back catalogue while rooting her work in the mind frame of the Gen Z generation. The video of her single, “Cloud 9,” pulls her artistry in different places with an incandescent affair that pays homage to the misunderstanding of comic anti-hero, Joker. Directed by Nathan James Tettey, the video gives its due to all the places, people, and characters that have shaped Midas without being messy. 

DJ SPINALL – “SERE REMIX” (FT. FIREBOY DML AND 6LACK)

As a standalone, “Sere” was an absolute summer smash, a throwback to all the ubiquitous bops that made Summer the time for the shedding of clothes and downing copious amounts of cocktails. Updated with a tweeny verse from 6lack, the remix of “Sere” gets a Western sheen without losing any of the unrestrained joy that Fireboy DML’s vocals gave to the original. 

Featured image credits/Instagram