The fast and furious pace of new music releases makes it hard to keep track of all different new sounds coming out of Africa, as the music scene grows more and more expansive. We’ve decided to help out, by sorting through all the new songs from across all the sub-genres around the continent to curate a column with all the best “Songs of the Day”, to highlight all the new releases you absolutely Need to hear.

If the ‘Rona has taught us anything, it’s that music is very important to everyone right now, and artists are doing their fair bit to keep us going. On Wednesday, we brought you new releases by a diverse set of artists, including Skepta, DND Section, Minz and Fasina, Flavour and Ictooicy. Today, we have new releases from Tekno, Kwesi Arthur, Peruzzi, Chillz and TMXO, Rexxie, Yinka Oshodi, Eri Ife and Djaji Prime to add to your weekend playlists. Enjoy.

Tekno – “Kata”

Produced by Phantom, Tekno’s new song, “Kata”, is the kind of feel-good song we all need right now. Against a highlife inspired beat, he sings praises to his lover; “My heart dey scatter scatter/ I no go do you jaga jaga”. With melodic lyrics against a catchy beat, Tekno’s songs always end up making the rounds, and we’re sure once lockdown is over, we’ll be hearing a lot of “Kata” around.

Kwesi Arthur – “Turn on The Lights”

Kwesi Authur has released a new single, “Turn on the Lights” , in response to claims that he was in a sex tape making the rounds on social. The song shows off the Ground Up Chale rapper’s versatility, as he glides over the classic r&b beat produced by Yung D3mz. “Looking for a girl wey go stand by me/ So turn on the lights/ I’m looking for a boo”, he sings with the glossy finish of autotune effects. Kwesi Arthur seems ready to settle down and “Turn on the Lights” is an invitation to encourage interested women to be Kwesi Arthur’s boo.

Yinka Oshodi – “On Your Way”

Yinka Oshodi just released a new single, “On Your Way”, an R&B bop written raunchy intentions. In a society where women aren’t typically allowed to express their sexual desires, Yinka Oshodi embodies her sexuality and turns it to power as she makes demands of her lover. She sings “Talking all that jazz/ Blow it back/ Where that pipe at?” over the catchy beat with smooth delivery, and enough sensual energy to fit into anyone’s sex playlist.

Peruzzi – “Gunshot”

Peruzzi just updated his latest single, “Gunshot” with a steamy music video directed by Dammy Twitch. Peruzzi’s intentions with “Gunshot” were already clear from his chanting lyrics, “I love her body”, and the recently released music video heightens the tension by setting the DMW singer in a night club, where sexy dancers put the Vstix produced dancehall beat to good use.

TMXO x Chillz – “See As You Set (SAUS)”

Chillz and TMXO have linked up for a new single, “See As You Set(SAUS)”. Chillz produced the catchy trap beat that seems to mimic the bass-heavy vibe of K CAMP’s “Lottery (Renegade)”. Singing “Who carry mirror put for my front now now/Fresh, I be like today bread/ Omo I set, ororo dey my head.”, “SAUS” is a body-positive anthem but the timing of its release suggests that it’d best serve as a new soundtrack to the vain videos everyone is sharing to keep busy during this lockdown period.

Eri Ife – “Esquire”

Eri Ife’s music releases come once in a blue moon. He just released a new 6-track tape, ‘Esquire’, his first release since last September. The lead single, “Esquire”, offers some context to his life, balancing his career as a lawyer an artist; “It gets tough sometimes but this is what I want/ I be esquire wey dey run choir”. Something most Nigerian creatives will resonate with, thanks to the Boomer’s obsession with ‘real professions’

Djaji Prime – “Tony Soprano”

Djaji Prime earned the attention of hip-hop fans after he debuted ‘ExPRESSION’ last year. However, his follow up project, ‘A Relentless Vagabond’ sees him expanding his range as he reinvents himself into a rock music-leaning artist. The EP’s standout track, “Tony Soprano” is set to the eerie harmony of a rock guitar bassline that allows him to flex his vocal range, singing, then rapping about having the same problem as the fictional character from Italian TV series, “The Sopranos”; “My therapist’s a badass bitch like Tony Soprano”.

Rexxie – “Marlian Riddim”

Rexxie is set to drop his genre-defining debut tape, ‘Afro Street’ on the 17th of April, and to give us an idea of what’s coming, he just shared the lead single, “Marlian Riddim”. With no featured artist, we get to appreciate the groovy vibe of his instrumentals, mixing ambient synth samples with traditional drum riffs, rattling samples and a sample of Naira Marley’s “Marlians” call to invite listeners to the dancefloor. Poco Lee, Zlatan Ibile, Barry Jhay and of course, Naira Marley are expected to feature on the 7-track tape when it drops later this month.

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You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him @debola_abimbolu

ICYMI: Here are all the songs released from earlier this week