With Africa on My Sleeve
So there’s an idea we had a few years ago. We thought about pooling songs about the black experience and sequence them into a story. As with most audacious ideas that require extensive research, it got back-burnered. Last year, with the heavy media attention on black matters, it felt like the proper moment to revisit...Continue reading
It’s no secret that I’ve been enamored about amapiano: I’ve been raving about it for almost two years now! The sub-genre grew out of Pretoria to progressively take over South Africa and then set its sights on the rest of the continent. Nowadays, it’s no longer uncommon to hear our usual hitmakers from Nigeria, Tanzania,...Continue reading
The idea behind ‘Teintée Africaine’ came about when I noticed a growing trend: European acts of African descent were increasingly tapping into the current popular African sounds and genres to innovate. The idea, then, was to pair those works with those made at the source. While the latter enjoyed less plaudits outside its locale, I...Continue reading
I had a lot of fun last time I took this playlist concept to weave a tale. So, I decided to give it another go. It’s still a love story that most of us can relate to. It finds someone at the end of a relationship, trying to pick up the pieces of his/her heart...Continue reading
The homie was talking earlier about the older cats embracing the new generation of talent. And there’s no bigger case here than the recent pairing of Eminem and gone-too-soon Juice WRLD on “Godzilla”. We often deride the current hip-hop flagbearers and point at their lack of rapping skills, which they make up for with other...Continue reading
One more for the ShenYeng clan! Since “Blessed” took off last year, Shenseea has been in high demand. And you won’t hear any complaints from me when the trickle we’ve been accustomed to turns into a steady stream of Shenseea bangers like “Trick’a Treat”. The gem is one of many from the Aircraft Riddim; she...Continue reading
Come to think of it, I might not be showing enough love to Camila Cabello in this segment; after all, she has an excellent track record as a pop star. I have been playing “My Oh My” — in fact, the whole of Romance — for a couple months now, and I was champing at...
First of all, I could care less to know what brought about this Wiz Khalifa and AD collaboration. Secondly, I don’t really care to agonize about the project it will end up on: as of this writing it’s only available (from a verified source) on YouTube. I really don’t care because this is as close...Continue reading
I don’t really remember how I stumbled upon ShooterGang Kony. his brooding performance on “A Sinner’s Story” made me a fan instantly. (I’ve since gone through his catalogue and I’m confident the kid is bound to make a mark.) The complementary video fully captures the mood of the song, which frankly deserves more plaudits than...Continue reading
Before I launch into this playlist and the lead track, “Souris verte”, let me first note that we at The Buck Stop have been out of commission for a few days. We were all gutted to learn that our childhood idol Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter and seven others, were killed in a helicopter...Continue reading