The Big Five
The top five newly released African songs are shared by Nandi Madida. The new music on this week's playlist has songs by Joshua Baraka, Shekhinah featuring Moliy, Korede Bello, Simi & Qing Madi featuring Axon, Wizard Chan & Joeboy, and Nomcebo Zikode.
Africa Rising
This week's show features the songs "Folake" and "Eleyele" by Nigerian Afrobeats singer-songwriter Taves, who is the newest artist to be highlighted on Apple Music's Africa Rising playlist. The initiative aims to highlight the next wave of African superstars. CLICK HERE to listen.
Song of the Week with Nandi
From Apple Music's African playlists, Nandi Madida selects her favorite song every week. She is highlighting the song "Drift (Remix)," which is a collaboration between the Nigerian music icon Davido and the Jamaican dancehall artist Teejay, this week on Apple Music's Naija Hits playlist. Click to listen.
This Friday, March 22nd, at 9a London / 10a Lagos/Paris / 11a Johannesburg / 1a LA / 4a NYC, tune in and enjoy the entire episode on Apple Music 1 at apple.co/_AfricaNow. It will also be shown on YFM Accra every Sunday at 2pm, YFM Kumasi on Saturdays at 3pm, and YFM Takoradi on Saturdays at 6pm.
Tyla discusses the pressures of winning a Grammy early in her career with Apple Music.
I'm feeling great. Regardless of when I won it, receiving a Grammy is a blessing. I'm simply glad I could be that channel for home—there will undoubtedly be more to come—because it's a great accomplishment and a historic moment for Africa!
Tyla discusses the injury that forced her to postpone her tour with Apple Music.
Undoubtedly, it was a challenging choice. It was difficult not being able to go Coachella, all of the festivals I had always wanted to attend, and starting my own tour. I've been waiting for these moments for a long time, but since I always believe that "everything happens for a reason," I know that I will eventually accomplish all of these things, whether it's at the end of this year, next year, or at any other time. I just have faith that God has me covered because it will be bigger and better than before.
Tyla explains how she discovered her sound to Apple Music
Since "Getting Late," when I realized how much I loved fusing pop with African music, I've been kind of on a mission to find the ideal combination, the sound that truly speaks to me. For the past two or three years, I've been attempting different things and honing the sound. It seemed like we were starting to make progress when I arrived at "Water."
As I was finishing the record, I just started putting in more effort and working with the group of people I refer to as the Fantastic Four: Ari [PenSmith], Sammy Sosa, Mocha, and Corey [Marlon Lindsay-Keay]. I feel like I've hit the proverbial gold mine with this group of folks. I finally got to a point where I was excited.
Tyla talks about working with Kelvin Momo with Apple Music.
I was really hoping to start with something raw and proudly South African. The song is a voice recording I took during a session with Kelvin Momo, and I love that when you listen to it, you can hear people talking and hear our accents and languages. I just wanted people to hear the origins of my sound, too, because I've obviously experimented a lot and it sounds nothing like original piano or afrobeats. I wanted them to hear a raw South African session before showing them what I did with it [the album].