The Afrobeat(s)/dancehall fusion is a long-established one and now it has had the seal of approval from both genre’s most famous dynasties. Seun (born Oluseun) Kuti, the youngest son of Fela Kuti, and Damian Marley, the second to youngest child of Bob Marley, have collaborated together with Fela’s band, Egypt80, on new single “Dey”.

The R&Drill fusion has been something artists have been toying with for a little while now.

Shaé Universe found success with it early on, but one artist who hasn’t been given quite as much credit as she deserves when it comes to this hybrid sound is Jamilah Barry, whose 2020 release, “Merlot”, was a shining example of the less-is-more approach.

On her new single, “Fuck It (On-1)”, we see Jamilah Barry return to that territory with a haunting vocal performance over a sombre piano riff that she combines with chilling hi-hat triplets and sliding drill bass lines. In fact, she herself has gone on record as saying she considers this new single to be a sequel to “Merlot”.

Asake and Travis Scott have just dropped their highly anticipated single, “Active”, a track poised to become a late summer anthem.

Whether it’s nightlife, music, fashion or sport, Addis Ababa is steadily becoming an exciting cultural gem in the Horn and beyond, finds Rahel Aklilu.