Africa's Top 10 Pop Songs of 2017 ~ #TheYamboSelection

Introduction and Selection Criteria for Africa's Top Songs of 2017

After the belated publication of Africa's Top Songs for each of the years running from 2010 to 2013, the 2017 list now represents the eighth annual ranking in #TheYamboSelection series. The same criteria have been used this year (January to December 2017) as were used last year to select and rank the best pop songs out of those released or published during the year. The longest list of top songs had 25 titles in 2014, but this number has been set at 40 since 2015. 

Before the entirety of the Top 40 list is released, smaller "vertical" segments are released as follows: Top 5, Top 10, Top 20 and Top 25. This is intended to facilitate subsequent online search by individuals who may be interested only in specific segments...READ MORE 

List of Africa's Top 10 Pop Songs of 2017 ~ #TYS

10. Tito Mboweni by Cassper Nyovest (2017):

The Tito Mboweni lyrics are a nugget for those who seek to more clearly understand Cassper Nyovest, South Africa's musical icon. They are an astute and poetic blending of English and Nyovest's 'home' (or ethnic) language -- Setswana. But that means that less than half of his message avails itself to folks who speak only Setswana or English -- that universal language which so many millions of us across the world and away from England have appropriated. We have even, in effect READ MORE, 

9. Bolingo Mabe by Anita Mwarabu ft. Innoss'B (2017):

In Bolingo Mabe, we renew our acquaintance with super-talented Innoss'B. We last saw (and heard) him with Koffi Olomide in that blast of a song titled Elengi. Here he sings with sophisticated and self-confident Anita Mwarabu, who also sings in To Dondwa, with Fally Ipupa and company. The theme of Bolingo Mabe, mostly sung in Lingala, is that true love is hard to find. Fake love, its ever-present nemesis, is plainly tiring. Still the fine music which delivers the stark message is quite moving, and entices one to keep listening to the tune.

8. Inspire by Nameless (2017):
Inspire has a truly inspiring tone and an amazingly sunny tune. Nameless, whom we will call Adam, has gone (to the Maasai Mara) and done it, all within sight of the great and imposing Kilimanjaro. This is without question his greatest song -- ever. And it just goes to show that great and greater potential and talent may lie untapped and perhaps unsuspected even in those who have already scaled heights. Nameless has obviously worked very hard to let us have Inspire, on a platter READ MORE

7. Bounce by Vanessa Mdee ft. Maua Sama x Tommy Flavour (2017):

Bounce features two Tanzanian Divas with smooth-as-silk voices, and a style to match the whole do: Vanessa Mdee and Maua Sama. It might as well be summer in this suggestive video. Wait, it's always summer in coastal TZ! The third artiste, Tommy Flavour, lives up to his surname, looks like, with these gals, in a no-holds-bared but gentle and consensual threesome. He's the 'boy-toy'. He's the ball of string the cats 'fight' over in this leisurely hideout -- this burudani. READ: The Bounce Lyrics

6. Zamba by Magasco ft. Jacques-Greg Belobo (2017):

For an explanation for this powerful song -- a lyrical narrative with an obvious religious slant -- one need not go further than Magasco's very own. As to whether it qualifies as a variant of pop, there's no simple answer. Certainly, the song Zamba (that is, God) is not pure Gospel. However, not being conversant with the surface and deeper import of many of the African phrases and lines sung in Zamba complicates matters. But here's what Magasco himself says. We classify the song as pop here. READ: The Zamba lyrics.

5. Esopi Yo by Awilo Longomba ft. Tiwa Savage (2017):

As a performer, Awilo Longomba hardly ever disappoints those who have become attached to his musical persona. Not in his vocal delivery. Not in his body texts. Not in his energy output. And not in the totality of his performance. In Esopi Yo, he delivers an exquisite act on a finely crafted set. The singing is mellow, the music superbly pitched. The ambience, inside a veritable 'chateau' somewhere in McCain's Arizona, is pure sapeurisme. The ebb and flow of body texts is haute art in motion.  READ MORE

4. Leg Over by Mr. Eazi (2017):

Leg Over is a great piece of music, with vocal and instrumental cords finely weaved and even more tastefully pitched. The two (voice and sound), heard so seamlessly as one, deliver a delightful audio experience. With his distinctive and powerful voice, Nigeria's Mr. Eazi is one of Africa's leading pop stars. His voice is a veritable 'tool' for cultural innovation. While the dancers whom we see in Leg Over give just as fine a show (and even look happy doing so), in harmony with the voice and the sounds, the video's overall mood rings... READ MORE

3. Yeba by Kiss Daniel (2017):
In Lingala language, the word Yeba means to know, or to become acquainted with. The music which those of my generation grew up with (and were nourished by) in Nairobi, and other parts of Kenya and the larger East Africa, was mostly Congolese, rendered in Lingala -- with a sprinkling of French and even 'broken' Swahili (nuggets of the latter which it was fun to rummage for). All too often, in the course of the lyrics, one would hear the intriguing word... READ MORE 

2. Man's Not Hot  by Big Shaq (2017):

Big Shaq ain't Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) by any stretch. But, by some accounts, Shaq suspects that Big Shaq is belittling him; insinuating that Shaq ain't 'hot' (that is, "cool") or big enough (that is, big) any more. What's more, he's scheming rather loudly to take Shaq's inalienable name -- even if the 'alien' is the newly-arrived Big Shaq himself. Meanwhile, Big Shaq markets his brand as not hot at all -- as never hot, in fact; but rather, by some kind of super-providential twist(er), Shaq's ordained successor -- nay, 're-placer'. He's never... READ MORE


1. Africa Unite by Nsoki ft. DJ Maphorisa and DJ Paulo Alves(2017):
Seven years after Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), that iconic song sung and danced by Shakira and her South African companions at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, comes a worthy successor -- Africa Unite. The new song is sung by the equally fine and animated Nsoki, from Lusophone Angola. It is danced by her superbly choreographed dance-troupe. They are all so wonderfully 'backstopped' by the ever-resourceful DJ Maphorisa, and DJ Paulo Alves. The stage is a feline high-voltage affair from beginning to end. The singing makes the aural READ MORE


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LINKS TO RELEVANT LISTS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS

1. Africa's Top 10 Songs of The Year, 2015