Demola – ‘Light Up’ f/ Wande Coal

Nigerian artist Demola isn’t afraid to do things differently and to mix it up when it comes to his music. Although his usual style is Afrobeat, for his latest single, ‘Light Up’, the unmistakeable sound of a violin turns up mere seconds into the track. It shouldn’t work: the rhythm is a full on bounce, buoyant and packed full of sunshine; the violin is breezy, and cool – like a walk through a forest. It shouldn’t work – but somehow – it does.

Rocky Dawuni – ‘Beats of Zion’ and ‘Wickedest Sound’

In 2015 Rocky Dawuni became the first Ghanaian to be nominated for a GRAMMY Award, for his electrifying sixth album, ‘Branches Of The Same Tree’, in the Best Reggae Album category. Dawuni isn’t strictly a Reggae artist; he encorporates the style into his music, but it’s part of an amalgam of styles, including Afrobeat, Highlife, traditional Ghanaian folk, dancehall, jazz, North American soul, RnB, and electropop. He calls his sound Afro Roots: there’s nothing else quite like it.