SPINALL, aka DJ Spinall, is here with “One Call” featuring Tyla and Omah Lay, a single that figures to dominate late-night summer bashes. This is an all-African collaboration, between the Nigerian producer and fellow singer, as well as the “pretty girl from Joburg” (Johannesburg, South Africa). All three respective artists have done a lot for their culture, putting out some of the biggest Afrobeats/Afro-fusion records as of late. While Omah Lay did make some not-so-great headlines for contributing to a break-up at one of his concerts, his feature game has been top-tier. Just ask the likes of Kehlani, Luciano, and Libianca how much he has helped with their streaming numbers. As for Tyla, her self-titled debut has been doing extremely well since its release this past March.
Songs like “Jump”, “Water”, “Truth or Dare”, and “ART”, continue to rake in millions of streams. Finally, SPINALL has been riding off the success of his 2023 record TOP BOY. Hopefully, with singles like “One Call”, “Psalm 23”, and “Loju”, we get a new record before the end of the summer. As we said, this latest song is perfect for this time of year. The danceable rhythm is quite undeniable from the start and its lowkey vibe make it that perfect song to snuggle up to with your boo. You can stream “One Call” with the lyric video provided below.
I will always fight for truth If I have the chance to choose (Here we go) Like every other superhero My weakness is love I don’t do it for the medals ‘Cause no me without us
Three of African music’s hottest rising stars team up on “One Call,” the new single from Nigerian producer/DJ Spinall (pronounced spin-all), featuring Nigerian singer Omah Lay and South African breakout Tyla. Featuring a mellow and hypnotic Afrobeats instrumental, the song finds Omah and Tyla lyrically pining for a potential fling, telling them that they’ll only be “one call” away. With its reassuring chorus and cool blend of African sounds, it’s a slick party starter for a laid-back summer vibe.
“One Call” continues Tyla’s US takeover, which began last year with the arrival of her inescapable bop, “Water,” and rolled right into 2024 with the release of her self-titled debut album. In the months since, Tyla graced the Met Gala, signed on for special shows at Lollapalooza, and released her inner tiger at the 2024 BET Awards. And although she had to cancel her upcoming tour for medical reasons, moments like her Gap campaign with new song “Linen Moves,” Becky G collaboration “On My Body,” “Jump” video with Gunna and Skillibeng, and now, “One Call,” will likely keep her in the spotlight and building momentum until she recovers.
Meanwhile, Omah Lay continues to payoff the prediction made by Uproxx’s Wongo Okon in 2022, contributing to Afrobeats’ expansion in the US public eye.
Listen to Spinall’s “One Call” with Tyla and Omah Lay above.
Three of African music’s hottest rising stars team up on “One Call,” the new single from Nigerian producer/DJ Spinall (pronounced spin-all), featuring Nigerian singer Omah Lay and South African breakout Tyla. Featuring a mellow and hypnotic Afrobeats instrumental, the song finds Omah and Tyla lyrically pining for a potential fling, telling them that they’ll only be “one call” away. With its reassuring chorus and cool blend of African sounds, it’s a slick party starter for a laid-back summer vibe.
“One Call” continues Tyla’s US takeover, which began last year with the arrival of her inescapable bop, “Water,” and rolled right into 2024 with the release of her self-titled debut album. In the months since, Tyla graced the Met Gala, signed on for special shows at Lollapalooza, and released her inner tiger at the 2024 BET Awards. And although she had to cancel her upcoming tour for medical reasons, moments like her Gap campaign with new song “Linen Moves,” Becky G collaboration “On My Body,” “Jump” video with Gunna and Skillibeng, and now, “One Call,” will likely keep her in the spotlight and building momentum until she recovers.
Meanwhile, Omah Lay continues to payoff the prediction made by Uproxx’s Wongo Okon in 2022, contributing to Afrobeats’ expansion in the US public eye.
Listen to Spinall’s “One Call” with Tyla and Omah Lay above.
Kehlani is back, and they’re bringing the heat. Arriving this week is their hotly anticipated fourth studio album, Crash. Ahead of the album, they have dropped the steamy single, “After Hours,” as well as the sweet love song, “Next 2 U.”
The singles have indicated that we will hear Kehlani demonstrate a wide range of musical stylings. As fans of Kehlani know, they are not one to keep themselves confined. Given the recent singles, as well as the revealed collaborations, fans are in for a treat with Crash.
We’ve put together a guide with everything you need to know about Crash ahead of its release.
Release date
Crash is out 6/21 via Atlantic. Find more information here.
So far, Kehlani has released the singles “After Hours” and “Next 2 U.”
Features
Crash will feature collaborations with Jill Scott, Young Miko, and Omah Lay.
Artwork
You can see the Crash artwork below.
Atlantic
Tour
At the time of writing, a tour in support of Crash has not been officially announced, however, Kehlani revealed in an Instagram livestream that they will be going on tour this fall.
Afro Nation, the biggest Afrobeats festival in the world, is returning to Portugal in 2024 with a stacked lineup featuring some of the biggest names in African music. The first wave of announced performers include Rema, Asake, J Hus, Ninho, Tyla, Omah Lay, Flavour, and more. As usual, a second stage will highlight some of Amapiano’s hottest DJs, including Uncle Waffles and Major League DJz. The festival takes place at the Algarve in Portimão on June 26-28, 2024. Tickets go on sale on November 23; you can find more information at afronation.com.
The 2024 performers include some of the genre’s biggest rising stars. Rema enjoyed increased public standing in 2023, performing for the NBA’s 2023 All-Star Game, on The Tonight Show, and at Broccoli City Fest. He also teamed up with hip-hop’s fastest-rising star, Ice Spice, for “Pretty Girl,” which the duo teamed up to perform on SNL.
Meanwhile, Tyla became the first South African musician to chart on the Billboard 200 in fifty years thanks to her hit song “Water” going viral on TikTok. She too made her US television debut recently, in addition to being nominated for the 2024 Grammy Awards. Asake and J Hus both dropped new albums, as well, establishing themselves as forces in the Afrobeats scene.
More performers will likely be announced as March nears, so stay tuned.
Ozuna is slated to headline Baja Beach Fest 2023 at Rosarito Beach in Mexico next month. Hopefully, he’s considering putting his “Soso” remix with Omah Lay on his setlist. Lay released the deluxe version of his 2022 Boy Alone album last month, and the Ozuna-boosted “Soso” received the video treatment this week.
The three-minute visual begins with Lay walking up to a luxurious villa at night. A woman stands out in the dark. We see Ozuna approaching a different woman. She’s tending to her horses before Ozuna (literally) sweeps her off her feet, and they start dancing. Later, Lay has his chance to impress his romantic interest. They slow dance atop a building overlooking a lush, tropical landscape.
As described in a press release, “The visual stands out as his most stunning and cinematic yet. … Balancing two extremes, it combines intimate vignettes and expansive vistas. Most importantly, it illuminates the chemistry between these two global superstars, uniting styles and cultures all at once.”
Uproxx named Lay’s Boy Alone among “The Best Afrobeats Albums of 2022,” lauding, “It takes a certain kind of strength to be as openly vulnerable as Omah Lay is, and to his benefit, his will to do so helped him to create a great body of work.”
Watch the “Soso” video above.
Omah Lay is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Thethree-day event all starts on Thursday, July 6, at Passeio Marítimo de Algés in Portugal. The schedule is headlined by the aforementioned acts and so many more — enough that it needs seven stages to handle them all, including Palco Nos Stage, Palco Heineken Stage, Palco WTF Clubbing Stage, Palco Coreto Stage, Palco Fado Cafe Stage, Palco Comedia Stage, and Portico Nos Alive Entrance.
On July 6, Red Hot Chili Peppers won’t take the Palco Nos Stage until 11:30 p.m. local time, just after The Black Keys’ 9:30 p.m. set.
The same stage will welcome Lil Nas X at 1:15 a.m. to conclude the festivities on Friday, July 7. The anticipation for that will be built by Arctic Monkeys (10:45 p.m.), Lizzo (8:50 p.m.), Idles (7:20 p.m.), Girl In Red (8 p.m.), and more.
Saturday, July 8 — or, technically, Sunday, July 9 — will conclude with Rufus Du Sol at 1:15 a.m. Prior, Sam Smith is set for 11:05 p.m., Queens Of The Stone Age at 9:15 p.m., and Machine Gun Kelly at 7:30 p.m. Other July 8 performances will be delivered by Omah Lay, Rina Sawayama, Angel Olsen, and King Princess.
See the full Nos Alive lineup and schedule below, and find more information here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
For many, their first experience with Nigerian afrobeats singer Victony, born Anthony Ebuka Victor, came with the growing hit song “Soweto.” As of today, that record has three versions: the original, a remix with Don Toliver and Rema, and a remix with Omah Lay, which altogether, speak to the song sweeping virality thanks to trends on TikTok and more. However, for others, especially those entrenched in the afrobeats space, Victony is a name they’ve seen and heard for a couple of years.
His second EP Outlaw, where “Soweto” is housed, was released last summer following celebrated collaborations with Burna Boy (“Different Size”) and Mayorkun (“Holy Father”). These records aren’t pedestrian releases either, no, they found extended life and were undeniably popular with fans of the genre and even to those who weren’t its most loyal followers.
This is one of my favorite aspects of today’s afrobeats space. Especially over the last half-decade, the genre has been seen in more of a mainstream light than ever. Records have been graced with the “song of the summer” title, claimed high positions on the Billboard singles chart, reached gold and platinum status, and been present on award-winning projects. In short, afrobeats is hot right now.
The same could be said for Victony. In a matter of just over 12 months, Victony found himself as a worthy member of afrobeats’ new class of rising stars. What makes it more impressive is prior to 2020, Victony had no desire to be a singer.
“All I wanted to do was rap,” Victony, who is just 22 years old, says over a Zoom call. “In my teenage years, I started listening to Drake and Kendrick Lamar, a lot of rap stuff just trying to imitate what they were doing.” Victony just like many other musicians at this time, made use of the pandemic as an opportunity to explore this sound and try new things. “I tried out the singing thing and seeing it blow up was pretty interesting,” he says. “It gave me the confidence to keep on exploring and do stuff without limit.”
The result of that was his 2020 debut EP Saturn, a six-track release with a lone feature from Falz on the highlight track “Maria.” “The reception was amazing, the people liked it,” Victony recalls of this project’s release. “I decided to do more singing. That gave me the confidence to work in the afrobeats space and find comfortable ground and just build on that.”
That desire to continue his foray into afrobeats was almost cut short thanks to a tragic accident that left him in a wheelchair for months. Though Victony survived the crash, his close friend Doyin was killed as a result of it. It proved to be an extremely dark time for the singer, and he credits his supporters, from his family to his friends to his fans, for aiding his recovery.
“They reached out, and that just kept me going,” he recalls. “My family, friends, and fans being around to encourage me, just knowing I have people gave me the strength to overcome [those] dark times.”
It didn’t take long for Victony to reach a higher status and become more recognizable in afrobeats. “Holy Father” with Mayorkun arrived the year after Saturn, and in 2022, he teamed with afrobeats heavyweight Burna Boy for “Different Size.” Both records did wonders for Victony, and in the singer’s opinion, these opportunities came as a result of his most unique assets: his striking voice and crafty pen.
“My voice, I feel, is really unique,” he says. “That’s one thing that was really striking on the ‘Holy Father’ song. Once it comes on, you’re like, ‘Who’s this?’” As for his pen, Victony believes its sharpness is what helped him land a feature on “Different Size.” “The way I craft my words together is pretty unique,” he notes. “It’s really refreshing to hear to on a song like ‘Different Size.’ I feel like that’s what made Burna reach out to me.”
The success of “Holy Father” and “Different Size” bookend the release of Victony’s sophomore project, Outlaw. Its seven songs make for a much more refined body of work compared to Saturn. “What I wanted to achieve with the Outlaw EP is to show people that I’d finally gotten really comfortable with the genre and found my space and my unique sound,” he says.
May it be the sweet-talking and love-swept “Chop & Slide,” or the high-spirited “Jolene,” or the amapiano-leaning “Apollo,” Outlaw presented the very best of Victony. These undeniably strong records, though they support and reaffirm Victony’s talents, they did sit behind the success of “Soweto,” the penultimate and breakout track on Outlaw.
More than six months after the song’s release, “Soweto” was an undeniable viral hit thanks to the powers of social media. The song was due for a remix and Victony had plenty of candidates that were suitable for it. The first remix was initially supposed to feature Nigerian singers CKay and Omah Lay. However, Victony was able to put together a version with Rema, a Nigerian singer who is a growing star in his own right, and Don Toliver, an addition that would give “Soweto” more appeal in the States.
Still, Victony had a plan for the previous remix that he has somewhat been able to put into action. “We had all verses in and I thought we might release everything at different points just to give the song some sort of longevity,” he reveals. Though the verses have been teased in some manner, Victony does believe that the remixes will all see the light of day soon. “A lot of people really like Omah Lay’s verse on TikTok and Twitter,” he says. “On all my socials, people hit me daily telling me that I need to put it out. If they still want it, yeah definitely, I’ll release it.” True to his word, Victony would release Omah Lay’s remix of “Soweto” days after our interview.
One record that may see the light of day is the version of “Chop & Slide” with Burna Boy. A preview of that record made its way online which somewhat ruined the plans Victony had for it. “People weren’t supposed to know that Burna was on the song,” he admits. “That kind of put me in a very tight position. I can’t really guarantee what plans we have for the ‘Chop & Slide’ remix, but we’re definitely on it. Everybody wants Burna Boy on the song right now.”
It’s been just over two years since Victony took on the afrobeats world, and in that time he’s achieved great success, worked with top talent, and pushed his name to the masses. The limits Victony once hoped to break through are miles behind him and his newfound space in afrobeats is vast enough to continue his current operation without interruption while also giving him the room to try new things and achieve new goals, something he hopes to accomplish on his third project.
“This year, what I want to do is come in and solidify my identity, I really want to do that,” he says. “Over time, we’ve been working on some really unique stuff that will be new to the game and it’s gonna solidify the Victony name and establish a stronger presence.” There’s strength in numbers and Victony continues to prove that with each record and each accolade, but most importantly, there’s strength in having no limits towards what can be accomplished. Victony is proving that now with “Soweto” and it’s only a matter of time until he does it again with a future release.
To end Black History Month, afro-fusion artist Omah Lay just gave a memorable performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk.
He performed tracks including his current single, “soso,” and a fan favorite, “understand,” backed by a full live band that included backup vocalists. He joined a stellar cast of R&B, soul, jazz, gospel, rock, and hip-hop legends as part of NPR’s Black History Month programming schedule, capping the four-week run with his singular interpretation of Afrobeats.
You can check out the performance below, and if you like what you hear, pop into Omah Lay’s Boy Alone album here.
When you think about the global music genre Afrobeats, who is the first act that comes to mind? Well, if Omah Lay wasn’t the first name to leave your lips, the Nigerian recording artist is working towards changing that. Making his Tiny Desk Concert series debut, the “Attention” singer put his best foot forward with a harmonious performance of his biggest tracks.
After finding success in 2020, thanks to his song, “Bad Influence,” which went on to be the most-streamed Nigerian song on Apple Music, Omah was sure to lead off his brief set with it. However, before transitioning onto the next track, which was “I’m A Mess,” he took a moment to introduce his band and supporting vocalists.
The musicians supporting Omah included guitarist Ernest “Subroza” Osei-Bonsu, keyboardist Donald Crentsil, drummer Kwabena Kyeremeh Adade, percussionist Leroy “Boogie” Greer, and bassist Steve Millar, while Domo Abrams and Monet Shelton provided background vocals. Speaking with the attentive in-studio audience, Omah said, “These boys are from Ghana, I’m from Nigeria, and the ladies [the background vocalists] are from America. So, my band is a mixture of it all.”
Songs “Soso,” “Never Forget, ” and a medley of “Infinity,” “Bend You,” and “Understand” close out his set. Quite a few of Omah’s fan-favorite tracks were notably missing from the set, including “Woman,” “Confession,” and “Damn,” the latter of which has been covered by 6lack. But to be fair, with so many songs to choose from, some just weren’t going to make the cut.
Watch Omah Lay’s full performance above.
Omah Lay is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
