Davido – Tchelete (Good Life) Featuring Mafikizolo
From South Africa to Nigeria, the scramble for pan-African reach was the biggest trend in African music in 2014. The trend really began with Mafikizolo. Their come-back single Khona, last year’s biggest Afrohouse tune, led to a multitude of collaborations they have recorded with Nigerian, Tanzanian and Kenyan musicians with varying degrees of success. This one with Naija pop’s current it-boy Davido was by far the most popular.
DJ Clock – Pluto (Remember You) Featuring Beatenberg
Now here was a match made in South African crossover heaven. Kwaito-house superstar DJ/Producer Clock went an unexpected direction on his album The 4th Tick (a whopping four-disc affair) by teaming up with indie band Beatenberg. It was a gamble worth taking: within weeks of its release, in February Pluto (Remember You) was the most played single across most radio formats in the country and is probably the biggest pop song there for 2014.
The Mavins – Dorobucci
If one could apply the hip-hop concept of a posse cut to Afropop then this would be the best example out there. Granted, all the artists participating – Reekado Banks, Korede Bello, Di’Ja and D’Prince, Tiwa Savage, Dr Sid and Don Jazzy – are from the same stable (Nigerian super-producer Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records) so the chemistry was probably not that hard to achieve. This song has drawn mass fan engagement – and the small matter of 15m downloads.
Patoranking – Girlie o Remix Featuring Tiwa Savage
2014 was the year that established Lagosian former street jam and carnival dancer Patoranking as Afrobeats foremost dancehall/reggae artist. Girlie O was his moderately-received breakthrough song, but when Tiwa Savage jumped on the remix then the song (and the artist) catapulted to pan-African infamy.
Diamond Platnumz – Number One Remix Featuring Davido
For some reason, while Nigerian and South African pop music gets the lion’s share of attention, it’s almost unheard of for an East African artist to dominate in any region outside of their own. This is what made Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz’s win for best artist at the pan-African station Channel O’s recent awards so significant. This sweet and catchy remix featuring the golden touch of Nigeria’s highly sought after Davido could only have helped bring about that recognition.
