Favourites: Music That Has Shaken the World in July 2024

Album of the Month

If you follow my Music That Has Shaken The World series since I started publishing it in January you probably noticed that I have a big love for versatile artists that are constantly challenging themselves and boldly experimenting with their sound.

HEIS, the second album of Nigerian singer, rapper and songwriter Rema pays homage to his hometown Benin City, but also draws inspiration from American hip-hop and UK club music and it is both dark, atmospheric and cinematic with introspective and reflective lyrics, but often also silly, infectious and an invitation to the dancefloor that is almost impossible to decline.

In a recent video that went viral on TikTok Rema told the crowd that he was getting bored with the direction that Afrobeats was going as ‘’it all started to sound the same with similar beats and losing its originality, especially with the rise of Amapiano and its influence with international producers’’ and he wanted to bring the original Afrobeats sound back in his new work, being the biggest inspiration for this album.

Starting with his Afro-rave self-styled sound signature, the album, however, keeps taking the listeners to an unexpected journey, blending orchestral strings, synth driven songs, unconventional beats and drums that are frenetic but also fun.

The vocals are also used as an instrument in the entire record: often eerie and often playful and even silly, in which each vocal shift adds a new texture to the songs and he does all of it while still maintaining a very cohesive album.

With this record, Rema is determined to push the boundaries of Afrobeats, challenging the expectations of his fans and changing the conversations about the future of the genre.

Last Childish Gambino Album

Speaking of artists that I love and that keep evolving and challenging themselves, the multi-talented Childish Gambino released his new album Bando Stone and The New World. According to him it will be the last one with his stage name.

Released on July 19th, the album serves as the soundtrack to his upcoming film that he wrote and directed and the songs feature Flo Mill, Steve Lacy, Khruangbin, Kamasi Washington and Jorja Smith, just to name a few.

This is also one album that I had the pleasure of getting to listen to before the official release in a party invited by Sony Music and I remember that my first reaction was to think that it is a big melting pot of blended genres and influences: from a Kanyesque influenced hip-hop sound and rapping style to a more pop banger to then an Afrobeat-infused track and even a pop-rock ballad. It has everything and again shows Donald Glover versatility.

I think I will still need a bit more time to digest this one, but I am definitely enjoying it and I am also looking forward to experiencing it live and with the film.

Middle of the Year Music Report

According to the Luminate Midyear Music Report, while American artists are still holding the most numbers on global streaming shares, they are down by 53% points compared to last year and artists from Mexico, Brazil and France have the largest growth in global streams.

Besides it, Latin Music takes the lead as the fastest growing genre in the U.S., with artists such as Bad Bunny, Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida, Junior H and KAROL G.

A huge part of that growth was driven by the continued rise of Regional Mexican Music, which is the largest Latin music sub-genre so far this year with more than 13 billion US On-Demand Audio streams.

The Story Behind Alibi

Written and produced by Sevdaliza, Alibi is a haunting exploration of women’s love and resilience, as well as about the power of finding safety and support in each other. The song accompanies a powerful visual of a matriarchal ritual preparing the women for a battle, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Nogari.

Alibi has just reached its peak of number 12 in the global Spotify charts and it is expected to enter 20 in the Billboard Global Charts this week. The song is all over TikTok, actually having gone viral even before its official release with now over one million videos on the app using it.

The song, that features Brazilian artist Pablo Vittar and French artist Yseult as singers and co-writers, samples the Son Cubano ‘’Rosa Que Linda Eres’’ recorded in 1918 and popularized by colombian artists Irene Martinez and Magín Díaz and becoming a classical in Latin repertoire. 

Artists to Watch

RIMON

Ethiopian-Eritrean-born and raised in Amsterdam, RIMON is an artist with an unique sound in the R&B and neo soul space. With smooth but soul touching vocals, mesmerizing melodies and interesting beats she is finally releasing her debut album (sometime soon).

I have been a fan of her music for a few years and am excited for her first record, especially because I am really enjoying the deeper songs she has been releasing lately, that one can feel are rooted in profound personal experiences, reflected both on a lyrical and sonic level.

Aaron Frazer

Also known as the drummer and co-lead vocalist of the excellent soul band Durand Jones and The Indicators, multi-instrumentalist Aaron has just released his second album Into The Blue, after the acclaimed solo debut album in 2021.

Produced by Aaron himself, Josh Lloyd & Lydia Kitto from the band Jungle and Alex Goose as well as a few other talented producers, the album shows Frazer’s immense range of vocal and sonic capabilities and influences (soul, hip-hop, disco and gospel). Besides the top producers the album also counts with stellar songwriters such as Black Keys Dan Auerbach, Vuflpeck Joey Dosik and Nick Waterhouse.

There is just something incredible and out of this world about versatile and multi-talented drummers. Think about it: Anderson .Paak, Questlove, Karen Carpenter, Buddy Miles…

Aaron Frazer for sure deserves a spot on this list too and with fuzzy guitars, crisp drums and smooth vocals this is an unmissable album that you will have on repeat