Five For Friday ft [@PasteurDeZaire], [@KamilleXX], [@KanivaOH], + more

Five For Friday is back again with 5 releases from the past week you should pay attention to.

Five for Friday is back again giving you 5 great tracks/projects for your Friday. Friday is essentially the most important day of the week musically, and typically a lot of music drops on Friday’s. Friday is the day that the official charts are announced letting us know who holds the coveted number one position. To make life a little easier this Friday we are giving you 5 of our top picks that have recently dropped to start off your weekend listening.

Zaire – Shotti

Zaire is undoubtedly a musical talent we will be hearing about throughout 2021. He has a clear ear for melodies and production which is honestly rare to see, and despite ‘Shotti’ being only his second release he’s already displaying versatility. ‘Shotti’ is a hard hitting number with the message to always be prepared by expecting the unexpected. Such a strong message comes from Zaire‘s experiences in life despite his young age having gone through a lot during his life already. With a strong sense of musicality as well as identity, Zaire is bound for big things. Check out his debut release ‘Combo Flow (freestyle)’ here.

KAMILLE ft. S1mba – AYO!

KAMILLE is undoubtedly one of the most talented and driven individuals in the music game period. She went from a stockbroker to award-winning songwriter, singer and producer; label, studio and publisher owner; and the first artist to ever be offered their own studio within London’s iconic Metropolis Studios. Her songwriting credits have contributed to over 4 billion Spotify streams, over 3 billion YouTube streams, 5 x UK #1 singles, 10 x UK #1 albums and so much more. With that kind of resume you know she wasn’t going to disappoint when she decided to release music for herself and if you haven’t heard of her already ‘AYO!’ is a great way to be introduced.

Kaniva – Unstable

Kaniva gives ‘Unstable’ from his recent 3 EP smooth accompanying visuals. The track, produced by Elevated, goes through the ups and downs of a relationship but in a compelling and sometimes playful manner. The hook also mimics Craig David‘s classic ‘7 Days’ in the way it takes us through the relationship dynamic as it progresses across the days of the week. The song could hold its own as just an audio release but the visuals do also take things up a notch. The key to the visuals is Mike Boateng & Priscilla Anyabu‘s (Love Island) clear chemistry but also their ability to show the negative sides of a relationship as much as they were excellent at showing the good.

Ayra Starr – Ayra Starr EP

Ayra Starr today released her self-titled deput EP, and what an EP it is. 19 year old Ayra is set to be a teen star having already being picked up by Don Jazzy‘s Mavin Records, the same Don Jazzy that spearheaded the careers of Tiwa Savage, D’Banj, and Rema to name a few. With such impressive backing it’s no surprise that the quality of music Ayra is putting out is so high. But that wouldn’t be possible without Ayra’s incredible voice and strong writing skills that can elevate the world class production she has at her disposal.

Lead single from the EP, ‘Away’, has received a visual release (which you can watch above) to coincide with the EP and highlights Ayra’s penchant for fashion as well as her redefining of a breakup song.

O’kenneth & Reggie – Bust

Drill truly went global in 2020 and in mid-2020 Ghana’s Kumerica movement became the wavemakers of the genre on the African continent. Kumerica, a play on America and the Ghanaian city of Kumasi, took social media by storm with a slew of videos that were shared around and cemented in cultural memory. Things have gone a little quiet in terms of new releases but we have seen Stormzy over there working with Yaw Tog on a remix to the hit song ‘Sore’ which also features O’kenneth. For 2021 Kumerica’s O’kenneth & Reggie have given their track ‘Bust’, which seems to sample Shanks & Bigfoot‘s ‘Sweet Like Chocolate’, fresh life with some clean visuals.

Honourable Mentions

I can’t not mention Chip‘s latest addition to his list of dubs ’10 Commandments’ which goes at Stormzy and simultaneously promos his upcoming project Snakes & Ladders. Lancey Foux dropped ‘STEELO FLOW’ yesterday which has a slight Punk Rock edge to it and shows an exciting glimpse of what he has to offer this year. Final honourable mention has to go to Kemi Ade for Drive (Dusk Edition), the second half of her double EP – it is a short but sublime listen, don’t sleep on Kemi Ade.

You can check out the previous Five For Friday here.