JUSI I LOVE – Top 20 Songs 2013

20 SONGS It’s a yearly tradition in the music blog culture to select the best tracks/ videos and albums at the end of the year. After the 2012 selection, this is the second time that JUSI I LOVE picks the best titles of the year. The following selection of the Top 20 Songs 2013 is highly selective, yet it highlights one important point: African music is incredibly diverse, vibrant and dynamic. Many artists successfully create new melanges, incorporating external influences into their local music cultures and are able to spread this music via the internet to a global audience. During the coming years it will be interesting to see how artists from different countries continue to collaborate and how evolving music industries (in Zambia, Uganda, Cameroon) will spread their music to other African countries.

The following list includes tracks performed by artists who hail from South Africa, Nigeria, Congo, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, DRC, Sudan, Ghana and Malawi. ‘Khona‘ by South African duo Mafikizolo became a track that was celebrated not only in South African clubs but also in Accra, Lagos, Nairobi, etc. – all over Africa. Other tracks come from popular artists like Femi Kuti, Sauti Sol or Blitz The Ambassador. It is striking that the list includes many promising newcomers, including Naima Kay, John Wizards, Taali M or Sarabi.