2019 in African music explained

See also: Timeline of musical events.

The following is a list of events and releases that have happened or are expected to happen in 2019 in African music.

Events

• 9 January - Nigerian singers Simi and Adekunle Gold marry in a private ceremony.^[1]
  • • 15 April Winners of the AfriMusic Song Contest 2019 are announced:^[2]
    • Best English Lyrics:^{[3] [4] [5]} Siboat (Ghana) – "Always and Forever"
    • Best French Lyrics:^{[6] [7]} Joahn Lover (Cameroon) – "Game Over"
    • Best African Language Song:^[8] Nonzwakazi (South Africa) – "Phakama Mbokodo"
  • Abdullah Ibrahim is one of four recipients of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships celebrated in a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.^{[9] [10]}
• 3 May - Naira Marley is arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria.^[11]
• 24 June - Burna Boy wins "Best International Act" at the BET Awards 2019.^[12]
• 18 September - After rumours of the death of Majek Fashek are dispelled by his manager, who confirms that Fashek has esophageal cancer and has been hospitalized at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, London, UK, philanthropist Femi Otedola pledges to cover all the singer's medical expenses.^[13] Fashek would die the following summer.
• 19 October - Nigerian singer Teni wins the "Best Pop Single" award at The Headies 2019, for "Case".^[14]
• 23 November - Joeboy wins the "Best Artiste in African Pop" award at the All Africa Music Awards.^[15]
• 3 December - Kabza De Small is named by Spotify as the most-streamed South African artist of 2019.^[16]

Albums released in 2019

Release date	Artist	Album	Genre	Label	Ref
January 15	Falz	Moral Instruction	Hip-hop, Afrobeats	Bahd Guys Records	^[17]
January 31	Sauti Sol	Afrikan Sauce	Afro-pop, R&B	Sauti Sol Entertainment	^[18]
April 5	Sarahmée	Irréversible	Rap, Afropop	Ste=4 Musique	^[19]
April 19	Simi	Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1	Afro-fusion, Afro-soul, R&B	X3M Music	^[20]
May 3	Myrath	Shehili	Progressive metal, oriental metal, Arabic music	earMUSIC	^[21]
May 24	Patoranking	Wilmer	Reggae, dancehall	Amari Musiq, Empire	^[22]
July 26	Burna Boy	African Giant	Afro-fusion, Afrobeat, dancehall, pop, hip hop	Spaceship, Bad Habit, Atlantic, Warner Music	^[23]
July 26	Hope Masike	The Exorcism of a Spinster	Afro-pop, Jazz	Riverboat Records/ World Music Network	^[24]
August 5	A.A.A	A.A.A (EP)	Folk, psychedelic rock	Indie	^[25]
August 23	Jidenna	85 to Africa	Afrobeats, hip hop	Epic	^[26]
August 30		Woman of Steel	Afrobeats, R&B, highlife		^[27]
September 4	Phyno	Deal with It	Hip-hop, Igbo rap	Penthauze	^[28]
October 1	Invisible System	Dance to the Full Moon	Traditional, blues, electronic, fusion	ARC Music	^[29]
October 11	Aṣa	Lucid	Soul, folk, jazz	Chapter Two Records, Wagram Music	^[30]
November 1	Zlatan	Zanku	Afrobeats	Indie	^[31]
November 8	Ycee	Ycee vs Zaheer	Hip-hop, trap, Afrobeats, Afro-house, R&B, alte	ANBT, Mad Solutions	^[32]
November 22	Davido	A Good Time	Afropop	DMW; RCA; Sony	^[33]
November 29	DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small	The Return of Scorpion Kings	amapiano	Sony Music, Piano Hub & New Money Gang	^[34]
	Fireboy DML	Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps	Afro-Life, R&B	YBNL Nation	^[35]
December 6		Soundman Vol. 1 (EP)	Afrobeats, reggae, R&B	Starboy Entertainment	^[36]
December 13	Staff Benda Bilili	Effacer Le Tableau	Soukous, R&B, reggae	Wagram

Classical

• Robert Fokkens - Duo for violin and cello^[37]
• Clare Loveday - What Gives for violin and piano^[38]

Musical films and film music

• Atlantics, with score by Fatima Al Qadiri^[39]

Births

• October 2 - Diamond Platnumz and his partner Tanasha Donna have their first child, Naseeb Jr.

Deaths

• January 5 - Dan Tshanda, 54, South African singer and guitarist of Splash; (heart attack)^[40]
• January 7 - John Joubert, 91, South African-born composer^[41]
• January 23 – Oliver Mtukudzi, 66, Zimbabwe musician
• February 8 -, 59, Malian composer and singer^[42]
• March 13 - Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia, 97, Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer^[43]
• March 30 – Simaro Lutumba, 81, Congolese musician (TPOK Jazz)^[44]
• June 2 – Piet Botha, 63, South African rock musician (pancreatic cancer)^[45]
• July 16 - Johnny Clegg, 66, South African musician (pancreatic cancer)^[46]
• August 5 – Jimi Hope, 62, Togolese musician and painter.^[47]
• August 12 – DJ Arafat, 33, Ivorian disc jockey and musician, traffic collision.^[48]
• October 4 – Elias Melka, 41, Ethiopian record producer and songwriter^[49]
• November 9 – Taiwo Lijadu, 71, Nigerian singer (Lijadu Sisters)^[50]
• December 3 – Shaaban Abdel Rahim, 62, Egyptian shaabi singer^[51]

See also

• 2019 in music

Notes and References

1. Web site: Simi and Adekunle Gold's wedding: how it was. Olivia Kabir. legit.ng. 16 January 2021.
2. Web site: AfriMusic Song Contest. 10 April 2019. AfriMusic Song Contest Official Website. 11 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200811131214/https://www.afrimusicsongcontest.com/. dead.
3. Web site: Winner of AfriMusic Song Contest Best English Lyrics Award. 10 April 2019. facebook.com. ESCKAZ.com / ESCCovers.com / Euroforum / Eurovision South Africa.
4. Web site: As in 2018, there will be several special awards presented to the participants of the AfriMusic Song Contest. 9 April 2019. facebook.com. ESCKAZ.com / ESCCovers.com / Euroforum / Eurovision South Africa.
5. Web site: A thank you message from Siboat. 10 April 2019. facebook.com. AfriMusic Song Contest Official Page.
6. Web site: We have received the following message from the singer from Cameroon, Joahn Lover. 11 April 2019. facebook.com. Eurovision-fr.net.
7. Web site: A thank you message from Joahn Lover. 12 April 2019. facebook.com. AfriMusic Song Contest Official Page.
8. Web site: A thank you message from Nonzwakazi. 11 April 2019. facebook.com. AfriMusic Song Contest Official Page.
9. https://www.arts.gov/news/2018/national-endowment-arts-announces-newest-recipients-nation%E2%80%99s-highest-honor-jazz "National Endowment for the Arts Announces Newest Recipients of Nation’s Highest Honor in Jazz"
10. Chinen, Nate, "Meet The NEA's 2019 Jazz Masters: Dorough, Ibrahim, Schneider And Crouch", NPR Music, 11 July 2018.
11. News: Naira Marley and Zlatan look to benefit from controversy with ‘Am I A Yahoo Boy?’. Pulse NG. Alake. Motolani. 3 May 2019. 12 January 2020. 12 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200112213008/https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/listen-naira-marley-features-zlatan-on-am-i-a-yahoo-boy/rhx9tgy. dead.
12. News: Burna Boy wins Best International Act at 2019 BET awards . 24 June 2019 . Oak Tv . 24 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190624141540/https://oak.tv/newstrack/burna-boy-wins-best-international-act-2019-bet-awards/ . 24 June 2019 . live .
13. Web site: Femi Otedola foots Majek Fashek's hospital bills – Premium Times Nigeria. Augoye. Jayne. 18 September 2019. 26 September 2019.
14. Web site: Full list of winners at Headies 2019. 21 October 2019. 4 November 2019. The Nation Newspapers.
15. Web site: Gbenga Bada . Headies 2019: Here are all the winners at the 13th edition of music award . Pulse Nigeria . 24 November 2019.
16. Web site: Kabza De Small is 2019’s Most Streamed South African Artist on Spotify by SA Audiences. OkayAfrica.
17. Web site: Orji Sunday . Falz: The Nigerian rapper rebelling through music . Al Jazeera . 23 January 2019 . 17 January 2019.
18. Web site: Listen to Sauti Sol's New Album 'Afrikan Sauce' . OkayAfrica . 25 December 2019 . January 31, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191225170029/https://www.okayafrica.com/sauti-sol-afrikan-sauce-new-album-listen/ . 25 December 2019 . live .
19. Web site: Olivier Boisvert-Magnen . Sarahmée: Welcome to her Life. Words and Music . 20 January 2022 . 8 September 2020.
20. Web site: Kam Tambini . Listen to Simi's New Album 'Omo Charlie Champagne Vol.1' . OkayAfrica . 19 April 2019 . April 19, 2019.
21. Web site: Myrath – Announce New Album “SHEHILI” Out 3rd May 2019. planetmosh.com. February 18, 2019. February 17, 2019.
22. Web site: Motolani Alake . ALBUM REVIEW: 'Wilmer' is an evolving Patoranking let down by obvious weaknesses . Pulse Nigeria . 9 March 2020 . May 27, 2019.
23. Web site: Motolani Alake . Burna Boy releases his album, 'African Giant' . Pulse Nigeria . 22 August 2019 . July 26, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190822213845/https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/burna-boy-releases-his-album-african-giant/xflf156 . August 22, 2019 . live .
24. Web site: Masike to launch third album. Majange. Kimberley. 26 July 2019. H-Metro. en-GB. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191225233601/https://www.hmetro.co.zw/masike-to-launch-third-album/ . 2019-12-25 . 2019-11-22.
25. Web site: Notiki Bello . Brymo Teams up with Skata Vibration on new "A.A.A" EP. Filter Free Nigeria . 25 January 2020 . August 8, 2019.
26. Web site: 85 to Africa [Explicit] by Jidenna]. Amazon Music. December 16, 2019.
27. Web site: Damola Durosomo . Yemi Alade’s Journey to Becoming a ‘Woman of Steel’ . OkayAfrica . 9 March 2020 . August 30, 2019.
28. Web site: Motolani Alake . ‘Deal With It’ is a good listen betrayed by length and Phyno’s repetition [Album Review] ]. Pulse Nigeria . 9 March 2020 . September 9, 2019.
29. Web site: New African Music. African Music Guide . 13 February 2020.
30. Web site: Motolani Alake . Asa's 'Lucid' is familiar, yet worth the wait [Pulse Review] ]. Pulse Nigeria . 9 March 2020 . October 16, 2019.
31. Web site: Motolani Alake . Zlatan's debut album, 'ZANKU' suffers from lack of vision and terrible A&R [Album Review] ]. Pulse Nigeria . 9 March 2020 . November 4, 2019.
32. Web site: Debola Abimbolu . ESSENTIALS: YCEE IS MORE ASSERTIVE THAN EVER ON ‘YCEE VS ZAHEER’ . Native . 9 March 2020 . November 8, 2019.
33. Web site: Tomiwa . ALBUM: Davido – "A Good Time" (Pre-Order) . TooXclusive . 16 November 2019 . October 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191116182605/https://tooxclusive.com/album-davido-a-good-time-pre-order/ . 16 November 2019 . live .
34. Web site: The Return of the Scorpion Kings by Kabza De Small x DJ Maphorisa. Apple Music.
35. Web site: Motolani Alake . 'Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps' is a commendable debut by Fireboy . Pulse Nigeria . 9 February 2020 . December 1, 2019.
36. Web site: Nigeria: Wizkid Delights With 'Soundman Vol. 1']. All Africa. December 14, 2019 . February 3, 2020.
37. Web site: Rob Fokkens Duo Work Premiere at Penarth Chamber Music Festival. 1 June 2019. C E Club. 23 January 2021.
38. Web site: Clare Loveday - Compositions. Clare Loveday. 13 February 2020.
39. Web site: Fatima Al Qadiri scores Cannes Grand Prix-winning film Atlantics. RA News. 9 October 2019. 13 February 2020.
40. https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/breaking-news/2057977/music-legend-dan-tshanda-certified-dead-at-sandton-hospital/ Music legend Dan Tshanda certified dead at Sandton hospital
41. http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/news/3908 John Joubert (1927-2019)
42. https://www.afrikinfos-mali.com/2019/02/08/mali-lartiste-chanteuse-sali-sidibe-decedee/ Mali: l’artiste chanteuse, Sali Sidibé, décédée!
43. Web site: Ghanaian composer Prof. Kwabena Nketia is dead. www.ghanaweb.com. en. 2019-03-13.
44. https://www.pulselive.co.ke/entertainment/legendary-congolese-musician-simaro-massiya-lutumba-dies-in-paris/29djmte Legendary Congolese musician dies in Paris
45. https://rekordeast.co.za/208736/local-rockstar-piet-botha-dies/ Local Rockstar Piet Botha dies
46. Web site: Johnny Clegg, South African musician and activist, dies aged 66 . BBC . 14 February 2020.
47. https://www.bbc.com/afrique/region-49245686 Décès de l'artiste togolais Jimi Hope
48. https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-africa-49323907 DJ Arafat: Top Ivory Coast singer dies in road accident
49. News: Sep 10, 2020. Elias Melka: Great Music loses of 2012. Awtar Music. Awtar Music. 27 December 2020.
50. Web site: Taiwo Lijadu dies at 71. The Nation. 10 November 2019. 10 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191110010500/https://thenationonlineng.net/taiwo-lijadu-dies-at-71/. dead.
51. Web site: Shaaban Abdel Rahim Passes Away at 62. 3 December 2019. Sada El balad. en-US. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191203113848/https://see.news/shaaban-abdel-rahim-passes-away-at-62/ . 2019-12-03 . 4 December 2019.