On Nov. 28 SXSW added more than 240 showcasing artists, including Deerhunter, Mr. Eazi, Jerry Paper and Nadine Shah, to their 2019 music festival lineup, in addition to 240 artists already slated in their first-round announcement last month. Emerging talent from around the world will be the center-of-attention in Austin, Texas on March 11–17, 2019, as the annual music event reconvenes for its 33rd year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Over 240 Showcasing Artists just joined the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SXSW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SXSW</a> 2019 lineup! Who are you excited to see? <a href="https://t.co/VmBdnIx9ng">https://t.co/VmBdnIx9ng</a></p>&mdash; SXSW (@sxsw) <a href="https://twitter.com/sxsw/status/1067854342412226560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Any small sampling of the global array of up-and-comers planning to play SXSW next spring is bound to call on many rising stars and the hits they have in store. For example, also on Nov. 28, Nigerian afrobeats performer Mr. Eazi released Lagos To London, a documentary to complement his recent mixtape of the same name, explaining his evolution as an artist. As music consumers in the U.S. and elsewhere continue to build their interest in more international sounds, Mr. Eazi's fans have even compared some of his beats to those of K-pop phenomenon BTS. SXSW will bring plenty of global sounds to Texas, with Seoul, South Korea to be represented by Cifika and Duo Bud.

Read More: Keith Urban, K-Pop, Women In Music: Go Behind The Scenes At SXSW 2018

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Experimental indie-rock group Deerhunter from Atlanta, Ga. and rapper Jerry Paper from Los Angeles, Calif. will be there. Tyler, The Creator teamed up with Paper just two weeks ago on their release "Hot Chocolate," to warm up the winter months. Britain's Nadine Shah is also a new addition to the lineup, whose growing following delights in her unique sound, blending jazz and pop with influences from the Sufi music she grew up listening to with her Pakistani dad, putting her on the Mercury Prize shortlist for 2018.

Feast your eyes on the diversity of SXSW's second-round list at the festival's website and then indulge your ears with the fest's compilation on Mixcloud, introducing just some of these acts' new sounds. Whether from Asia, Australia, Europe or North and South America, these artists leave an impression that the world is in good hands with the energy they bring, striving to enrich us with their music.

SXSW Announces First Wave Of Artists For Music Festival In Spring 2019

The 2024 South By Southwest Festival got off to a dramatic start: approximately 80 artists, speakers, and event sponsors pulled out of the event to protest the sponsorship of the U.S. Army and defense companies and then a hit-and-run traffic incident in a crowded festival area resulted in a fatality and serious injury early Tuesday.

SXSW spokespeople issued statements about both. They were "saddened" by the tragic traffic incident, and reiterated that they are an organization that welcomes diverse viewpoints and therefore saw no issue in allowing the military sponsorships. They also did not criticize anyone who pulled out of the festival to show solidarity with Palestine and protest genocide. Republican Texas Governor Ron Abbott was not as diplomatic.

And yet the music portion of the festival pushed on. 

Some of the bands who pulled out of the festival performed "unofficial" shows, and as with previous SXSW festivals, the diversity of music offerings was staggering: artists played genres such as folk, pop, indie rock, psychedelic cumbia, punk, electronic, and Americana, but also offered regional lenses to musical styles — Texas rap, Southern California soul-jazz  — and social justice viewpoints like indigenous hardcore. Artists also offered global perspectives on jazz, hip hop, and psychedelic funk.

Read on for TK of the most inspiring and exciting moments from SXSW 2024 – from performances by legends to groundbreaking new acts.

The Black Keys Take Audiences Behind The Scenes (And Back To Their Salad Days)

Music keynote offerings felt slim compared to previous years, but festival goers did get an authentic, revealing glimpse into the world of the Black Keys — there to promote a new documentary film about their band history and to perform two shows. 

Drummer Patrick Carney stole the show with humorous, deadpan anecdotes —including that time he slept in the van to guard the $500 they made at a show and woke up in the middle of the night to a crowd of drunk people dressed like Santa Claus in the middle of July — and self-effacing jokes about himself and the group: "The first time we came to SXSW we couldn’t afford to stay in town." 

One thing the film makes clear is that two key elements of the Black Keys are simplicity and technology. They kept things simple by being a two-piece band: a few bass players auditioned early on but Carney and Dan Auerbach preferred the sound of drums and guitar. But the key element was Carney’s four-track recorder: he taught himself how to use it, which enabled the band to record themselves in Carney’s basement and fine-tune their nuanced approach to rock music.

 "We wanted the kick drum to sound like the speakers were blown," Carney said in an interview. 

Carney and guitarist/singer Auerbach later performed a blues-driven sold-out show at Austin’s Mohawk, joined by artists on Auerbach’s Nashville-based record label Easy Eye Sound. There was no banter, just music.

Bootsy Collins Brings The Funk & A Lot Of Flair

Legendary funk bassist, singer, and producer Bootsy Collins — who played with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, boasts a long solo career, and collaborated with artists like Deee-Lite, Fatboy Slim, Silk Sonic,  Kali Uchis and Tyler, the Creator — hosted high-energy shows with the Ohio group Zapp and his entourage of collaborators and proteges at the 2024 festival. 

A long line of people snaked down Austin’s busy Red River Street waiting to get into the packed Mohawk club for a March 15 show, which featured guest artists Henry Invisible, Tony “Young James Brown” Wilson, and FANTAAZMA. A few fans wore big hats and star-shaped sunglasses to emulate Collins’ distinct look.

Collins, who announced in 2019 he wouldn’t play bass in live performance anymore, was in town to promote his anti-violence initiative, "Funk Not Fight," and a new song and album of the same name. He also promoted his Bootzilla Productions company and Funk University, which aims to mentor younger creatives like Hamburg-based FANTAAZMA, who joined Collins for a SXSW Studio interview with TikTok creator Juju Green.

“At some point James Brown saw something in me, you know, and grabbed us in, and I’ll never forget that, and so that’s what I try to do,” Collins said about his efforts to help mentor younger artists. 

Omar Rodríguez-López & Cedric Bixler-Zavala Get Weird

What a journey these two have had: they met as teens in the hardcore scene in El Paso, Texas, formed two influential alternative rock bands — At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta — and one obscure dub project — De Facto — that earned them rock and roll acclaim from the music press and respect from musical peers in bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird, a new documentary about the creative partnership between Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala, premiered  at the 2024 festival. The film illuminates the duo’s struggles with bandmates, addiction, racism, Scientology, and their ups and downs in the music industry. 

Rodríguez-López recorded loads of footage over the years of them on the road, in recording studios, and in live performance. Those intimate, up-close moments used in the film reveal a partnership that begins in solidarity, drifts apart, and comes back together stronger than when they started. It’s essentially a film about friendship.

The two appeared briefly onstage before the film’s screening, alongside director Nicolas Jack Davies, but said nothing. For the first time in 21 years, the two performed at this year’s SXSW festival as De Facto, their lesser-known reggae-influenced side project, to promote the new film.

Cumbia Is The Real Soundtrack To SXSW 2024

Cumbia in 2024 is conscious party music, still closely linked to its Colombian origins but expanded and modernized by elements of psychedelia and the young players from across the country and the world interpreting the genre. 

Cumbia could be heard throughout the festival, in particular at a heavily attended party March 12 at Hotel Vegas in Austin, which featured more than 10 bands on four stages. A few fans could be seen wearing T-shirts with the phrase “Cumbia is the new punk,” the title of a song by Mexican cumbia fusion group Son Rompe Pera. 

Bands mostly from Texas — including the “barrio big band” Bombasta and Latin psych bands like Combo Cósmico and Money Chicha —  and the rock-influenced Denver band Ritmo Cascabel played dance music driven by hand percussion, heavy bass lines and guitars drenched in reverb.

Earlier this year, Billboard predicted that cumbia music in all its entirety and subgenres — chicha, sonidera, norteña, villera — would see a massive growth in 2024, citing higher-profile artist collaborations and social media viral hits.

Classical Music Unveils Its Changing Profile

Classical music is most often associated with beautiful concert halls and polite, well-dressed audiences who sit quietly as music is being played. This was not the case for Vulva Voce, an all-female Manchester-based string quartet that played their unique blend of modern classical music at various SXSW stages this year. 

Band members wore one-piece jumpsuit coveralls with Doc Martin boots and performed mostly original, high-energy, uptempo compositions to loud crowds at dive bars throughout Austin. They shredded strings and swayed and bounced onstage as if it were a rock show, and said they loved every minute of it.  Vulva Voce also performed live with Ash, a Northern Irish rock band whose career in music spans 30 years.

Vulva Voce’s modern approach to classical music comes at a good time. Mid-week, a group of classical music artist managers, lawyers and classical music label executives spoke about classical music’s revival in gaming and soundtracks. 

Traditional classical music performance continues to struggle with attendance, but the genre has gained traction on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and has seen a surge in interest in film scores, Netflix soundtracks, video games, and sports broadcasts. 

More than 340 new bands played SXSW for the first time this year. Each year, SXSW awards three emerging artists The Grulke Prize, in honor of festival Creative Director Brent Grulke, who passed away in 2012. Sabrina Teitelbaum, who performs as Blondshell, won for developing U.S. act, the South Korean alternative K-pop band Balming Tiger won for developing non-U.S. act, and British psychedelic pop band the Zombies won the career act award

Creed's Scott Stapp On New Solo Album 'Higher Power,' Processing Decades Of Jokes & Being "A Child With No Filter"

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Editor’s note: This article was updated on March 19 to reflect Lollapalooza’s announced lineup.

Down in Austin, South by Southwest has returned — and it's a harbinger of so much to come. SXSW 2024 is the unofficial start of festival season, which kicks off in earnest with Coachella on April 12 in California.

If you're not west of the Mississippi, fear not. Spring, summer and beyond will bring a plethora of can't-miss music bashes, all over the country.

Obviously, it's impossible to cover them all in one post. But GRAMMY.com can provide a cross section, demonstrative of the sheer range of genres at play. So let this list spur you to find all the festivals near you!

Check it out below — and we'll see you stagefront, under the sun! (This list will be continually updated once more info comes out.)

Rolling Loud 

Inglewood, California (Mar. 14–17)

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All rap fans know Rolling Loud as the summit of hyped — as Billboard once declared, they're "the be-all of hip-hop." The lineup for Miami hasn't been announced yet, but Nicki Minaj, Post Malone and Lil Uzi Vert are confirmed to rock the mic.

Tortuga Music Festival

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Apr. 5–7)

From incredible, cross-genre tunes to important ocean conservation work, Tortuga Music Festival has got it all! This year, don’t miss artists like Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Jason Aldean, and many more.

Coachella

Indio, California (Apr. 12–13 & Apr. 20–21)

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Coachella is arguably the mother of them all — and it's coming right up! (Exactly a month from now, at press time.)

Coachella 2024 offers two major reunions, in No Doubt and Sublime — for the latter, Jakob Nowell, son of Bradley, has taken the helm — and attention-grabbing headliners in Lana Del Rey; Tyler, the Creator; and Doja Cat.

Read More: Official Coachella 2024 Lineup: Headliners Lana Del Rey, Tyler, The Creator And Doja Cat To Lead A Pack of Performers Including No Doubt & Others

Ultra Music Festival

Miami, Florida (Mar. 22–24)

This preeminent haven for electronic music is back, with the cream of the crop from the DJ world — everyone from David Guetta to Elderbrook and beyond will be bringing the heat!

Stagecoach 

Indio, California (Apr. 26–28)

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Of course, Coachella is a multi-genre festival. But if country is specifically your cup of tea — well, there's another reason to bomb out to the desert.

A week after Coachella's second weekend, Stagecoach will throw down with headliners Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen. The rest of the lineup is highly rangey, with a country essence: Jelly Roll, Post Malone, Willie Nelson, and many more will grace the stage.

Breakaway Music Festival

Nationwide (April-October)

Pop, dance, EDM — Breakaway Music Festival has got it all. And it’s probably coming to a city near you; it hits the Midwest, the South and the West Coast.

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 

New Orleans, Louisiana (Apr. 25–May 5)

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A massive swath of music contains jazz, and NOLA Jazz Fest underlines this reality every year. The Rolling Stones? Neil Young and Crazy Horse? Doo-wop is baked into them. So on and so forth.

Outside of dyed-in-the-wool jazzers like Samara Joy, Nicholas Payton and Jon Batiste, this year's two-weekend lineup will also feature Foo Fighters, the Revivalists, Queen Latifah, and other greats — as well as Mardi Gras Indians "Big Chief" Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles, and a slew of local talent.

Head In The Clouds 

Queens New York (May 11–12)

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As spring drifts into the summer, don't miss Head in the Clouds if you're in the Northeast; it's chock full of Asian American music and heritage, across a multitude of genres, just in time for AAPI Heritage Month.

Held at Queens' Forest Hills Stadium, Head In The Clouds features (G)I-DLE to Balming Tiger to Spence Lee and others.

Lightning in a Bottle

Buena Vista Lake, California (May 22-27)

Central Valley, represent! The California region is proud to announce the lineup for the electronic-focused festival Lightning in a Bottle, with special performances by Skrillex, James Blake and many more. Head over here for the lineup.

BottleRock Napa Valley 

Napa, California (May 24–26)

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This three-day music, wine, food, and brew fest in the heart of wine country will feature headliners Stevie Nicks, Pearl Jam and Ed Sheeran, rounded out by giants like St. Vincent, Queens of the Stone Age, Norah Jones, and many more.

Outlaw Music Festival

Nationwide (June-September 2024)

With the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour in the rearview, Bob Dylan is rolling around the Willie Nelson & Family, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, and Celisse for what will be an unforgettable, legend-stuffed night of music for all.

SummerStage

New York City (June-August 2024)

New York’s favorite outdoor concert series has come roaring back! Don’t miss performances by Kim Gordon, Sun Ra Arkestra, Snail Mail, and many more — info and full lineup here.

Bonnaroo 

Manchester, Tennessee (June 13–16)

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This world-renowned fest outside of Nashville boasts an incredibly vibey lineup for 2024; if you'd like to party to the sounds of Post Malone, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fred Again.., and dozens more, make a beeline down south this June.

Glastonbury

Somerset, England (June 26–30)

No, it’s not in the United States, but it’s momentous enough to mention anyway. This year, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, SZA, and so many more will perform at the epic Brit blowout.

Essence Festival 2024 

New Orleans, Louisiana (July 4–7)

Essence Festival is turning 30! This bastion of Black music, culture and identity will ring in three decades with what's sure to be an outstanding lineup of artists.

Pitchfork Music Festival

Chicago, Illinois (July 19–21)

Artists as varied as Black Pumas, 100 Gecs, Alanis Morrissette, and Brittany Howard will headline the biggest day for the massively influential music site’s in-house fest.

Lollapalooza 

Grant Park, Chicago (Aug. 1–4)

The lineup for Lollapalooza has been announced! SZA; Tyler, the Creator; Blink-182, the Killers, Skrillex, and more will headline. Check out the full lineup below.

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Hinterland Music Festival

St. Charles, Iowa (Aug. 4-6)

Hinterland won’t just feature some serious indie heavyweights, like Vampire Weekend, Noah Kahan and Orville Peck; it features curiosity-piquing arts and crafts vendors and spectacular camping.

Outside Lands 

San Francisco, California (Aug. 9–11)

Ditto the Bay Area favorite — but we do know it's happening from August 9 to 11. Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Megan Thee Stallion and other mighty artists performed last year. The full lineup has been announced — visit here for the scoop.

North Coast Music Festival

Chicago, Illinois (Aug. 30–Sept. 1)

Calling all EDM fans: North Coast is bringing Above & Beyond, Subtronics, Sullivan King, and many more to the Windy City in 2024.

Austin City Limits 

Austin, Texas (Oct. 4–8, & Oct. 11–13)

No lineup yet for the longest-running music series in TV history — but you can sign up to be the first to know about it.

Aftershock Fest

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Real rockers only: Aftershock Festival has been rolling for more than a decade, and its momentum is only building. Topping the bill in 2024 are Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Slipknot, a reunited Slayer… and that's just for starters.

Golden Sky

Sacramento, California (Oct.18–20)

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Country music and beer are two of America's pastimes, and Golden Sky will feature the best of both. Come for Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Luke Bryan, and so many more, and stay for the brews!

When We Were Young

Las Vegas, Nevada (Oct.19–20)

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It's always momentous when the emo kids of yesteryear come back out to play — and if you can believe it, it's almost time for another When We Were Young.

My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Coheed and Cambria, and many more will be there for another helping of Myspace-era sounds — and long-dormant emotions. And they'll be playing the full albums you know and love — just check the poster!

Artists Who Are Going On Tour In 2024: The Rolling Stones, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo & More

How long can an artist in today’s industry go without releasing an album? Two, maybe three years? Clearly, Afrobeats star Mr. Eazi is playing a different, much longer game.

After releasing multinational hits and collaborations with everyone from Davido and Tiwa Savage to Major Lazer and Bad Bunny, Eazi unveiled his first full-length album. The record comes 10 years into his career. 

The Evil Genius — which took two years to make in a production process that spanned multiple continents — is the album Eazi never planned to make. It’s a personal, heartfelt departure for a musician that until now was content to make pop music. But there’s more to the record than music: Every song is accompanied by artwork from a different African artist. 

Eazi sourced artists for the project from art he would see at fairs, on social media, in books or through friends, then commission those artists to create work based on a song from the record. At art fairs in Accra, Ghana, Lagos, Nigeria, and in London, Eazi has previewed the record as a hybrid art exhibition/listening experience. Visitors could listen to the album on headphones while looking at the artworks inspired by each song. 

He considers the two elements inseparable – you can’t have the art without the music, and vice versa. It’s also a way for the musician to share an intimate experience with his fans, who, like him, are discovering a love of contemporary art through an accessible, African lens. 

"Art is uniting us, in the sense of collaboration, in the sense of knowing who we are," Eazi tells GRAMMY.com. "We're discovering ourselves through the lens of art, which is beautiful because there's no judgment in art."

GRAMMY.com spoke with Mr. Eazi over Zoom about The Evil Genius, why the art and music are inseparable, and why his full-length debut took so long to come to fruition. 

Plenty of musicians have sophisticated visuals nowadays that go with their albums. You've gone a step further and commissioned fine art. Why was it important for you to take that step?

To be honest, it just felt like the natural thing to do. Art is the reason why I'm putting out this album. This album was very personal to me, I might have recorded it and never put it out because of how personal it is for me, it was like therapy for me. It was a record of two and a half years of my life. 

When I saw the first art piece by Patricorel, it was the first time I had appreciated art in that way. It was the first time I was seeing the similarities between music and fine art. And it became the B-side of this album. It's me painting, telling the stories with instrumentals as my canvas and it’s the artists telling the same story, but with that form of expression. 

Had you ever heard of artists and music coming together in this way? I can think of, for instance, Jean Michel Basquiat, who did some album covers in his day.

I mean, album covers, definitely. I think fine art has been used across the years for album covers. I'd seen Marina Abramovich with Jay-Z, in that video "Picasso Baby," around the time she did "The Artist is Present." But the difference between all of that and this one is that this album is not complete without the art. If you consume the album without the art, you've only consumed half of it. 

And this is the first time ever — and I stand to be corrected — that you have this form of expression with African music and contemporary African arts, where everything is happening all at once. So each work of art that was commissioned is born out of the music.

Marina Abramovich was at the [Evil Genius] exhibition in London. And I was trying to take her through the exhibition, but she's like, "No Eazi, I know what I'm doing." And she took the headphones and she put on the song, and as she interacted with the art, she started telling me things that I hadn't told her about the art, and the music, and the connection. And she said, this is the first time she's seen this. Fela [Kuti] worked with the artist Lemi [Ghariokwu] in creating album covers. But this is different in that it’s track by track, coming together and presented as a multisensory exhibition. 

You're in London right now, and there's a big exhibition at Tate Modern of sculptor El Anatsui. And there are many, many newer contemporary artists from Africa going into museums throughout the English-speaking world. Do you think that there's still progress to be made in the perception of African art? 

There's definitely so much more, as much as there is for the music there is for the art. And that's one of the things this album seeks to do: show you different ways in which African art is evolving. And not just in the way you see it like when you go to the museum, but actually in pop culture, in its intersection with the music, and its intersection with fashion, for instance, which is something that's part of this album rollout. 

I think what is happening right now is there's African soft power on the rise and African culture being exported — "Made in Africa," you know? And consumption is increasing locally. And for people like myself, who used to think fine arts was very gated, this [album and exhibition are] sort of democratizing the interaction with art by putting it in this form.

"Legalize" by Patricorel

Something that gets discussed a lot in the context of this album, is pan-Africanism, an idea that's existed since the end of colonialism. How do you think pan-Africanism exists in the context of 2023, and how is it being expressed in your music in particular?

It’s, first, the awareness of Africa and the awareness of ourselves. And the awareness of our differences, our uniqueness, and the awareness of the need to collaborate. And the need to collaborate is not being forceful, it's not driven by liberation. It's driven by the natural order of things. 

Back in the day, even, like, 10 years ago, you would have people like me who have traveled more to Europe than they've gone to their neighboring African country. And you know, by going to Kwame Nkrumah University [in Kumasi, Ghana] – and of course [former Ghanaian President] Kwame Nkrumah was very big on pan-Africanism – I got to experience Africa, not through the news or through the history books, but through people that were in my class. I got to meet people from Gabon, from Equatorial Guinea; my roommate was Togolese in my first year. We are naturally connecting with ourselves, and not being stopped by borders. 

Think of Benin, where I recorded most of this project. Some parts of Benin used to be Nigeria. And then one day, colonial powers just drew the line, and suddenly some people, families were broken into two by borders. But those borders are ceasing to exist. We, as young Africans, are traveling across;  we're making music and collaborating with ourselves. We're making film. We're buying art from Ghana, to Nigeria, to Senegal. We're going to Senegal for fashion shows. We're going to Ghana for Detty Rave, my festival. Art is uniting us, in the sense of collaboration, in the sense of knowing who we are. And we're discovering ourselves through the lens of art, which is beautiful, because there's no judgment in art. 

I don't care about the politics of Nigeria and South Africa. I know about it, but I don't care because in the club, there is no politics when I hear those amapiano records. Or when I'm in the studio with Soweto Gospel Choir recording "Exit," there's no politics, it's just pure music. And it's pan-Africanism, in that sense.

You know, you raise an interesting point. Amapiano is a style that has definitely penetrated into Afrobeats music, especially in this year. But listening to your album, I don't really get much of that influence. You are blending a lot of different styles and sounds on this album. How did you make them fit together cohesively, and how did you decide what directions you wanted to go into?

I didn't write any of the songs pre-instrumental, I would just hear the instrumental, I would connect with the instrumental and I'll start to sing on them. And as a fun fact, earlier in the year I put out with ChopLife Sound System, my group, I put out an album called Mzansi Chronicles, which is 100 percent amapiano influence. I recorded that whole thing from Jo’burg to Cape Town. 

I went to shoot the video for "Exit," the song with Soweto Gospel Choir, and it was after shooting the video that night that I go into the studio. The producer just randomly plays this amapiano beat, and I end up recording the song that became "Patek," a smash hit from last year. And that's my first time jumping on amapiano. 

On this record, it wasn't me chasing pop, because it's a record of my life. It's like a journal over instrumentals. So I was only divinely drawn to instrumentals that went along with the topics that were in my subconscious, because I didn't even know the topics I wanted to sing about until I had the beats. You don't hear amapiano on this album, not because there was a purpose [or] an intention to stay away from amapiano. No, it was because it just didn't naturally fit with what I was trying to express on this project.

Obviously, you waited quite a while to finally put out an album. What kind of story did you want to tell, and why did you feel that this is the right time to finally put out an album?

I've never wanted to make an album. I wanted to quit music. Coming out of 2020, I was sure I wasn't gonna make music professionally anymore. I was just gonna do it as a hobby — which is how I started music — and I was gonna focus more on the business side of the music. But one of my producers, E Kelly, who made one of my biggest songs, "Leg Over," and Kel-P, who made Burna’s international breakout album, had been chasing me for two years to record an album. Every time they would come, I would find a way to run away from recording. But in 2021, on Feb. 16 — and it's so funny, because this album has 16 tracks — I started recording it. 

Kel-P had rented a place in Accra, and asked me to come around, just to catch a vibe and chill. So he tricked me, because I ended up going there just to play video games, and he started to play different instrumentals on loop. And as we were chit-chatting, before we started doing anything else, I just started to hear this song, this instrumental that became "Exit." I start mumbling things, and he's like "Just record." I started speaking about very personal things. I never wanted to speak about personal things in music; I felt my music should just be for entertainment and to take you away from all the real stuff happening in the world. But here I was, speaking my truth, telling my stories. 

Before this album started I had never done therapy and never spoken to anybody about my issues. I just internalized. But this is me speaking about it on the record. The first track, "Olúwa Jọ̀" features my mom; my mom has never seen me perform. I say that "I swear to God, I feel lonely with people around me." This is something I've never even said to myself. But it was my truth at the moment, because with fame, I always seem to have so many people around, but I still feel lonely. It was just me using the music as therapy. The decision to make this, to call it an album, has come rather naturally, especially once art came into the picture. 

I ended up recording for two and a half years and recording three albums. And the other two are ready, but I couldn't start recording them until I was done with this one, because I needed to put them down to sort of free myself. I needed to ask myself all these questions of who I am. I don't feel the pressures that I felt when I was dropping previous mixtapes, bodies of work. Because to me, this is my project and I'm just sharing it with the world. Because I believe that's the divine purpose.

You talk about your mental health struggles on the album, is that something that you want to see more of in Afrobeats and African music? More openness?

Some people think of African music and they think of Afrobeats, and they just want to talk about Afrobeat, and they want to say, "oh, all African music should be talking about politics."  In African gospel music, we talk about God a lot, you know? In African folk we talk, we talk about proverbs that speak about life. Even if you think about records, like "Gaou" [by Ivorian artists Magic System] from back in the day, you know, that he's talking about being jilted by somebody, it’s a sad song. 

So African music has always been used for different purposes to speak about proverbs, life. If you listen to songs from Sunny Ade, Victor Uwaifo, Ebenezer Obey, you'll see different topics, including mental health being spoken of in the music. So this is not the first time it's happening. It's just that there's not a lot of education, or those  might not be the popular songs that hit the charts in the U.S., but it doesn't mean they're not popular locally.

In terms of Afrobeats, and how we talk of African soft power coming into places like the U.S., are you thinking of how your music is going to be perceived in these countries that don't have the context that you might find in Africa? Are you afraid people might not know the words to your songs, or they might not understand?

No, because I think music is spiritual. Music is a soul language. For instance, I performed once in Goma [in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] to 10,000 people. And in between my performances, I like to drop jokes. And I was dropping these jokes, and no one was laughing. And then I thought to myself, "Wow, I thought I was funny," only for me to remember that in Goma, they speak French and Lingala. So most of the people there didn't even understand what I was saying, but they were singing all the songs. 

I've performed in Ukraine, in Kharkov, in Kyiv,  in places where nobody understands what I'm saying. But what they understand is the emotion and the spirit behind it. That's the beautiful thing about art, there's no judgment in art. When I hear "Gangnam Style," I don't even know what the song is about, but I just feel it. It's a vibe. And it's the spirit in the music that I think gets to people. 

I've been in the hinterlands in Ghana, back in the day when I was mining, and found people playing country music, found people playing music like Kenny Rogers, singing it word for word. How do you explain that? I think that's the beautiful thing about art and music, in that there's no language. Bob Marley said, "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." 

What was the selection process like for these artworks and these artists? You said you just saw stuff you liked and reached out to the artists – can you go into a little more detail?

So I’ll start from the very first one. For most of the album creation process, I was living in the Republic of Benin, a small country of 12 million people next to Nigeria — 250 million — and they speak French. I came back from a business trip, and I was walking into the hotel where I stayed. And every month, a new African artist would be showing in the hotel. And I never paid attention to any of the art in the hotel, but I remember walking in and seeing this piece by Patricorel. He ended up painting three pieces on this project. 

It was a male and female skeleton sitting on a bench and holding this flower. And the only thing that would seem to be alive was the flower, it was the only thing that was colorful. And for me, I just saw that as speaking about the finality of love. And it was around the time I was about to propose to my fiancée. So immediately, I was spellbound. And I just thought to myself, This artist will paint the cover for "Legalize," because, again, it’s the finality of love. And I reached out to Patricorel, sent him the music, and we chit-chatted after he heard the music to see that we're on the same page. And he asked me one question, he said, "Do you have any guidelines for me?" And I said, "No, you need to express yourself because it's a collaboration."

"We-Day" by Kufa

And so this was the process for every song. I would either go to an art fair and see an artist's work like Kufa [Makwavarara] from Zimbabwe, who painted the song "We Dey." I was recording in Cape Town, I was recording the ChopLife Sound System album, and I went out to an art fair in Cape Town. I'm just walking through the fair, and immediately I saw his work. I just knew it. I just said to my friend, Hannah, "This is the guy who paints the piece for ‘We Dey.’" And divinely, this Zimbabwean artist happened to be in Cape Town at the same time I was in Cape Town. 

Either I will see the artists in an art fair, or I will see the artists on Instagram, or I will see the artists’ work in a book, or somebody somewhere would send me a group of artists and say, "Hey, I see that you're really getting into art. Look at this thing." One of the pieces, "Jamboree," was painted by an artist from Cotonou [in Benin]. And it was [sent to me by] my lawyer…[who]was in a fair in Senegal.The artist as it ended up was living in Benin. He was right there beside me all the while, his studio was like 15 minutes from where I was recording. 

You're showing these artworks in Accra, Lagos and also at Somerset House in London. 

 It would be a disservice to anybody to just listen to the album, or just look at the art pieces, it must be done in unison, ideally. That exhibition was showing people exactly how I wanted this album to be consumed: You come in, you have the headphones, just you, you listen to the music, and you interact with the art, because that's how you get the full experience. 

So you saw a lot of first timers like me who had never ever been to an exhibition, or never going to see art in a museum or a gallery. But because of the music, or because of this project, they were interacting with it for the first time. And it was just so beautiful, that now they get to discover art through the lens of contemporary African artists. 

Meet The Latest Wave Of Rising Afrobeats Stars: AMAARAE, BNXN, Oladapo & More

As Halloween approaches, this New Music Friday offers a potion of nostalgia, emotions and fresh sounds.

From RIIZE — K-pop's rising stars, who are mesmerizing listeners with their pop hit "Talk Saxy" — to Norah Jones & Dave Grohl uniting for an unexpected collaboration with "Razor," many different genres are being represented today.

Keeping old times alive, Taylor Swift released her highly-anticipated Taylor’s Version of 1989, and Duck Sauce is bringing back their 2011 "Barbra Streisand" sound with their new dance single, "LALALA."

Listen to these seven new tracks and albums that will gear you up for spooky season 2023.

RIIZE - "Talk Saxy"

K-pop’s rising stars, RIIZE, are making a vibrant musical return with their new single, "Talk Saxy," a hypnotic dance track that adds a level of depth to their sound even including a catchy saxophone riff. The lyrics focus on attraction to a stranger, and wanting to get their attention.

"Talk to me exactly what you feel / Hide nothing, show me all and everything / It’s okay, let your heart do what it wants / Get it straight to the point / Talk Saxy," RIIZE croons on the chorus.

This track follows their debut single "Get a Guitar," which launched their announcement that they’d signed with RCA Records. RIIZE is the first boy band group to hail from SM Entertainment since Kpop group NCT. RIIZE members, Shotaro and Sungchan, are notably from NCT, and departed from the K-pop group this year.

Norah Jones & Dave Grohl, "Razor"

Dave Grohl, the frontman of Foo Fighters, graced jazz-pop singer Norah Jones’ podcast with special musical performances, including a cover of "Razor," a rare gem from the Foo Fighters 2005 In Your Honor album.

The track features a calm beat with a tranquil melody and guitar strings and piano, blending their strengths seamlessly. This track follows their collaboration on the In Your Honor track "'Virginia Moon."

During this podcast, Jones announced the release of a Black Friday Exclusive LP Record dropping on Nov. 24. Featuring a collection of podcast episodes with fellow musicians, this looks to be a real treat for fans of Jones and/or her estimable guests.

Jacob Collier feat. Michael McDonald and Lawrence - "Wherever I Go"

Jazz musician Jacob Collier has dropped the song "Wherever I Go," a look into his forthcoming album, Djesse Vol. 4. A track inspired by idols from his childhood including the Doobie Brothers, Stevie Wonder and more, he’s made a standout collaboration with Michael McDonald and Lawrence to craft a memorable record.

The two-minute track, which includes a strong bassline and soulful vocals, paints an illustration of loneliness from their lover.

The four-part journey of Djesse has gained him five GRAMMY awards and 11 nominations. With Djesse Vol. 4, collaborations such as "Little Blue" with Brandi Carlile to Ty Dolla $ign and Kirk Franklin are showcasing Collier’s versatility and knack for genre syntheses.. He also announced a 2024 North American tour with musicians Kemba and Emily King, celebrating the release of this album.

Mr Eazi - The Evil Genius

Afrobeats sensation Mr. Eazi has unveiled his debut album The Evil Genius. The 16-track record shows Eazi’s ability to blend his rhythms from his hometown Nigeria, with hypnotic grooves from Ghana where he spent most of his years.

The Evil Genius takes listeners through his roots, family, love and loneliness in three acts. His skill in blending different styles of music like Gospel and Ghanian styles, makes him the global phenomenon he is. Eazi chose 13 African artists from eight countries to collaborate on this album, bringing together different parts of Africa.

Enhancing the music album, he has introduced a global art exhibition in Ghana, which features work from young artists across Africa.

Tiësto with Tears for Fears, NIIKO X SWAE, GUDFELLA - "Rule The World (Everybody)"

American DJ & singer Tiësto dropped a fresh new track with Tears For Fears, NIIKO X SWAE and GUDFELLA for a reimagining of the 1985 "Everybody Wants To Rule The World." This heart-racing banger has blended stylistic worlds to imbue a classic song with an even catchier, dance-flavored beat.

NIIKO X SWAE originally released an unofficial remix on Soundcloud, which then went viral on social media.. "Rule The World (Everybody)" could certainly become a new party anthem to put on your ‘Halloweekend’ playlist.

Maria José Llergo - ULTRABELLEZA

Spanish singer María José Llergo released her newest album ULTRABELLEZA, following her 2020 Sanación. The album features songs that transverse between genres like "NOVIX," which features a intricate, Latin rhythm and "Superpoder," a star-studded pop song.

"Flamenco is like the blues," she said in a NY Times interview.  Liergo discusses how she incorporated Flamenco, a Spanish art form, into her album in hopes of keeping her cultural traditions rooted in the lyrics that "tell stories of survival — it’s always been a way for the most oppressed to escape."

Duck Sauce - "LALALA"

The hitmakers behind 2010 classics "Barbra Streisand" and "Big Bad Wolf" are back with another dubsmash single called, "LALALA." This duo has made another infectious dance track, which makes listeners transports them to the wildest party of their dreams. "LALALA" feels reminiscent of their past collaborations together, keeping up the nostalgia theme on this special Friday.

The GRAMMY-nominated producers behind Duck Sauce, Armand Van Helden and A-Trak, have recently joined Defected Records’ D4 D4NCE imprint. Keep checking GRAMMY.com on Fridays for a sampler platter of new sounds!

Global Spin: JINI Is Impatient In Love During This Passionate Performance Of Her Debut Solo Single, "C'mon"