@Becky Draper

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

In designing the tour for his 2023 album <i>I Told Them...</i>, Burna Boy says he aimed to give audiences the “full Burna Boy experience”. Live shows “trigger another sense”, he says. “Not only do you [get to] hear and feel through the music, you get to see the emotions. They surround you like a big hug. Live shows are the cornerstone of my music-making process.” The Afro-fusion pop star predicts the show's wildest moment will ultimately go to “Giza”, a record his band “goes crazy on”. But mostly, he says he's excited to see the fans. “The best part about making an album is feeling the energy when I perform. There’s nothing like it.” The I Told Them... tour kicked off on 3 November in Los Angeles and will continue into early 2024. Explore the set list from the show’s first night here.

On 1999’s “My Name Is”, Eminem entered the public imagination with a mandate: “God sent me to piss the world off.” And true to his word, he held a mirror to the American psyche—and his own—with uncommon incisiveness. Raised in working-class Detroit, the artist born Marshall Mathers got his start as a battle rapper, reaching the ears of future mentor Dr. Dre before they teamed up on career-making smashes like “My Name Is”, 2000’s “The Real Slim Shady” and the Dido-featuring “Stan”. Dark, funny and frequently violent, those breakthroughs established him as pop culture’s premier bogeyman, a bleached-blonde devil traumatised by circumstance. Yet as he has matured—fame, stability, sobriety, an Oscar for 2002’s “Lose Yourself”—he’s retained his edge, taking shots at politics and society with a frustration that’s bordered on relentless. After delving into his own journey through addiction on 2009’s <i>Relapse</i> and 2010’s <i>Recovery</i>, he took square aim at his original alter ego on 2024’s <i>The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)</i>. As always, Em reserves his harshest words for himself, refracting his insecurities into verses that only make him seem more human.

Born in Nigeria and Ghana, Afrobeats has become one of the most eclectic—and exportable—sounds in contemporary music, often incorporating everything from rap and dancehall to R&B and house. At the top of the playlist this week is Shallipopi and Wizkid collaboration “Like That (bomboclatt)”, which appears on the Benin City singer’s recently released <i>Auracle</i> album. Hear it on Afrobeats Hits alongside the rest of the infectious if indefinable sound of 21st-century Africa, and if you hear something you like, add it to your library.

Hip-shaking highlife vibes and smooth pop hooks are perfect for a tough workout. This range of energetic, earworm hits will have you covered from your first rep to your cool-down stretches at the end—and it suits a night on the dance floor, too. Our editors regularly update this playlist, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.

Life will always throw challenges our way, but occasionally we need a moment to remember what really matters. A West African phrase meaning “enjoy life, and celebrate it to the fullest”, Chop Life is our collection of feel-good sounds that are guaranteed to help you forget your troubles and lift your spirits all year round, featuring dynamic artists from across the African continent. Our editors update this playlist often, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.

With sonic influences drawn from all over Africa and across the diaspora, Afropop brings together the continent’s rich storytelling traditions with vibrant instrumentation and intricate melodies moulded for new generations. Covering everything from love and happiness to empowerment and social commentary, here, you’ll find the biggest hits criss-crossing the continent, along with some modern classics. Our editors update this playlist often, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.

From Afrobeats and Afropop chartbusters to funk-inflected hip-hop beats straight out of the Lagos underground, this playlist has it all. The who's who of Nigeria's song-writing elite and the savvy, experimental young voices on the rise come together to serve up this genre-crossing blend of the most magnetic Naija hits. This playlist is updated regularly—if you like a song, add it to your library.

The pan-Africanist ideal never died—it morphed into hybridised sonic fragments that connect Joburg to Nairobi via Lagos and Accra. Throughout 2025, African musical genius manifested in the work of artists like Asake, FOLA, Black Sherif, Marioo, Zee Nxumalo and MaWhoo. Hear them all on Africa Now, alongside everything else hot and new with roots in the continent, and hype up your library by adding anything that vibrates in lockstep with your beat.