Zimbabwean hotshot artist and producer Charlie Kay teamed up with fellow Zim songstress Gemma Griffiths and South African hip-hop heavyweight Cassper Nyovest for the Afropop banger of the season. “Solo” smacks of Afrobeat expertise and the sort of seamless collaborative zeal that comes only from artists in their prime.
“Where I come from/ man don’t move on his lonesome/ never see him on his own,” comes Griffith’s trademark crooning timbre over the liquid Afropop beat which bubbles over with slick rhythm-rooted cadence. Charlie Kay takes to the fore as he waxes realistic on what it means to venture through the world solo – while Cassper Nyovest injects a couple of trademark snappy verses midway.
It’s a collaboration which champions each artist in their own right, pulling on their respective talents to seamlessly blend them. And the visual, directed by Lutch Media, has already racked up just under half a million views and keeps things as glam as you might expect. Subdued, gold-washed lighting finds Kay perched on a red velvet throne, while Griffiths reclines in red silk on a settee, surrounded by a squad of equally glamorous girls – who go on to cut slick shapes between frames, backing up Nyovest which he slides onto screen.
It’s a slick and snappy demonstration of a triage of formidable Afro talent.
Feature pic supplied by artist
