New Music Friday: Songs to check out featuring Rema, Niniola, Young Jonn, Shoday

This week's list opens with a cross-continental Rema feature, delivers Niniola's return to her Afro-house roots, and includes a new entry from Wizkid's son Champz, who continues to build his own sound separate from his father's legacy. A varied week with more emotional range than most.

Pulled from his Dear London project, 'Glass in the Air' sits comfortably within the sonic world Young Jonn has been building since his last album. Jiggy-inflected Afropop over an up-tempo dancefloor beat, produced alongside Yung Willis. It would not feel out of place on his last album, which is both its strength and its limitation.

A French-Nigerian crossover from Tiakola's WpointM album, produced by London. Tiakola's melodic rap delivery and Rema's Afrorave cadence are a natural fit over the same production infrastructure both have thrived on separately. It works without being particularly surprising.

A commercial Afrobeats record built around a TikTok-ready hook, pairing Shoday's street-pop energy with Magixx's R&B-tinted delivery. The combination is pleasant and the romantic pop vibe is well-executed for what it is.

Produced by Shallythechampion, 'Malaria' compares falling in love to catching an unexpected illness, a metaphor that lands better in concept than execution. Zinoleesky's melodic bounce and Ayo Maff's street delivery create a competent mid-tempo record that does not fully capitalise on the creative premise.

A stripped-back romantic Afrobeats record that strips away the high-energy production of his previous work in favour of melodic storytelling. The restraint is deliberate but the record struggles to hold attention across a full listen. Better suited to background listening than active engagement.

The week's most welcome return. After her emotionally raw Without You EP, Niniola steps back into her Afro-house lane with 'Tika', fast-paced, dancefloor-ready and anchored by her signature lively delivery. The return to form feels earned rather than forced.

A gospel Afrobeats and alternative soul collaboration that benefits significantly from Johnny Drille's guitar-driven vocal style. The faith-based storytelling is handled with enough care to cross over to listeners outside the gospel space, at least partially.

Cheque blends trap-house and Afropop in a high-energy melodic record that leans on his vocal flexibility. The production is busy and the record does not settle into a clear identity. One of the weaker entries on this week's list.

The week's most notable entry for reasons beyond the music itself. At 14 and stepping deliberately away from the pop template of his father Wizkid, Champz delivers a UK drill and Afroswing-influenced record produced by BG that is surprisingly assured for an artist his age. Worth tracking.

An introspective record about loving someone through uncertainty. MAGE's production gives Myron the space to sit with the vulnerability of the subject matter, and the result is one of the more emotionally honest records on the week's list.

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