Clarity note upfront as usual, this isn’t necessarily a ranking of tunes with the stretchiest spectrums of styles within them. That’s part of it, but rather it’s more about how ideal and complimentary the fusions turned out. Needless to say, the material in consideration falls within our scope of coverage, which renders any regionally or artistically distant would-be inclusions unideal for the list. Most of the numbers on here were included on account of a convergence of artists with divergent styles. A few exceptions, however, are due to relatively similar artists spurring themselves into fusions that they wouldn’t normally take up on their own. With that clarified, let’s head in!
“Only You” by GrG ft Kohen Jaycee
Immaculate combo; Kohen’s light pipes hovering over thick melancholic altered synths & GrG’s loved-up laze of a flow. The latter’s rap chops entwined with the former’s R&B impulse, all buoyed by a draggy and appropriately unimposing beat, made for a memorably pleasant team-up.
“top” by Afamefuna ft Zowie Kengocha
Among last month’s goodies came a non-single track from dance maestro Afamefuna with fellow 254’er, R&B & mildly indie-inclined artiste Zowie Kengocha. Afamefuna laid a jolty sonic carpet for Zowie’s buoyant vocals to elegantly glide throughout the tune. The result is something we’d love to have more of, if we may prevail over the pair. Make it happen once more, guys!
“My Boo” by 4mr Frank White ft Iyanah
Nairobian rapper 4mer Frank White & dynamic singer-songwriter Iyanah teamed up on this reinterpretation of American popstar Usher’s 2004 smash hit of the same title. The product’s something of a bop on its own! Giving their rendition a gentle guitar flair & a rap-croon combo typa vibe with bouncier beats, the number is calculated to delight. Good on y’all!
“as a man” by Izabelug ft That Malcolm Guy & The SeptembaKid
This was one of those numbers at the start of 2025 that were emblematic of how the year would play out in terms of releases so far. Like, the pairing was quite interesting in numerous terms. Here you’ve got Izabel’s Afropop-laced lines about the delight of the senses, complimented by an ever experimental, chanty Malcolm whose presence ironically owns the track more than the main credit. Nifty combo!
“Hit n Run” by Kyle Simbwa
Slotted as the closer on his debut EP, the tune has Kyle ditching his suaver stylings for a more rhythmically imposing dancy sound, which his collabmate suubi enhances with an A-Pass-esque sensual vocal touch. In all this, whether intentionally or not, Kyle still retains his indie-borne delicateness which makes the experience a bit of an unlikely sonic fusion.
“THE MAZE” (demo) by That Malcolm Guy ft Senté, Cxnrvd & Joka
Crowded gem, as it should be. See, Malcolm’s been doing this #EveryMonday thing where he releases a single on a weekly basis, but he’s framing these tracks as demos. One anticipates a fuller, more official rendering. The man’s a walking experiment, and whatever shortfalls one may associate with that, there’s a delight about it all. Anyways, the tune in discussion has him enlisting Senté for an introspective thickly-tracked chorus about a spiralling trajectory of self-perception. Meanwhile, the main man himself lets out a ghostly semi-whisper throughout the tune, perhaps to invoke an exhausted yearning, a pervasive feeling amidst which Cxnrvd hops in for some rather smooth delivery, and Joka adds a raw finality to it all. There’s a whole lot going on stylewise, from hints of alt pop to a dance vibe & an experimental approach, one hopes he loves the tune as much as we do to afford it a robust treatment in terms of publicity, whenever it’s officially released.
“Place & Time” by Maali ft Razor Man
Dancy alt pop pairing about an auspicious complementarity between lovers. Maali does his croony thing while Razor Man eventually chimes in with his almost comical low-pitch talk-rap shtick. There’s a simplicity to the tune; no conceptual or executional pretensions. And that, quite frankly, is its charm.
“Rejea” by Dj Mura ft Big Nyagz, Costa Ojwang & YAH LISTEN
Dj Mura’s Afro electro powers & curatorial chops are at their peak on here. He enlists producer & subgenre-mate Big Nyagz, along with Coster Ojwang, whose prowess in couching African traditional rhythms in modern sound is unmatched. The resulting tune’s an aggressively vibrant piece with a soundscape so engaging that it conceptually contracts its own runtime. Thick sauce!
