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The beat tag “It’s Kel-p Vibes!” — cooed sultrily at the start of some of Afrobeats’ best tracks — is a signal you’re in for a good time. Kel-p is the 27-year-old producer from Lagos behind much of Burna Boy’s Grammy-nominated African Giant as well as Wizkid’s “Ginger,” and, as he tells Rolling Stone, upcoming projects from heavyweights like Davido, Wande Coal, and Adekunle Gold.

Kel-p is among a budding crop of Nigerian producers (including Pheelz and Young John) hopping up from behind the boards and pursuing careers as the lead act,...

The independent record label Empire has brought nineteen acts from six African nations together on one album and is set to share it with the world in less than two weeks. The compilation, titled Where We Come From (Vol. 1), which arrives November 30th, first started to take shape at a writing camp in San Fransisco following Empire’s “The New Africa” showcase in March at SXSW. After signees including Fireboy Dml, Bnxn (fka Buju), and Wande Coal took the stage in Texas, they jetted to California to collaborate at the label’s headquarters.

From Lagos, Nigeria, singer Fireboy Dml delivered reimagined takes of three of his Afro-life tunes to NPR for their latest Tiny Desk (Home) concert. With pristine vocals complemented by the stirring keys, smooth trumpet, and subtle cymbals of his backing band the Vibe Kings, Fireboy upped the emotional ante of his already poignant tracks, “Like I Do,” “Tattoo,” and “Peru.” Ed Sheeran, 21 Savage, and Blxst have hopped on remixes of “Peru,” the rising act’s international hit.

In December, Fireboy, born Adedamola Adefolahon, told Rolling Stone that he’s...

When Nigerian musician Fireboy Dml thinks of his earliest influences, a few names come to mind. There was Passenger, the English folk/indie band turned solo artist, that led him to fall in love with American artist Jon Bellion. Then there was the legendary Afrobeats star Wande Coal whose intentional lyricism within the contemporary scene shaped how he approaches songwriting. But most notably, there was Ed Sheeran, whose songs inspired Fireboy to learn how to play the acoustic guitar, an instrument that, many years on, has remained a core part of his sound.

When the Nigerian veteran Spinall released his fifth album, Grace, last December, “Sere” was an immediate highlight. Frisky yet reverential, with goofy come-ons (“I no fit fight kung-fu/But I go fight for you”), piercing percussion, balmy guitar, cheerful “whoo!” ad-libs, and unexpected spurts of saxophone, the track has amassed more than two million streams on Spotify.

Spinall gave the track a new jolt of energy in the form of a remix featuring 6lack on Thursday. 6lack initially adds somber weight to the track, singing in a low-to-the-ground, conversational tone.

TOBi’s “Dollas and Cents” was impressively austere: The beat was distilled to rhythmic elements so bare that they seemed to precede any possible genre distinctions. The bassline, courtesy of the great British-Ghanaian producer Juls, could’ve come from slippery Seventies funk, club-ready Nineties house, or window-shattering West Coast hip-hop. TOBi rapped like he wanted to make the bass look flat-footed, packing lines with knotty syllables.

DJ Tunez — known for his work with the Nigerian star Wizkid, as well as his contributions to essential Afrobeats singles like “Get Up” with...

DJ Tunez reconnects with his longtime collaborator Wizkid on “Pami,” a gentle breeze of a single that also features Adekunle Gold and Omah Lay.

“Pami” starts hesitantly, as if the synth player can’t decide whether or not to commit to the track. The arrival of a light, rat-a-tat beat signals that this is, in fact, a song — a swaying, dream-like dance tune. The vocalists take turns crooning sweet nothings and loving entreaties while gleaming, pinprick guitar lines hang in the air and a lustrous horn section slides in and out of the mix.