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Dear, Mom: Mombathise is an ascension song. Simphiwe Dana says it is for her late mother: ‘a song to tell her to go and rest and be at peace.’ Photo:
Supplied

Simphiwe Dana sings the room into stillness

Moya is her quiet insistence that excellence, faith and African high art can hold grief without spectacle

Stogie T has been a curator with unusual instincts. On aNomy, Stogie T turns history, faith and inherited
trauma into a portrait of a country suspended between collapse and renewal.

Stogie T: ‘It’s all broken’

Stogie T’s aNomy captures the tension, cynicism and spiritual searching of life in South Africa, weaving history, grief and hope into vivid storytelling

Stars aligned: American musician Chance The Rapper’s latest album takes his career to new heights.

A chance for redemption on Star Line

Chance the Rapper returns with Star Line, blending soulful introspection, social commentary and faith-driven hip-hop, proving his voice is stronger than ever

Leon John reunites us with our truest feelings with his new album, ‘Licence to Feel’. (PAUL SHIAKALLIS, 2022)

Feel it with Leon John’s new album

The musician reunites us with our truest feelings with his new album, ‘Licence to Feel’

Lamar’s album DAMN features artists like Rihanna and U2 and explores some of the themes of his highly-acclaimed 2015 album To Pimp A Butterfly.

A soundtrack with its eye on the score

"Soundtracks are not scores. At best, they are marketing gimmicks with a pretence at a soul".

The Moral Regeneration Movement held a round table discussion to discuss with the community the fundamental causes of violence in South Africa

​Tumi’s albums: from best to just okay

Tumi, who is now known as Stogie T, has released his most popular album to date.

Eritrea’s President, Isaias Afwerki receives a key from Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed during the Inauguration ceremony marking the reopening of the Eritrean Embassy in Addis Ababa. (Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

Hip-hop gloss can’t save the anticlimax of RiRi’s new album

Rihanna has made us wait a maddening four years between albums and while Anti is worthy of a recommendation, it’s hardly earth-shattering stuff.

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille fought a long battle against a faction of her own party, which included going to court. The battle is over but everyone is bloodied. (David Harrison/M&G)

Pope Francis releases weird debut album

The mix of prog rock, hymns and vocals on Wake Up! sounds like the kind of album that crate diggers, kitsch lovers and sample seekers will cherish.

On her sixth studio album

Sia stimulates the senses on ‘1 000 Forms of Fear’

On her sixth studio album, singer and songwriter Sia Furler proves you can be minimal on fame and still maximise on talent.

Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis: A folk soundtrack for 2014

The soundtrack to "Inside Llewyn Davis" is heartfelt without being sentimental, a modern folk journey inspired by Bob Dylan and David Van Ronk.

Birdy’s sophomore offering ‘Fire Within’ continues her indie style of thoughtful lyrics

Birdy’s ‘Fire Within’: Solid fare from music’s youngest gem

Birdy’s "Fire Within" makes for easy listening with songs as light and charming as her namesake. But it falters due to a lack of confidence.