2023 in African music

See also: Timeline of musical events

The following is a list of events and releases that happened in 2023 in African music.

Events

• January 11 – It is announced by Nhanhla Sibisi, head of the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA) that the 29th edition of the South African Music Awards will begin accepting entries in the first quarter of 2023. ^[1]
• March – The marriage between Somizi Mhlongo and Mohale Tebogo Motaung end divorce proceedings when it is discovered that they were never legally married. ^[2]
• June – The Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance, a new award, is announced by the Recording Academy. ^[3] The inaugural winner, announced at the ceremony in February 2024, is Tyla with the song "Water". ^[4]
• November 4 – The 19th and final series of Idols South Africa is won by Thabo Ndlovu. ^[5]

Albums released in 2023

Release date	Artist	Album	Genre	Label	Ref
January 27	Sjava	Isibuko	Afro-pop	1020 Cartel	[6]
February 17	King Ayisoba	Work Hard	Folk/Electronic	Glitterbeat	[7]
February 17	Spinall	Top Boy	Rap		[8]
February 24	AKA	Mass Country	Hip hop	Sony	[9]
February 24	Kimi Djabaté	Dindin	Various	Cumbancha	[10]
March 31	Davido	Timeless		DMW Sony	[11]
March 31	Baaba Maal	Being		Palm / Marathon Artists	[12]
May 12	Bokani Dyer	Radio Sechaba	Jazz	Brownswood Recordings	[13]
15 June	Jantra	Synthesised Sudan: Astro-Nubian Electronic Jaglara Dance Sounds from the Fashaga Underground	Jaglara	Ostinato Records	[14]
16 June	Asake	Work of Art	Afrobeats	YBNL Nation and Empire Distribution	[15]
25 August	Burna Boy	I Told Them...	Afrofusion	Atlantic, Spaceship Records, and Bad Habit	[16]
29 September	KMRU	Dissolution Grip	Ambient, drone, experimental	OFNOT	[17]
4 October	Katawa Singers	Digital Indigenous 05	Gospel		[18]
8 December	Seyi Vibez	NAHAMciaga	Afrobeats		[19]

Deaths

• February 8 – Dennis Lotis, 97, South African-born singer ^[20]
• February 10 – AKA, 35, South African rapper ^[21]
• February 25 – Ismaïla Touré, 73, Senegalese musician and co-founder of Touré Kunda ^[22]
• March 14 – Gloria Bosman, 50, South African jazz singer ^[23]
• June 9 – Niel Immelman, 78, South African-born classical pianist ^[24]
• July 21 – Hafiz Abdelrahman, Sudanese flautist (age unknown) ^[25]
• August 17 – OJ Blaq, 40, Ghanaian rapper and actor ^[26]
• September 12 – MohBad, 27, Nigerian rapper^{[ citation needed ]}
• October 1 – Julian Bahula, 85, South African drummer, composer and bandleader. ^[27]
• October 1 – Garry Mapanzure, 25, Zimbabwean Afropop singer ^[28]
• October 27 – Axali Doëseb, 69, Namibian composer ^[29]
• November 12 – Mohammed al Amin, 80, Sudanese popular musician and oud player ^[30]
• December 11 – Zahara, 36, South African singer-songwriter (liver disease) ^[31]
• December 20 – Eric Moyo, 41, Zimbabwean singer (brain haemorrhage) ^[32]
• December 27 – Mbongeni Ngema, 68, South African lyricist and composer (traffic collision) ^[33]

See also

• 2023 in music

References

1. "SAMA29 to kick off in the first quarter of 2023". Mzansi Reggae. January 11, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
2. "Somizi withdraws 'divorce' and pays Mohale's legal fees as it turns out they were never married". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
3. Morgan Enos (June 13, 2023). "Three New Categories Added For The 2024 GRAMMYs: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album & Best Pop Dance Recording". Grammys.com . Retrieved June 14, 2023.
4. Bloom, Madison (February 4, 2024). "Tyla Wins Inaugural Best African Music Performance Award at 2024 Grammys". Pitchfork . Retrieved July 29, 2024.
5. Seemela, Masego (30 October 2023). "Thabo Ndlovu, Princess MacDonald will face off in the finale of Idols SA". SowetanLIVE . Retrieved 31 October 2023.
6. Rasephei, Sekese (January 27, 2023). "Sjava Releases His Long Awaited Third Album Isibuko". The Plug. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
7. David Pratt (20 February 2023). "King Ayisoba – Work Hard". Folk Radio UK. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
8. "Spinall Announces New Album Top Boy". The Nation. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
9. "Mass Country by Aka". Apple Music. February 24, 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
10. David Platt (February 27, 2023). "Kimi Djabaté - Dindin". Folk Radio. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
11. Henry Mamo (March 21, 2023). "Davido Announces Fourth Studio Album 'Timeless'". Billboard. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
12. "Baaba Maal – Being". Clash music. 31 March 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
13. Adam Sieff (8 May 2023). "Bokani Dyer – 'Radio Sechaba'". London Jazz News. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
14. "'People have weapons, but it's to celebrate!' Jantra, the Sudanese keyboardist making wild party music | Music | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
15. Adebiyi, Adeayo (16 June 2023). "Asake cashes in his superstar token in Work of Art". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
16. Bras Nevares, Gabriel (28 July 2023). "Burna Boy Preps For Upcoming Album With New Single, "Big 7"". HotNewHipHop . Retrieved 29 July 2023.
17. Cetin, Marissa (August 15, 2023). "KMRU launches label, OFNOT, with new album, Dissolution Grip". DJ Mag . Retrieved July 29, 2024.
18. Times, The Daily (2023-04-27). "Katawa Singers to revisit old songs". African News Agency. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
19. "New EP: Seyi Vibez — NAHAMciaga". Bella Naija. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
20. Fountain, Nigel (12 February 2023). "Dennis Lotis obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
21. Se-Anne Rall (February 10, 2023). "Rapper AKA shot dead in drive-by shooting on Durban's Florida Road". IOL. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
22. "Le musicien sénégalais Ismaïla Touré, cofondateur de Touré Kunda, est décédé à l'âge de 73 ans". Le Temps. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
23. Maako, Keitumetse (16 March 2023). "From Soweto to the world: How jazz maestro Gloria Bosman created music that would last forever". News24. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
24. "Pianist Niel Immelman has Died, Aged 78". Violin Channel. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
25. "ساحر «الفلوت» .. الموت يغيّب الموسيقار السوداني العالمي حافظ عبدالرحمن". صحيفة التغيير السودانية , اخبار السودان (in Arabic). 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
26. "Musician OJ Blaq has passed away at age 40". GhanaWeb. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
27. Luvhengo, Phathu (1 October 2023). "Political activist and musician Julian Sebothane Bahula has died". Timeslive.co.za. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
28. Kennedy, Nyavaya (2023-10-13). "Afropop star Garry Mapanzure dies, as medical air services falter". Newsday Zimbabwe. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
29. "President pays tribute to anthem composer Axali Doeseb". The Namibian . 27 October 2023.
30. "عاجل.. وفاة الفنان السوداني الكبير محمد الأمين – النيلين" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-11-14.
31. "Zahara: South African music icon dies aged 36". 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
32. "Gospel Musician Eric Moyo Dies". The Chronicle. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
33. "Mbongeni Ngema dies: Tributes paid to South African theatre legend". BBC News. BBC. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2025.