Well-known South African actor Jamie Bartlett has died. He was 55. (more…)

This Week’s Episode Features a Conversation With Mellow & Sleazy, the 5 Hottest Tracks of the Week, Africa Rising and LootLove’s Favourite Track of the Week!

Tune in to Africa Now Radio with LootLove at a special time this Saturday, May 21st at 10a Lagos/London / 11a Johannesburg/Paris / 2a LA / 5a NYC on Apple Music.

Cover Star Interview

South African amapiano production duo Mellow & Sleazy join LootLove via FaceTime on Apple Music 1 to talk about their latest track, “Chipi ke Chipi.” They also discuss showcasing emerging talent on their new album, ‘Midnight In Sunnyside,’ playing with experimental sounds, and how they developed their unique creative process. 

The Big 5

LootLove shares the 5 hottest new African tracks of the moment. This week’s selection includes new tracks from Lojay & Sarz feat. Chris Brown, Wanitwa Mos, Master KG & Lowsheen feat. Nkosazana Daugther, Omah Lay, Lil Kesh feat. Joeboy, and Nanette. 

Africa Rising 

Nigerian Afropop singer-songwriter Ninety—Apple Music’s latest Up Next: Nigeria artist—is the latest artist featured from Apple Music’s Africa Rising playlist, a campaign which shines a light on the next generation of African superstars, and this week’s show features his singles, “Hold My Side,” and “Somebody.” Listen HERE.

Loot Loves

Each week, LootLove chooses her favourite track, taken from one of Apple Music’s African playlists. This week she spotlights South African singer-songwriter Manana and his track, “In The Morning,” from Apple Music’s Mzansi Soul playlist. Listen HERE, and catch all of LootLove’s picks on Apple Music’s LootLoves playlist HERE.

Tune in and listen to the full episode at a special time this Saturday, May 21st at 10a Lagos/London / 11a Johannesburg/Paris / 2a LA / 5a NYC on Apple Music 1.

Mellow & Sleazy on working separately

We’re almost never in the studio at the same time. He usually makes his own beats separately and I make my own beats separately, then we just exchange the projects and finish off each other’s projects. We just give each other space – he does his own thing, I do my own thing then once we’re done we’ll share what we have done, he’ll edit whatever I’ve done and I’ll edit whatever he did, then it becomes a full song.

Mellow & Sleazy on experimental sounds

So basically we’ve only tried experimenting with two genres, Bacardi and… I forgot the name of the sound but it’s from Angola so we’ve tried experimenting with those two sounds and a bit of soulfulness, because most of the people know us for being hardcore producers that make like loud music all the time, so we tried making it soulful but keeping that element at the same time. The whole EP is Bacardi, basically.

Mellow & Sleazy on exciting talent showcased on their new EP

The underground talent that we have on our EP… the first one is M.J, he’s a rapper and singer. He’s been on a lot of hits actually, he’s one of the vocalists that we always work with because he’s very versatile. He can do what five vocalists can do in the studio, so that’s why we’re always working with him. Another one is Matute Boy. Bacardi usually needs someone to rap fast, and with the lingo… and who else? Azi! Azi is a singer, we’ve just started working with him now, he’s very very new but he’s too much. I’ve never heard a voice like that so yeah, we’ll see where that takes us.

Disney+, the streaming service from The Walt Disney Company (https://TheWaltDisneyCompany.com), launches today in South Africa. Standard pricing at launch is confirmed at R119 per month, or R1190 for an annual subscription, with sign-up information available at DisneyPlus.com.

With over 1000 films, more than 1500 series and a slate of 200 exclusive Originals from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and general entertainment from Star, Disney+ offers fans the greatest stories, all in one place.

Previously announced, subscribers will have access to Star Wars’ “The Book of Boba Fett”, both seasons of “The Mandalorian” and, from 27 May, the highly anticipated “Obi-Wan Kenobi”. In addition, Disney+ will be the home of the entire Skywalker saga, with Star WarsEpisodes 1 through 9 streaming on the service.

Confirmed from launch, superhero fans will have access to over 60 Marvel Studios’ films including Academy Award®-nominated “Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings”, “Eternals”, “Avengers: Endgame” and “Captain Marvel”, and over 80 Marvel Studios’ series including “Moon Knight”, “Loki” and “WandaVision”.

Subscribers will also be able to enjoy over 100 titles from Disney and Pixar, including the entire “Toy Story” franchise, the Academy Award®-winning “Soul” and the Academy Award®-nominated “Luca”. From Walt Disney Animation Studios, stream the Academy Award®-winning “Encanto” which tells the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, and fan favorites “Frozen” and “Frozen 2”. Disney fans can also stream the Academy Award®-winning “Cruella” starring Emma Stone as the legendary “Cruella de Vil” and Disney’s “Jungle Cruise.”

National Geographic documentaries including “The Rescue” and “Free Solo”, from Academy Award®-winning directors and producers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, will sit alongside popular National Geographic series such as “The World According To Jeff Goldblum” and “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”.

In general entertainment, subscribers will also be able to watch titles including the hit original comedy series “Only Murders in the Building,” limited series “Pam and Tommy”, “The Kardashians”, “Queens”, and mystery thriller “Death on the Nile”, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, as well as “The Simpsons” and back seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy”, “9-1-1″, and “Black-ish”.

With unprecedented access to Disney’s vault, beloved classics such as “Cinderella”, “Tangled”, “The Princess and the Frog”, and “The Little Mermaid”, will be available to stream alongside recent blockbusters like “Raya and the Last Dragon”. There will also be hundreds of Disney Channel series, shorts, and specials available to stream, including “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir” and “Phineas and Ferb”.

Users will have access to features like high-quality viewing, up to four concurrent streams, 4k video quality for select titles and the ability to set up to seven different profiles, including the ability for parents to create pin-protected profiles, ensuring kids access age-appropriate content.