Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
Since being released earlier this month, Wonder by Nigerian singer Blackmagic hasn’t attracted much interest, and this itself is a wonder. Not only does it feature Fetty Wap, but Wonder is a very current and commercial, summery song with a carnival vibe, which sounds like a huge potential hit to me. The only thing I’d change is making the female vocals more prominent and frequent throughout the track. Afrobeats hasn’t had a crossover hit for a while, and I don’t believe this sound should be a passing trend. It’s a genre that western audiences should embrace, and would if they had more exposure to it, as proven by the success of Fuse ODG and OMI’s Cheerleader. Blackmagic, a singer, rapper and songwriter whose real name is Efemena Mukoro, has released three albums since 2013. Wonder originally appeared in early 2016, but was re-released with Fetty Wap on board by Ministry of Sound this year.