Happy New Year, readers. The Afropean.com team is excited to be continuing our Best of…End of Year tradition.  Below is the 2025 selection from the Retrospective maestro himself, Yomi Bazuaye.

Free by Little Simz

Another year, another best of playlist that displays blatant bias towards my UK-Naija triumvirate (check my previous lists if you want to know who else is in the triumvirate… or just keep reading this list, as it’s near guaranteed that all three members will be featured).

Little Simz’ Free got a lot of play during Summer 2025, and rightly so, with lyrics like this:

Fear can be dressed in the form of protection
Fear can be the culprit of slowing progression
Can be impulsive and be an obsession
I think we fear all the answers, so we don’t ask the questions, yeah
I think that shit is a lethal weapon
I think we fear being naked from the fear of rejection
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Then why are we obsessed with seeking perfection?
Fear’ll probably hear this and feel exposed
Fear works best when love isn’t close
But love will never judge you because of your pain
Look in the mirror and say I’ll love you unconditionally every day

Kokoroko  @ Tiny Desk

Rejoice(!) because we also got a new album from Kokoroko in 2025 (Tuff Times Don’t Last) There are two tracks from that release in this set, and there is also plenty of evidence to justify my unwavering determination to turn everyone into a Kokoroko fan.

Ezra Collective win ‘Group of the Year’ at the Brits Awards 2025

Not to be outdone in the live performance stakes – here is Ezra Collective performing at the Brits 2025 (with Jorja Smith) after winning the ‘Group of the Year’ award.
Over the last few decades this award has been won by groups like Oasis, Blur, Artic Monkeys and Coldplay. Going further back we find groups like Dire Straights and The Police.
This award has never been won by a group that identifies as ‘Jazz’. And you have to go back to the 1980’s to find a winning group with a notable number of black people in it (Five Star, in 1987 in case you’re interested) – and if you’re wondering how Soul II Soul, Incognito and/or the Brand New Heavies never managed to win this award, so am I.  After breaking the “Jazz doesn’t win a mercury award” convention in 2023, Ezra deliver another glorious performance in this video on the back of breaking two Brit award conventions.  Grammy’s next year? We can but hope.
Will my UK-Naija triumvirate occupy the first three slots in my review next year? Undoubtedly.

Don’t Cry by Nia Smith

A strong vocal performance by Nia Smith and meaningful lyrics throughout this track:

This version of me you’ve made
Can I just be honest?
Sometimes it just feels so fake
It’s not what you promised
I’m used to my baggy jeans
But you on that tight shit
You know that it’s not my scene
You know I don’t like it

Nia is definitely one to watch for 2026.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Vogue by Cristale

Another one to watch for 2026. Cristale‘s word play and delivery is next level. This is the sound of an artist who is mastering her craft – I am very excited about the prospect of Cristale releasing an album in the near future… and if you like the sound on the video above, then you’ll probably enjoy Cristale on Daily Duppy.

Down for You ft Nas X Jorja Smith by Mobb Deep

Jorja’s second appearance in this list, and on both tunes she’s a featured artist (not the lead artist). I want to note that Jorja’s 2025 output has been tremendous and she should really have her own entry in this list for this and/or this.
Aside from being thrilled to see Jorja aligning with true school hip-hop, I was knocked sideways by the way that this video recreates iconic Mobb Deep imagery. Then we have Havoc and Nas going toe-to-toe for the first time since (… ‘An eye for an eye’ on Mobb Deep’s 2nd album?)… The sum of these parts is a nostalgia fest that can bring a 90’s hip-hop head to tears.

Original Koffee by Koffee

Return of the Queen!  Effortless, authentic and dance floor friendly, everything Koffee has ever released has been :fire:
Will we get an album in 2026?

Lonyo! by Bakar

Guilty pleasure.
This video was (cleverly) released at the start of the school holidays and was on heavy rotation all summer at my house. There’ll be those of us old enough to remember the original, Summer of Love, circa 2000 by the real Lonyo.

Nights like This by Omar, Lemar & The House Gospel Choir

Another one that was on heavy rotation all summer. Nice to hear from Lemar and Omar always delivers.

How Can I Tell You? (To Love Me More) by Brooke Combe

The first of two artists that ‘I really should have discovered before 2025′.
The piano and the melody from Brooke Combe’s How Can I Tell You…? are very hard to get out of your head.

One of the Greats by Florence and the Machine

The second of two artists that ‘I really should have discovered before 2025′. And it’s a bigger omission for me to have missed Florence as she has a weighty back catalogue.
This is a masterpiece of a song, full of derision for the music industry, its misogyny and its bullshit.

But I’ve really done it this time, this one is all mine
I’ll be up there with the men and the ten other women
And the hundred greatest records of all time
It must be nice to be a man and make boring music just because you can
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan
You’re my second favourite frontman
And you could have me if you weren’t so afraid of me
It’s funny how men don’t find power very sexy
So this one’s for the ladies
Do I drive you crazy?

Powerful. If you have teenagers in your life, play this song to them.

Blood ft. Wretch 32 & Cashh  by Little Simz

Blood from Little Simz‘s Lotus album gives me an opportunity to include Wretch 32 in this years list (and to give Little Simz some extra flowers). The back and forth between the emcees on this track sets it apart from the average collab. The song is set around a telephone call between two siblings, but Simz’s and Wretch’s storytelling skills take the listener a few levels deeper. There’s a special chemistry at play between these two artists, and – as suggested in @Tola’s listing of a Mariah Carey and Anderson .Paak collab – it’s a chemistry that the world needs more of.
Extra flowers for Wretch 32 as he also could’ve been listed for this More Fire Crew influenced collab with Avelino.

Back to Me by Jass (Contraband)

At this stage in the list, it is only the die hard aficionados that are still reading (and I salute you all for sticking with it). So, it’s a great time to share some Jazz (rejoice!)
I have never heard of Jass contraBAND before, but hope to hear more from them in the future.

Prototype by Robert Glasper ft. Norah Jones

Two heavyweights combine to produce 2025’s ‘Jazz tune that can be safely played to people who hate Jazz.’
If you’re still reading, you might even be the kind of Jazz-head that often tries to convert Jazz-haters, if so: give this cover of OutKast’s Prototype a try.
Share the goodness.
And share your results in the comments.

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A few final lines to pay tribute to the many musicians that passed away in 2025: @Kahlea has written a great summary here (alongside the list of names you’ll find in that link, I’d like to bid farewell and Rest In Power to: Gwen McCrae, Roy Ayers, Sly Stone and Eddie Palmieri).
@Kahlea has also written a touching MUST-READ tribute to D’Angelo. He was such a giant. And thus, such a huge and painful loss.

Jazz virtuoso pianist Julius Rodriguez played a moving and subtle tribute to D’Angelo in a live recording made in November, this link takes you to 5 seconds before the tribute begins. NB: The tribute takes the form of a musical quote from D’Angelo’s “Africa” added to one of Julius’ own compositions titled: Love Everlasting.