Jam of the Week: Melanin by Sauti Sol ft Patoranking

Sauti Sol are probably the biggest stars out of Kenya in recent years. The boys have been consistent since they burst on the scene with their sultry love song, ‘Lazizi’. They’ve gone on to produce 3 albums and are set to release their 4th soon. Their latest release is from their upcoming album, ‘Afrikan Sauce’ and is a collaboration with Nigerian hitmaker Patoranking. The single, ‘Melanin’ is being marketed as a song celebrating the beauty of African women.

On first watch, ‘Melanin’ is a certified hit. The song was written and performed by Sauti Sol and Patoranking and co-written by Nviiri Sande. The video was shot and directed by Clarence Peters.

The song would fall under Afrobeat. It definitely has some RnB flavour to it as well. The vocals are really good and so is the arrangemnt of the song. It’s an earworm for sure. The lyrics are okay for a club song but could have been better. From the lyrics, the song is about trying to win the love of a beautiful and perhaps famous woman who is pretty busy living it up in life.

The visuals are gorgeous. The colour palette is rich and complements the storyline. The opening scenes are basically beautiful models posing on the beach in Ankara bikinis in the sunlight. This transitions to what looks like a lit party/clubbing scene with Patoranking. The rest of the video is a mix of the clubbing scene and some gorgeous night beach shots. The styling is grunge meets African chic, which works really well.

The video could have used more Melanin though. In comparison to other African acts, they probably have a higher dose of melanin in their video. Would have loved to see more variety in the models’ body types as well, considering that the song is about celebrating African women’s beauty so they should have strived to be representative.

Sauti Sol have announced that their upcoming album, ‘Afrikan Sauce’ will be collaborations with various African artistes and that they will drop a new video every month for the next 12 months. This is excitng news and if the collaboration with Patoranking is an example of what is to come, then the next year is going for an epic one for Sauti Sol.

Fav lyrics: “She’s a heartbreaker/ She bend over, back breaker/ Steaming hot, what a vapour/ I want to date her.”

Fav moment: Patoranking at 1:03. This man is so good looking!

Jam best for: Getting down in the club!

Rating: 4.5/5

Check out the ‘Melanin’ video below.