Always lots of African stuff.
I've got a bunch of Hi Life stuff I've listened to as well this year but even when it's good it's still just more Hi Life like the old Hi Life (except dudes like Ebo Taylor who was a great find this year).
Had this Ghanaian album on my Amazon wish list for a few years, got it for Christmas. Loving it.
More Ghanaian, highlife/afrobeat. Probably listened to this album as much as anything this year.
And more music from Ghana
Sister act from Nigeria
Zambian (Zam Rock)
Somali
I'm probably going to screw up this story, but some Brits in the 1920's were visiting Africa and had brought some Jimmie Rodgers records with them. He was a country singer who used to yodel as a part of his vocals. When the tourists played the Jimmy Rodgers records for the locals, the locals said they didn't believe that sound could come from a man, and believed him to be inhabited by some sort of trickster spirit. Add in a little transliteration, and the impish mythical spirit animal of "Chemirocha" was created. It didn't take long for the local tribes to sing their own songs of Chemirocha, like this one: But it was in 2016 when I became aware of African band Bye Beneco, and their re-envisioning of the traditional Chemirocha track into this absolutely stunning track: