Victoria Kimani Drops New Album 

Victoria Kimani’s new album “Spirit Animal” features Yemi Alade, Bella Shmurda, and Peruzzi.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

“Spirit Animal,” Victoria Kimani’s fourth album, is probably her best work to date.
She skillfully blends Afropop, R&B, and Afrobeats to create yet another pan-African body of work that features musicians and producers from all across the continent. The new CD features talented artists from Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, and Nigeria.

The Zebra is Victoria’s spirit animal; it’s not your typical jungle king, but it’s one of a kind.
The difficult road to develop a pan-African yet worldwide sounding — “Spirit Animal” — could only have been directed by the determination to persist and push through day-to-day “African struggles,” the global pandemic, and life-changing lessons, all while dancing through it all.

The amazing album contains African music legends as well as up-and-comers like Ghana’s KiDi, who has been topping charts throughout the continent with singles.
Bella Shmurda appears on the club smash “Gimme Money.” Yemi Alade, one of Africa’s most popular female musicians, also appears on the dancefloor-shaking “Spider.” When Yemi Alade was supporting Victoria Kimani on her country-wide Kenyan tour in 2018, she came up with the entertaining concept of the spider dance.

Peruzzi, a DMW singer, appears on “I called,” a nostalgic Afropop classic that fuses Swahili, English, and Pidgin. H Art The Band, one of Kenya’s most successful boy bands, sings “Champion Lover” in Swahili.

In “Pole Pole,” which means “Slowly, Slowly” in Swahili, South Africa’s unmistakable Amapiano wave is also evident, encouraging her followers to take it one day at a time when striving toward achievement.
Lady Du, one of Amapiano’s biggest performers, contributes strong vocals to “Roses.”

On “Remedy,” Victoria Kimani soars alone, the graphics showcasing her Kikuyu culture and country music’s impact on Kenyan fashion. Kimani’s distinctive R&B – Afropop vibes show through on both “Most Wanted” and “Fire Dancer,” which are both genre-defining singles with clear crossover appeal.
South African rap artist “Priddy Ugly” contributes his unmatched wit to the confidence-boosting track “Diamonds.”

With yet another outstanding body of work, Victoria Kimani continues to place Kenya on the map across the world.