Amaka Jaji & Zad Dwell on The Weight of Love in Afrobeat Song ‘Balwa’


On their surprise collaborative single ‘Balwa’, Libyan artist and multi-instrumentalist Amaka Jaji and Egyptian singer-songwriter Zad build around a distinct emotional contrast, wrapping the heavy weight of a relationship inside a spacey, driving Afrobeat rhythm. The two North African alt-indie voices treat devotion less like a romantic ideal and more like a heavy burden, uniting Zad's signature melancholy with Amaka’s soulfully rooted delivery to map out the exhaustion of giving more than you can afford to.

The track’s tension springs from its production choices. A foundation of hypnotic drums and sharp percussion pushes the song forward with a vibrant energy, but the ambient layers tell a different story. Whirring wind samples and sweeping, spacey synth lines float over the beat, casting a hazy, nostalgic aura across the instrumental. Instead of clashing, the bright movement of the rhythm and the melancholic undertones of the synths complement each other, creating a danceable groove grounded in reflection.

Lyrically, the pair doesn't hold back on disillusionment, leaning into a central motif that frames love as an affliction. Trading verses with an easy, conversational flow, their vocals carry the fatigue of a shared frustration. By letting their forlorn deliveries drift over such an active beat, ‘Balwa’ captures a bittersweet middle ground for both artists to lament their sorrows.