The Top Angolan Songs of All-Time - Starting Eleven
I asked some friends to name their top 5 songs ever, from Angola. My main alter-ego is called Roberto Mendes. One of these days, I would wrtie about him. He also contributed, thanks to all he has learnt around Museke. I also asked Google Gemini (not through Google Sheets this time) & some other competitors of theirs). You know AI is is my friend these days right? I also contributed my top 5, while reminiscing this list from 2009.
My first time in Angola was in 2016. Thinking about it is making me tear up. Not kidding. I was beside myself with joy when I had the chance to travel to Angola, thanks to Lourdes Fernandes. But prior to that, I had been listening to a lot of Angolan music, especially Kizomba. The first Angolan I met in my life was Isabel Correia and she was not an MIT student. We did not have some at ErmmmMIghty. She introduced me to Angolan music and eventually became a contributor for Museke in 2006. As you might know, I listen to Kizomba every Thursday, as seen in #KizombaThursday.
I wanted to do a list of top 5, but there are too many songs. So I have aggregated 11, to represent Angola in the World Cup of #MusicWeDeyFeel. The starting eleven. Drop your opinions, props, suggestions in the comments section. Here we go, in no particular order, you can suggest who plays centre forward, sweeper, maestro, left wing back or goalkeeper in the comments.
Bonga - Mona Ki Ngi Xica (1987)
Bonga was born José Adelino Barceló de Carvalho in 1942. Before he became a full-time musician, he was a successful athlete. He represented Portugal as a champion sprinter in the 400 meters before dedicating his life to music and activism. Okay, make no mistake about it, he is Angolan. He sang politically charged music, in favour of his people, not his colonizers. If you think his name is similar to banger, you are righter!
This song won the poll! The meaning of “Mona Ki Ngi Xica” in Kimbundu can be translated as “My Child, I Have to Leave You." Awww? Think freedom fighting, not loneliness. Learn more about the song here.
Atchu Tchutcha - Yuri da Cunha (2013)
This Angolan song really travelled! It features Dj Kadu & Dj Malvado. This song was a massive success and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards. Yuri da Cunha makes different types of music. In fact, for the 2010 MOAMAS, he won Best Contemporary African song with Kuma Kwa Kie.
Angola has its house music too. But when you hear this all-time classic by Yuri da Cunha, you have to hit the dance floor! This is a high-octane kuduro track! Danza kuduro!
Anselmo Ralph - Super Homem (2006)
I have many songs by Anselmo Ralph that I love more, but arguably this is his biggest hit in the history of music. There's Não Me Toca, Assumir Barulho, & Curtição which are personal favorites of mine. In 2010, he broke through into Africa properly and won the Museke Online Africa Music Awards Male Artiste & album of the year for O Cupido. He's the Angolan love doctor himself!
Learning more about his music made me fall in love with Kizomba. Should we make him the captain of this team? Because Super Homem is about a man expressing his deep love and commitment, using superhero metaphors to show his willingness to be a protector and provider for his partner. Super homem, super man tell'em!
Volta amor - Yola Semedo (2014)
Yola Semedo is also known as the "Diva of Angolan Music". Fine lady right? She also contribued to my Kizomba love affair, thanks to songs like Injusta & Não entendo. Volta Amor is from the album - Filho Meu (My Son), which was a tribute to Semedo's son, Orlando Carlos.
"Volta Amor" translates to "Come back, my love." Woman, my Portuguese is really bad. Lemme go and open the Duolingo app. Funnily enough, I was thinking about this situation earlier: The lyrics describe a woman's desire for her old boyfriend to return, as her current partner does not have his charm or touch.
He is arguably the top male Angolan musician of all-time. It is befitting that the entry here from him is about the country he and I adore so much. This song pays Angolan music genre Semba. He sings about how the genre originated from the suffering and pain of the Angolan people under Portuguese colonial rule. When music hits you, you feel no pain. Music can also take you through the pain.
Amar Angola is an unofficial anthem for Angola, aptly named.
Coisas da Terra - Paulo Flores (2011)
I also did not know about Paulo Flores before I started this research. It seems I have been more enamoured with the younger Angolan musicians. I mean, can you blame me?
The song's central message is summarized in its refrain, "Coisas da terra, terra da gente / Coisas da gente da nossa terra" ("Things of the earth, our people's land / Things of our people, from our land"). This made me think about baobab, plantain, etc. During my first trip to Angola in 2016, I realised that baobab was a very important fruit there. Now. that's a strong and sweet thing from the earth. Aside the sweet music from this lovely country.
Malalanza - Carlos Burity (2010)
Carlos Burity showed up in a lot of the submissions. Malalanza means "Orange" in Kimbundu. You can see orange in the Angolan flag, the one I wrapped myself in at the Luanda airport in 2016. Getting into Angola is not easy, similar to how things are expensive there. Thankfully, my passage into the country was not as difficult, and my time there was as sweet and sour as an orange. Surely, this song is very emblematic of Angola, certa?
Pérola - Presta Atenção (2015)
I am tearing up again. I have 3+ tracks I like more from this pearl of a woman but this is the first one that really crossed over and made her a bigger star. It's crazy she didn't make this cut in 2009, but better late than never!
Pérola is my favorite Kizomba singer, and her music simply lifts my mood. She made my tournament squad for #MusicWeDeyFeel. That smile of hers can light up a whole auditorium. She had started her music career in 2009 but 2015 was when she really started shining and made more people start to pay attention. I can listen to her non-stop. It's just sad I have not met her before to tell her so. Ao!
Pérola is my favorite Kizomba singer, and her music simply lifts my mood. She made my tournament squad for #MusicWeDeyFeel. That smile of hers can light up a whole auditorium. She had started her music career in 2009 but 2015 was when she really started shining and made more people start to pay attention. I can listen to her non-stop. It's just sad I have not met her before to tell her so. Ao!
"Presta Atenção" made my top African songs of 2009 and it gained immense popularity across Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) nations, making her a leading lady. The MOAMAS 201 nominated song had a mention in my interview with South African blog Jucy as well. It has deep emotion which you hear in many Perola songs, making this sweet, sensitive, sensual. Presta atenção means pay attention. I don't understand Portuguese but I pay attention to this song and others.
È Melhor Não Duvidar C4 Pedro (2013)
"Bo Tem Mel" is arguably the biggest song by C4 Pedro, but some might count it as him being featured by Nelson Freitas. This Kizomba classic released in 2013 has with over 80 million views on YouTube, which is massive! So here's the rebound ...... the song that enters this winning team is "È Melhor Não Duvidar", which features another Angolan legend, Big Nelo. This successful collaboration from his B4 Los Compadres project generated significant attention, with tens of millions of views across platforms.
It became very popoular across the Lusophone world, including Portugal. Its music video even scored the goal of featuring Portuguese actress Rita Pereira. C4 Pedro is arguably Angola's biggest music export of the current generation. He has collaborated with Stonebwoy, Sauti Sol, DJ Maphorisa, etc. This all-time track song spurned a remix by Celma Ribas.
Rosa Baila - Eduardo Paim (1994)
This song first appeared on Eduardo's 1994 album, Kambuengo and is a Kizomba classic! Kizomba is joyful and positive. "Rosa Baila" means "Rosa dances". Dancing is full of joy, certa? This song evokes cultural pride and unity in Angolans and lovers of this genre, across generations.
In a 2025 interview with the Angolan news outlet PlatinaLine, Paim expressed his surprise that the song has remained so popular across different generations. He credited its success to God and the Angolan public for continuing to appreciate his "emotional" work.
In a 2025 interview with the Angolan news outlet PlatinaLine, Paim expressed his surprise that the song has remained so popular across different generations. He credited its success to God and the Angolan public for continuing to appreciate his "emotional" work.
Windeck - Cabo Snoop (2011)
This song did not show up much in the poll but there is no way Windeck does not make this list. This song was all over Africa in 2011. I partied to this in clubs in Kampala, Nairobi, Accra, Lagos, Johannesburg, Cape Town in that year, thanks to Google. Cabo Snoop even became the first Angolan artiste to collaborate with a Ghanaian artiste - Atumpan - on a song called African Girls. How appropriate! "I am teaching you the thing".
"Windeck" talks about opportunists and the societal problems caused by greed. Next time, you see a shady or opportunistic person, call them "Windeck". The song was so popular, that its inspired the television series Windeck. It explored themes of opportunism, greed, and the darker side of ambition in Angolan society. It was even nominated for an International Emmy award!!!! #AngolaToTheWorld!
Many thanks to friends like who contributed to this - Cassio Caposso, Edo Santos Winstavi, Elisa Capololo, Ericka Engel, Giovani Afonso, Helder Kiala, Iracelma Cunha, Isabel Correia, Lourdes Fernandes, Nelson, Stella Michael, Victor Mendes, Zedilson Almeida
Have more #MusicWeDeyFeel to contribute? Drop a comment.
Check out this playlist of songs that were nominated, etc on YouTube.
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