BBC Africa Beats: DR Congo's Jupiter

It has taken him 30 years to produce his first album, and almost as long to make a name for himself on the world stage.

But it is happening now for Jupiter Bokondji, 48. Last year, he was part of the ground-breaking Africa Express which took music from the continent around the UK by train.

Jupiter, and his band, Okwess International, have moved beyond the rhumba for which the Democratic Republic of Congo is so famous and are mining the rich and relatively untapped world of the country's traditional music.

Their album, Hotel Univers, is being released in May 2013, and combines funk with deep Congolese roots.

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BBC Africa Beats: Zulu pop princess Toya Delazy

South Africa's Toya Delazy trained as a pianist but the 23-year-old singer-songwriter is now making waves with her electro-pop anthems.

Her fresh energy, her colourful retro-chic style, and her soulful lyrics have made her a chart hit.

Toya Delazy - born Latoya Buthelezi - is a Zulu princess, granddaughter of Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party, and great-granddaughter of the revered Zulu musician Princess Magogo.

Her first album, Due Drop, was released in April 2012. Allow me to introduce you to Africa's Adele. 

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BBC Africa Beats: Malawi's Peter Mawanga

Peter Mawanga feels that it is high time the world was exposed to the riches of Malawian music.

While many of his countrymen play reggae or other musical styles borrowed from elsewhere, he and his band, the Amaravi Movement, make music inspired by traditional Malawian rhythms and instruments.

Known in his country as "the voice of the voiceless", Mawanga has a strong social conscience and is not afraid to speak out on behalf of the poor.

He ruffled feathers with his first hit Amakhala ku Blantyre which suggested that city dwellers who visit villages may not be as rich as they seem - they may have borrowed their fancy clothes.

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[Video] BBC News Africa Beats: Featuring Soul Singer Bez

Emmanuel Bez Idakula was born in Jos, central Nigeria, into a home filled with gospel music and country and western. His father taught him to play guitar at the age of nine.

He tells stories about true-life situations - especially love.

Zuciya Daya, the title of the song he performs here, means "whole heart" in his mother tongue, Hausa.
 

Bez says people told him that Nigerians did not like guitar music, only hip-hop or Afro-pop but he thinks his success has proved them wrong.

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