Aunty Rayzor – Viral Wreckage

Aunty Rayzor isn’t your mum’s straight-blade-wielding sister, but actually Nigerian rapper/singer/producer Bisola Olungbenga, who went Soundcloud-viral in 2021 with a Covid banger, ‘Kuku Corona’, that threw together afrobeats and grime with nods towards trap and memeable pop-rap. Two years on, Viral Wreckage pretty much picks up where her breakout single left off: across the quick-fire half hour that comprises her debut, Rayzor weaves her ratatat verses tightly around cavernous bass and one-finger synth lines (‘Never’ and ‘Murder’), and brings big auto-tuned vocals to dancehall riddims (‘You Not Worthy of My Love’).

Her palette has clearly expanded since lockdown, though: the two tracks here featuring Congolese multi-instrumentalist Titi Bakorta investigate the borders of highlife, all looping polyrhythms and laid-back groove, offering a welcome change of pace compared to the frenetic chaos elsewhere. Chuck in a couple of big-room workouts that mine the production of Leftfield and early Daft Punk as well as spatterings of baile funk styling, and the result is an album that feels lithe, addictively buoyant and genuinely global. With all but two tracks clocking in at under 150 seconds, too, this is instant-rewind stuff, making it – perhaps appropriately for a pandemic prodigy – incurably infectious.