South Africa’s Manu WorldStar blends Afropop with hip-hop sensibilities. The artist, born Emmanuel Mumbili Mutendji in 1997 in Johannesburg to Congolese parents, bubbled under as a rapper for a few years in the mid-2010s as a member of the hip-hop collective Punchline alongside Luna Florentino, Dee Xclsv, and Tony X. In 2018, Manu WorldStar expanded into Afropop with his breakout single, the joyful sing-along “NaLingi” whose popularity placed him on a collision course with pop stardom. His 2019 debut EP, Young African Story, revealed an intentional Pan-African approach through the incorporation of Afrobeats, a fruitful change in direction that he maintained on his 2020 album, Molimo. Manu WorldStar has managed to cross over without deserting his roots; his varied collaborators include fellow genre-bender Sho Madjozi, amapiano duo MFR Souls, rapper Khuli Chana, hip-hop DJ Sliqe, and other South African stars eager to feature his soulful Afropop vocals.