99 THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2009: #1 ESAU MWAMWAYA

This is a first in a massive series of things, people, releases, changes, trends and actions I’m looking forward to this year.

First up: The Esau Mwamwaya debut album.

Above: the official video for “Khampopo”

Esau Mwamwaya is one of the most unlikely trendsetters for this coming year. He’s virtually unknown in the mainstream, has been working from garage spaces in Hackney and writes African songs you probably won’t understand. But the music genius of his late 2008 mixtape “The Very Best” is undeniable. The only mixtape to make into the Pitchfork best new music 2008 countdown, it was produced by Radioclit, a UK/Paris DJ/Producer duo loosely tied in with the Mad Decent crew. “The Very Best” is brimming with new musical ideas, fresh sounds and emotion. The debut album should be out in February.

This is what the music of the future should sound like.

Watch him sing a snippet live on the street, perform “Warm Heart Of Africa” for LastFM, dance with BLK JKS and work in the studio with Vampire Weekend and The Ruby Suns after the jump.