PJ Morton releases new album "Cape Town to Cairo" completed during his stay in Africa

Header Photo by Patrick Melon

PJ Morton will release his new album, “Cape Town to Cairo,” on Friday, June 14th.

PJ Morton, whose sold-out concert in Japan in March this year is still fresh in our memory, is a member of Maroon 5 and has won five Grammy Awards as a solo artist. His latest album was completed while he was touring African cities.

In the fall of 2023, PJ Morton set himself the mission of “completing an album in one month” and visited African cities such as Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, Lagos (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), and Cairo (Egypt).

PJ Morton commented on this album: “I wanted to capture the moment during my stay in Africa. So I didn’t write anything until I got there, and I didn’t write anything after I left. I tried to stop overthinking it and trust my instincts. This album is a raw mix of my thoughts and inspirations. Of course, there are elements of R&B and soul, and “Simunye” has some gospel. “Count On Me” is a pop-influenced song, and “All The Dreamers” has a jazzy finish. It’s a sound that combines all my African inspirations. I’m not sure exactly what genre this music fits into. After all, it all started in Africa. Cape Town to Cairo is my own version of the African diaspora.”

The album features young artists who are conveying the current excitement of African music and Afrobeats, such as Fireboy DML from Nigeria, who has spread Afrobeats globally and whose collaboration with Ed Sheeran, “Peru,” was a huge hit around the world, P. Priime, a young producer who has worked with Burna Boy and participated in the soundtrack of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and Mádé Kuti, the son of Fela Kuti and a Grammy-nominated artist.

Additionally, talented musicians who continue to express the musical charm of Africa, such as Ndabo Zulu, a trumpeter at the forefront of the South African jazz scene, Asa, a Paris-born Nigerian singer-songwriter, and the Soweto Spiritual Singers, a chorus group that embodies the roots of African music, will also be participating in the album, adding color to PJ Morton’s musical journey.

In addition, the new attraction “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida will feature an original song written by PJ Morton. This was inspired by the movie “The Princess and the Frog,” which is set in his hometown of New Orleans, and PJ Morton became the first black composer to write music for a Disney attraction. The attraction is scheduled to open at Disneyland Resort in California in late 2024.

In addition, PJ Morton’s autobiography, “Saturday Night, Sunday Morning,” is scheduled to be published in November. It will cover the path of PJ Morton, a pioneer in the music scene, his music and faith, the music business, race, his own music theory, and how he became successful as an independent musician.

【release information】

PJ Morton “Cape Town to Cairo”
Release Date: 2024.06.14 (Fri.)
Label: Morton Records / EMPIRE
Tracklist:
1. Smoke & Mirrors
2. Count On Me feat. Fireboy DML
3. Please Be Good
4. Who You Are feat. Made Kuti
5. Thank You
6. I Found You
7. All The Dreamers feat. Asa & Ndabo Zulu Home Again
8. Simunye (We Are One) feat. Soweto Spiritual Singers