JUBA ACE SWEET

Amac Don has released “Juba Ace Sweet” featuring Chamdena Level, a Dinka-language Afrobeats track that pairs a danceable sound with a message about staying focused while navigating life in Juba.

The title translates to “Juba is not sweet.” But the hook goes further than simply suggesting that life in the capital is hard.

Juba isn’t sweet, Amac Don sings, when you don’t know what you’re doing. The chorus describes people losing their way, getting caught up in gossip and ultimately putting themselves at a disadvantage. When it feels like everything around you is going wrong, the song suggests, sometimes it is your own distractions that are holding you back.

That contrast gives the song another layer. On the surface, it’s a lively, danceable Afrobeats record, but underneath is a message about staying focused and finding your way in the city.

Produced by Slatine Pro, the track is performed almost entirely in Dinka, with the English word “sweet” anchoring the hook. Amac Don leads the chorus, while Chamdena Level brings a more rhythmic delivery to his verse, using a back-and-forth flow and tight rhymes that give his section its own character.

Juba is familiar territory in Chamdena Level’s music. His 2022 song “Juba Adik Wakou,” which translates roughly to “Juba is good at night,” presents another side of the capital, with the title pointing towards the city’s nightlife.

The accompanying video keeps things simple. Rather than building a storyline around the song, it shows the two artists together in the studio recording and working on the track, putting the collaboration and creative process at the centre.

“Juba Ace Sweet” arrives during a busier period for Amac Don. After a quiet stretch in which “Yin Ngath” was his only release in around two years, he has put out three songs in the past nine months: “Nyayuai (V8)” with Chamdena Level last December, the solo single “Yin Ya Tak” in June, and now “Juba Ace Sweet,” his second recent collaboration with Chamdena Level.

With production made for the dance floor and a hook that carries more weight than its bright sound first suggests, “Juba Ace Sweet” turns an observation about life in Juba into a reminder about staying focused and not allowing distractions to determine your path.

“Juba Ace Sweet” is out now on YouTube and major streaming platforms.