It’s time again for another Weekend Music Break with Africa is a Country! Enjoy this round of tunes and visuals from the continent and its sphere of cultural influence.

The music thing that excited me most all week was coming to find out that Booba joined Sidiki Diabate on stage last December in Paris during his rendition of “Inianafi Debena“, and launched into a live mashup of that song and “Validée“, making all right in the world of Africa-Europe sampling/inspiration/dedication relations; another Bambara-themed hip hop collaboration, Kinté, Le Prince Héritier and Zarkawi Djatta are a revelation out of Cote d’Ivoire (h/t Afropop); Saharawi singer Aziza Brahim releases a video for “Calles de Dajla” to promote her latest album, and to celebrate her people still forced to live outside of their rightful land; A more explicit call to political action is embedded in the video for Jackson Wahengo’s “Eliko la Namibia”; Sammus delivers a sermon on higher education (and mental health) that I’m sure some Africa is a Country readers can relate to; Show Dem Camp, show up with a sunny love-pop video; Throes + The Shine add a third leg to their team up in the form of DRC via Montreal rapper Pierre Kwenders, on their song “Capuca”; the remix of YCEE’s monster hit “Jagaban” featuring Olamide, gets its own video to go alongside the original; I missed the video for this Samini and Popcaan collaboration from two years ago, so here it is now!; and finally, Runtown last year teamed up with Uhuru for a really smooth Naija and South Africa collaboration to take you into Sunday morning!

Happy Weekend!

About the Author

Boima Tucker is a music producer, DJ, writer, and cultural activist. He is the managing editor of Africa Is a Country, co-founder of Kondi Band and the founder of the INTL BLK record label.

Further Reading

No one should be surprised we exist

The documentary film, ‘Rolé—Histórias dos Rolezinhos’ by Afro-Brazilian filmmaker Vladimir Seixas uses sharp commentary to expose social, political, and cultural inequalities within Brazilian society.

Reading List: Barbara Boswell

While editing a collection of the writings of South African feminist Lauretta Ngcobo, Barbara Boswell found inspiration in texts that reflected Ngcobo’s sense that writing is an exercise of freedom.

Kenya’s stalemate

A fundamental contest between two orders is taking place in Kenya. Will its progressives seize the moment to catalyze a vision for social, economic, and political change?

An annual awakening

In the 1980s, the South African arts collective Vakalisa Art Associates reclaimed time as a tool of social control through their subversive calendars.

More than a building

The film ‘No Place But Here’ uses VR or 360 media to immerse a viewer inside a housing occupation in Cape Town. In the process, it wants to challenge gentrification and the capitalist logic of home ownership.