Streets is Watching
Shakira should acknowledge "Waka Waka" is a rip off of a Cameroonian song. Everyone knows that. Also pay the original composers.
Blog
Simple Football
Belgian photographer captures grassroots football in 30 villages across 10 countries in west and southern Africa.
Zwelethu Mthethwa @ The Studio Museum
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy_ri7XJik0&w=500&h=281&rel=0] Via Todd Johnson: Opening on Thursday, July 15, at the Studio Museum in Harlem, some new work by South African photographer, Zwelethu Mthethwa. (For the opening night, Mthethwa will be present for a conversation with curator Naomi Beckwith. It’s free, but you got to RSVP.) The works are on display till October 24. Here’s […]
Still Hip Hop
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woHMTgvfs_E&w=500&h=307&rel=0] Hip hop now has its own museums, honors shows on basic cable, and rap beats drive car commercials. So I am surprised when good hip hop happens again, whether from trusted sources or from artists you’ll never hear from on the radio. Like Jay Electronica recent “The Ghost of Christopher Wallace.” If you missed his […]
Nick Kristof prefers White Saviors
The New York Times columnist, whose reporting is very influential in elite public opinion about Africa, prefer white "bridge characters."
The Day After
Locals after South Africa successfully hosted a global, mega-event: why can't it tackle its inequalities with the same energy and efficiency?
Vintage Bigotry, South African Edition
John Oliver, a “correspondent” for the comedy news show, “The Daily with Jon Stewart,” has been filing these really funny, but also very illuminating, in fact the best, pieces of journalism from the World Cup in South Africa the last few weeks. (We’ve blogged about some of his older pieces before, here.) Last week, Oliver […]
Vuvuzelas All Around
Now that the criticisms of the vuvuzela have subsided and the sounds of the vuvuzela will soon take a break from the world stage too, we refer you to a fine post written by historian Laurent Dubois (references: Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France; Soccer Politics blog) and cultural theorist Achille Mbembe (see […]
Music Fridays
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rNE-5WUtSE&w=500&h=307&rel=0] A good way to tide you over till Sunday’s World Cup final is to listen and dance to good music. Here’s five music videos I have on heavy rotation. First up, a current personal favorite of mine: the music video for the Ugandan singer, Jaqee’s single “Moonshine” off her new album. The video was […]
The graphic first 50 years of Congo’s independence
A graphic novel written and illustrated by a group of Congolese graphic artists, take stock of a half-century of independence for the DRC.
How The Mighty Have Fallen
Two of South Africa’s most talented musicians of the last 30 years, Robbie Jansen (1949-2010), sax and flute player who was in a band with Abdullah Ibrahim, and Nana Coyote (1955-2010), who made his name as a vocalist with the soul music outfit Stimela (led by Ray Phiri), passed this week.
Black Babies
Via Art of Kawaii.