Youtube is streaming all of the 44-odd minutes of Blitz the Ambassador’s second studio album, “Native Sun.” The album will be released May 3rd in North America, and May 6th Worldwide. I have already pre-ordered my copy.

Beautiful video for the single “You will never know” by the young, French-Comoran singer, Imany. The video was directed by Andrew Dosunmu. H/T: Tony Karon.

Sometimes AIAC collaborator Nerina Penzhorn’s documentary, “Waited For,” about interracial adoptions in South Africa of mostly black children by a group of mainly white lesbian women, has been accepted to Frameline, considered the largest LGBT film festival in the country. According to Nerina, the film “… explores the ways in which these queer families challenge […]

The trailer for director Byron Hurt‘s new film “Soul Food Junkies.” The film, “… explores the history and social significance of soul food to black cultural identity and its affect on African-American health, good and bad. Soul food will also be used as the lens to investigate the dark side of the food industry and […]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT0I2DyclIo The video “Niemand” [No One] by German singer, Joy Denalane (featuring her husband Max Herre) off her new album “Maureen,” which is set for release next month. Via Afro-Europe

http://youtu.be/Es-SyYrpg2c Fool’s Gold’s “Surprise Hotel.” The group started as a side project of two young LA musicians, vocalist/bassist Luke Top and lead guitarist Lewis Pesacov, who set out to explore their shared love of various forms of African music (specifically Congolese, Ethiopean, Eritrean and Malian), Krautrock, and 80s dance influenced pop music. Via Charles Leonard: […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0mB59n0zBA&w=500&h=301&rel=0] Oakland, California rap group The Hieroglyphics and Goapele singing about some kind of Soweto circa 2002. You can go to the jungle/Go to the city/Visit Soweto/Live in the Bay or/Somewhere in between/But you’ll never be unseen … Maybe I’ll go to Angola or the Gold Coast/And blow smoke with the old folks cause they […]

New video from M.anifest H/T: Peter Rachleff

In the last year fans of South African jazz had to contend with the passing of musicians Robbie Jansen, Ezra Ngcukana (in August 2010), Vincent Kolbe (in September 2010) and Hotep Idris Galeta. This weekend Duke Ngcukana, brother of Ezra and himself a musician and jazz educator of note, passed away. Read a news story about […]

“Skoonheid,” the new film by South African director Oliver Hermanus will be screened in the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival (starting next month). He is in good company. Check the Cannes site to see who else got invited. The film is also the first Afrikaans film to […]

H/T: Rich Flint

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQNGoqdQnRk&w=500&h=301&rel=0] Single released April 11th, which is the 30th anniversary of the Brixton riots that levelled much of the town centre that both Linton [Kwesi Johnson] and I call home. DJ Haitus.

[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/10046418 w=500&h=281] Tunde Olaniran is hip hop. Tunde Olaniran is the son of an American mother and a Nigerian father. Tunde Olaniran lives in Flint, Michigan. This is the video for his latest single ‘Cobra.’

[vodpod id=Video.5972910&w=500&h=411&fv=videoId%3D897337827001%26amp%3BlinkBaseURL%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.newyorker.com%252Fvideo%253FvideoID%253D897337827001%26amp%3BplayerID%3D673564960001%26amp%3BplayerKey%3DAQ%7E%7E%2CAAAAAF1454s%7E%2CQH_ygumSKiVg91q-ZwBlqWe1HcfbhDds%26amp%3Bdomain%3Dembed%26amp%3BdynamicStreaming%3Dtrue] Writer Teju Cole— he has a new novel, “Open City”–talks and writes about identity and immigration to The New Yorker.

The practice of renting out Cape Town’s “scenery” and its cheaper film crews can have its misunderstandings. Take “Safe House,” the new “action thriller” starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, that’s really set in South America. I can only imagine the cliches about South America for which South Africa stands in here. Anyway it sounds […]

What’s happening in (Cape Town’s neighborhood) Woodstock that makes local hipsters flood the place? The speed at which parts of this area are gentrifying is dazzling. But hipsters also shoot nice images. Cue: shaky cam and hyper-bright colors. — Tom Devriendt

Electronic rap duo and “stereo wizards” Dirty Paraffin at the Faraday Muthi Market in downtown Johannesburg for the cover shoot of the South African online lookbook/zine Cuss. The video and the shoot were done by photographer Chris Saunders.