Guest Blogger, Tom DeVriendt Pitcho Womba Konga hails from Congo but moved to Belgium at the age of seven. As an artist he is a co-founder of Skinfama, a Brussels-based collective instigating urban hip-hop culture. You might know him from his 2003 solo album Regarde Comment or from that other beauty he dropped earlier this […]

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8VOKhRr0eg&w=500&h=300&rel=0] The latest video by the original hip hop artist Gil Scott Heron–who is back. This is “I’m  New Here.” Via Ghetto Bassquake.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0F2_sAlaNo&w=500&h=307&rel=0] Mos Def is back. Which means I am happy. This for Ski Beats’ new album coming out in September.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2noQowyoKQ&w=500&h=307&rel=0] I generally like French film director Claire Denis’ work. Her previous film set in an African country, 1988’s “Chocolat“–set in colonial French Cameroon–came out decent. She has now returned to an African subject again with her new film  “White Material,” which incorporate themes of land reform, child soldiers and the fate of whites in […]

Black Diamonds is a recently released short documentary by Dutch filmmaker, Saska Vredeveld (view the film here). The film offers an inside view of the personal lives of three black South African entrepreneurs, including the odd Felicia Mabuza-Suttle,  the “Oprah of South Africa.” The film’s promotional material very mistakenly refers to these people as South […]

HBO has selected the documentary, “Courting Justice”, by American filmmakers Ruth Cowan and Jane Thandi Lipman (Cowan created, and Lipman directed the film) as a competition finalist in the Martha’s Vineyard African-American film festival. The film is about the experiences of female, especially black female judges, in South Africa’s highest courts (that’s Supreme Court of […]

[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 […]

[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 […]

[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 […]

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.