The problem with the Hollywood Mandelas
Hollywood films about Nelson Mandela separates him from the movement that produced him. The fact is, movements made Mandelas, not the other way around.
Culture
Four Women Musicians from Niger
Safiath, ZM, Habsou Garba and Fati Mariko: producing diverse sounds in rap, hip-hop and soul.
Miley Cyrus has Nigerian parents
Parody performers, the Naija Boyz, take on Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball." It is unclear what they're trying to say.
A Brief Cinematic Guide to ‘Mother of George’
The film is a complex and nuanced exploration of the questions and limits of what one will do for love, told by an unorthodox filmmaker.
The people need a new myth
The Brother Moves On is not anti-ANC. Their new music rather speaks to the ideals of the liberation movement and asks if this is what we fought for.
The Book of North African Literature
Pierre Joris and Habib Tengou edit a book about the multiple beginnings, traditions and genealogies in the literatures of the many languages of the region, and the region's diasporas.
King of Soukous
An Adieu to Tabu Ley Rochereau, the master rumba singer-songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Azonto Americana
Azonto has been huge in Ghana, obviously, and the rest of Africa. Then it made its grand entrance to London and the United Kingdom with some help from the British-born Ghana boy Fuse ODG, especially with Antenna . It was cool seeing the London All Stars do their Azonto thing, but I was hoping maybe, just maybe, it might finally touchdown here in the US. My salvation might be at hand in the form of the production company, Level 7 .
Somali Justice
A rare and informative glimpse into a situation and part of the world that normally only receives minimal, lazy, and inaccurate coverage.
Weekend Music Break 63
We kick off our weekly installment of new music videos with OttawaParis-based Mélissa Laveaux riding the crunchy electronics with flair on her new offering, ‘Triggers’, in a video directed by Terence Nance — remember also this other video he shot for her earlier this year: Some trippy and transcendental downtempo music from YellowStraps (that’s Yvan Murenzi, […]
Bombino: Nomad, but much more
Bombino, the Tuareg musician from Agadez in northern Niger, wants to show the world the multiple, and often joyful sides of life in the region.
The Afropolitan Must Go
Is it a good idea to separate African urbanites from the rest of their cohort? How is that even constructive?
Before They Resurrect the Noble Savage
Jimmy Nelson's photographs are deliberately constructed to capitalize on his own vision of these groups.
Wangechi Mutu in conversation with Trevor Schoonmaker
Schoonmaker: When did you start to see work by African artists that you did respond to? Was that in New York? Mutu: In New York, ironically, you know, in the early ’90s. Richard Onyango, one of Kenya’s big painters, was one of the first shows I saw.
My Favorite Photographs: Arnaud Contreras
Since 1999, Contreras has documented, via documentary films, radio programs and photographs, dramatic changes to the Sahara.
The forgotten founding figure of African nationalism
Nokutela Dube wasn't just the wife of John Dube, one of the founders of the continent's oldest liberation movement, the African National Congress.
Weekend Music Break 62
10 new music videos from Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Kenya, Mali, Burundi (via Belgium), South Africa and Nigeria (via the US and the UK) to get your weekend started. But first up, from Senegal, Daara J Family have a new video out, directed by Lionel Mandeix and Loïc Hoquet. N’Dongo D and Faada Freddy, from Dakar, still […]
L’Afrique Est Un Pays
Dutty Artz and Africa Is a Country co-present the EP, "L'Afrique Est Un Pays," as a gift to Africa is a Country readers. For a limited time you can download the EP by liking our Facebook page.
Moonshine Roots Music and Fela Kuti
Valerie June admires Fela Kuti, Ali Farka Toure, Miriam Makeba and a Nigerian blues singer she once heard in her car, but can't remember their name.
A window into South Africa’s jazz history
The first full color photographs of the vibrant, underground jazz scene that flourished in South Africa in the 1960s.