By John James* One day Côte d’Ivoire will lift the cup, said captain Didier Drogba, shortly after the team’s arrival in South Africa, though I may not be in the team to see it. Côte d’Ivoire are used to the pressure, they’re used to being called favourites, they’re used to being the continent’s top under-achievers, and […]
By the end of 2004, Côte d’Ivoire’s civil war had cooled to a simmer, but the country remained split, with a rebel-held north and a government-held south. What do these divisions mean to people on the move, late for christenings, doctor’s appointments, and dinners with friends? In an essay that will be published in the […]
Didier Drogba is the master of the unruly and the absurd: when he is in form, none of what the other team does matters.
Some fresh coupé-décalé from Molare.
Some coupe decale to warm you up for the African Cup of Nations final later today between Cote d’Ivoire (the favorites) and Zambia (the team everybody is rooting for). Here, here and here are some links to previews and bold predictions on the outcome of the match. Also read our earlier post on the improbable […]
The 28th edition of the African Cup of Nations kicks off in Gabon and Equitorial Guinea tomorrow. 16 teams–including the joint hosts who did not have to qualify–will play for 2 places in the final match scheduled on February 12. The big question is, of course, who will take the trophy.
A painting sits glowering on the wall of the Jack Bell Gallery in London. Figures daubed in bright colours stare out from the canvases against a dark background broken up by bits of newspaper cuttings. This is Les Fantômes, the work of Aboudia, a 26-year-old Ivorian painter whose stark images have recently been receiving some […]
Ghana. Here.
The Ivorian international and CSKA Moscow footballer, Seydou Doumbia about the hardest thing to secure in the Russian capital: It's hard to get a fade.
Cote d'Ivoire's newly-appointed commission counts 11 members, with footballer Didier Drogba one of them, representing the country's diaspora.
Tupac Shakur's intensity did not just appeal to just young people in the United States, but also on the continent.
Easy listening. ‘Bassa’ is a song by the Côte d’Ivoire-born, Mali-raised and now France-based artist Fatoumate Diawara. We could use a translation — because maybe it’s no easy listening at all. Anyone?
Côte d’Ivoire celebrated their 51st year of independence from France yesterday. Music has played a role in national political identity throughout the country’s conflict. I’m sure that it will continue to play a role as the country tries to move on from its recent turmoil. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqsCKlC0xW4 The Ivory Coast in the 70’s and 80’s had […]
Thanks to HavePlentyMusic I saw that big time house producers experimenting with Kuduro for a few years, are perhaps finally ready for Coupe Decale (Click through to listen to the remix). Kind of full circle really, as I really think Bob Sinclair’s and similar productions were a big influence on the sound of Coupe Decale, […]
On the usefulness of WikiLeaks and the self-destructive personality of its founder, Julian Assange.
In Cote d'Ivoire, expect a coalition government where the loser remains president and the winner as prime minister.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKLxfP3xju0&w=500&h=307&rel=0] Since we’re on the topic of Cote d’Ivoire, here’s Ivoirian veteran underground rapper Manusa’s “Dans Mon Pays,” a blistering critique of life under Laurent Ggagbo’s regime. This not Drogbacite. “No dancey … happy, nice melodies, [or] very uplifting” music here.
It’s been 10 years since Cote d’Ivoire’s presidential elections; “… a whole lost generation since the days when Côte d’Ivoire was West Africa’s most prosperous and promising nation.” The last election cycle was postponed indefinitely by the incumbent Laurent Gbagbo (of the Front Populaire Ivorian) when his term ended in 2005. In the meantime he […]
Two years later, Barack Obama's election as US President still influence cultural production on the continent.
Côte d'Ivoire is turning 50 -- it became independent on August 7, 1960 -- and my Ivorian friend doesn't feel eager to celebrate.