70% of Rwanda’s population are women.
Via A24media.com
Nneka Plays Stateside
January 26, 2010 By 2 Comments
Her US tour dates are now available.
* The video above for her single “Kangpe” was filmed in Cote d’Ivoire.
The Warm Heart of Africa
January 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
One of the catchier tunes from 2009 featuring Ezra Koenig (of Vampire Weekend) and Esau Mwamwaya. Now the video’s out.
HT: Jen Mazer
Martin Scorcese namechecks Ousmane Sembene
January 24, 2010 By 2 Comments
Mainstream American film culture is so insular (except when it comes to European cinema) that you’re shocked when one of its stars, like director Martin Scorsese–who was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2010 Golden Globes last week–acknowledge the place and contributions of African cinema.
What does Barack Obama mean to black America?
January 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
It now seems like a long time ago when Barack Obamae became the first ever Black President of the United States. Among those who vigorously celebrated Obama’s historical election, were of course black Americans. Anyone from the ordinary to literary people to rappers to everyone else in-between could not contain their joy. But what does Obama’s ascent really mean to black Americans?
Pieter Hugo’s Nollywood
January 22, 2010 By 1 Comment
You can see most the photographs from Hugo’s “Nollywood” project (now a book) on his website, along with an introduction by Federica Angelucci and an essay, “Nollywood Confidential” by Cape Town-based Stacy Hardy. The actual book also includes a short story by novelist Chris Abani (“Omar Shariff Comes To Nollywood. A Storyboard In 10 Frames”) and another essay, “No Going Back,” tracing the history of the Nigerian film business by Zina Saro-Wiwa.
The Case of the Missing President
January 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Nigeria’s been without a President for at least two months. The incumbent, Umaru Yar’Adua, is in Saudi Arabia getting treatment for a heart condition. So the country’s effectively been without a leader all this time. This is in a context where the Nigeria’s now been placed on the US’s list of countries identified with terrorism and when political violence is tearing one its states apart.
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
January 21, 2010 By 1 Comment
A presenter on a Christian TV show in Nigeria gets prank-called. First by someone pretending to be the Fresh Prince of Bel Air who is now saved and then by a Star Wars fan (“My inspiration in life is a man I met in Nigeria, called Ben Kenobi “). He even tries to set the Star Wars guy straight. Brilliant.
Six Degrees of Charles Taylor
January 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The former Liberian warlord, who is being tried for war crimes, is in mainstream American news again this week:
Kentridge on postapartheid South Africa
January 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
From a profile of the artist, who was born and lives in Johannesbug, in The New Yorker:
