Yes, I’ve been listening to pop music a lot. You get work done and don’t have to think too much. First up above is Nairobi’s Camp Mulla and their generic rap pop.

Then Nigeria’s Iyanya presents “Ur Waist.” Yes, he could not have been more obvious:

More Nigerian pop: “Fine Lady” by Lynxxx (featuring Wizkid) with its brief Fela sample.

Might as well get continental here. Congolese pop from Shakalewe:

… and Zambian pop from B1 and Debra:

Congolese-French rapper Youssoupha pays homage to his father  — 1970s Congolese rumba star Tabu Ley Rochereau (Google him if you don’t know):

Cane Babu and Young Starz Basagalamanya Squad from the Ugandan capital, Kampala, where the desperate ruling party puts forward 19 year olds for election to Parliament:

Second generation Cape Verdean migrants to The Netherlands shout out Nelson Mandela and the modern state’s founding father Amilcar Cabral:

The Ghanaian-German singer Y’akoto, all neo-soul, with “Good better best”:

And Brooklyn-based Kilo Kish shot this video around Manhattan:

* Bonus: I’ve blogged about this South Sudanese immigrant rapper (more marketing genius) based in Australia before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8VoiVi-yJA

Further Reading

The sound of revolt

On his third album, Afro-Portuguese artist Scúru Fitchádu fuses ancestral wisdom with urban revolt, turning memory and militancy into a soundtrack for resistance.

O som da revolta

No seu terceiro álbum, o artista afro-português Scúru Fitchádu funde a sabedoria ancestral com a revolta urbana, transformando memória e militância em uma trilha sonora para a resistência.

Biya forever

As Cameroon nears its presidential elections, a disintegrated opposition paves the way for the world’s oldest leader to claim a fresh mandate.

From Cornell to conscience

Hounded out of the United States for his pro-Palestine activism, Momodou Taal insists that the struggle is global, drawing strength from Malcolm X, faith, and solidarity across borders.

After the uprising

Following two years of mass protest, Kenya stands at a crossroads. A new generation of organizers is confronting an old question: how do you turn revolt into lasting change? Sungu Oyoo joins the AIAC podcast to discuss the vision of Kenya’s radical left.

Redrawing liberation

From Gaza to Africa, colonial cartography has turned land into property and people into populations to be managed. True liberation means dismantling this order, not redrawing its lines.

Who deserves the city?

Colonial urbanism cast African neighborhoods as chaotic, unplanned, and undesirable. In postcolonial Dar es Salaam, that legacy still shapes who builds, who belongs, and what the middle class fears the city becoming.

Djinns in Berlin

At the 13th Berlin Biennale, works from Zambia and beyond summon unseen forces to ask whether solidarity can withstand the gaze of surveillance.

Colonize then, deport now

Trump’s deportation regime revives a colonial blueprint first drafted by the American Colonization Society, when Black lives were exiled to Africa to safeguard a white republic.