A break from the routine of the work week, a weekend music break for you all to enjoy this May Day!

 

1) Rest in peace Papa Wemba 2) Netherlands-based Cape Verdean singer Gery Mendes asks if our world is really ready for positive change, is it? 3) I’m in the UK right now, so I had to share Stormzy’s latest. 4) London Global Hip Hop outfit Subculture Sage’s video for “Gold” stars two Zimbabwean gold miners. 5) There’s an H&M in Brixton now — M.I.A. invites AIAC profile subject Dope Saint Jude along for her collaboration with the brand. 6) Sean Jacobs spotted this, trap rap video from Northern Nigeria. 7) I’ve noted Kahli Abdu as one to watch for awhile, and he did not disappoint with this banger! 8) The Mavin Records crew out of Nigeria dropped a new one this week. 9) I don’t know much about them, but Chloe and Halle are interesting. 10) And finally, a new Azaelia Banks video just for the hell of it.

Happy weekend!

Further Reading

Writing while black

The film adaptation of Percival Everett’s novel ‘Erasure’ leaves little room to explore Black middle-class complicity in commodifying the traumas of Black working-class lives.

The Mogadishu analogy

In Gaza and Haiti, the specter of another Mogadishu is being raised to alert on-lookers and policymakers of unfolding tragedies. But we have to be careful when making comparisons.

Kwame Nkrumah today

New documents looking at British and American involvement in overthrowing Kwame Nkrumah give us pause to reflect on his legacy, and its resonances today.