Kinshasa-born rapper Youssoupha moved to France at the age of 10. Ever since releasing his first tapes he’s been strident in his critique of the French media’s lazy depicting of the festering banlieues. In 2009, columnist Éric Zemmour filed a complaint against Youssoupha after being name-dropped in one of his songs. Back then, Youssoupha reacted […]
Weekend Music Break
February 22, 2013 By 7 Comments
Let’s start with two club tracks. It’s Friday after all. Above is a collaboration between Boddhi Satva (from the Central African Republic) and Oumou Sangaré (from Mali) who together recorded this video in Bamako. You could dance to it. And a re-edit of the video for London trio LV’s (with help from South African Okmalumkoolkat) […]
10 Albums You Might Have Missed This Year
December 27, 2012 By 1 Comment
This list of 10 albums by African artists probably says more about my own musical preferences than it does about all those other “Best Albums of 2012″ year-end lists floating around on the web which didn’t include them (looking at you, Pitchfork, Stereogum, The FADER and SPIN). Not unlike last year, I’m surprised these albums […]
Friday Bonus #MusicBreak
September 21, 2012 By 1 Comment
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. Nigeria’s Iyanya presents “Ur Waist.” Yes, he could not have been more obvious:
Summer List: Paris is a Continent
July 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
What’s good in Paris this summer? Its airwaves of course. Featuring Kamelanc’ (born in Oujda, Morocco) and Atheena (representing Senegal) for example, with ‘Pas besoin’:
Friday Bonus Music Break
July 6, 2012 By 1 Comment
Fofo-born Shokanti released a video this week in celebration of Cape Verdean Independence (slipping in those famous words by Amílcar Cabral at the very end). Above. You’ve noticed our blogging went into holiday mode but there’s always time for music. So 9 more below. Brazilian Kamau’s 21/12 finally gets a video; not surprisingly it’s another […]
Paris is a Continent N°11
April 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Sage poet Zoxea & Busta Flex battle it out in ‘C’est nous les reustas’: Youssoupha (a name you must be familiar with by now), Indila and Skalpovich Dreamin’:
Friday Music Bonus Edition
January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Let’s do a Friday Diaspora edition. There are some half-baked attempts at linking the videos in here. But don’t take them too seriously. French-Congolese Youssoupha on living in France in ‘Irréversible’ (he couldn’t not refer to the charges laid against him):
The Year of Frantz Fanon
December 21, 2011 By 3 Comments
Four moments which rocked France this year were the cases against rapper Youssoupha and IMF Head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the unveiling of the Paris exhibiton Human Zoos: The Invention of the Savage, curated by former French footballer Lilian Thuram, and the 50th anniversary of Frantz Fanon’s death.
Paris is a Continent, N°4
November 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
