We recently posted a bit on Forbes Magazine’s list of the 40 richest Africans. In a similar vain, Al Jazeera has chosen to glorify Africa’s privileged few and feed into Western media outlets’ current obsession with the “Africa Rising” narrative by releasing their four-part series, “Tutu’s Children.” With the first two episodes up on the […]
2012 is rapidly coming to a close, which means it’s time to assemble some of our favorite music videos from the past year. Indeed it’s no easy task to construct a video in which the moving picture finds a harmonious companion in the sonic beat. Just as daunting can be choosing, among the hundreds of […]
I recently visited the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art (better known by its acronym MoCADA) in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn to view its current exhibition: NEWSFEED: Anonymity & Social Media in African Revolutions and Beyond. Running through January 20, the exhibition is part of a larger curatorial series with satellite exhibitions at the nearby 2AC […]
Video game plots, especially those involving war, are infamous for their conservative politics. Case in point: the popular “Call of Duty” franchise, which plays out like a rightwing version of US military history. But even we are surprised to see the late Angolan “rebel” leader Jonas Savimbi pop up in “Call of Duty: Black Ops […]
A little over a week ago we covered the release of Radi-Aid: Africa for Norway, the online faux development campaign calling on Africans to donate radiators to Norway. Since Radi-Aid’s music video debuted on November 16, its popularity has far exceeded the expectations of its creators, the Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund (SAIH). […]
Who ever said Norwegians don’t have a sense of humor? Just in time for the holidays, a Norwegian group calling itself Radi-Aid has launched an appeal to ship radiators from Africa to Norway. Their cause is the plight of freezing children during Norway’s harsh winter months. It’s complete with a new music video, and incorporates […]
Eighty percent of Angolans today have only ever called one man President. Sure, some have had other allegiances; there was a serious armed opposition and there were 27 years of civil war, but José Eduardo dos Santos has remained the head of state for 33 years. His party hasn’t lost power since the anti-colonial war […]
Love is a theme used so regularly in many Nigerian pop songs. Many of them sound alike in the ears, and I’ve learnt not to expect too much. Yet, listening to and watching Tiwa Savage’s latest music video “Ife Wa Gbona” (translates: “Our love is hot”) has kept me murmuring: indeed love is a good […]
The opening scene: Soul Brother No. 1 dressed in a skin tight matador-cum-gimp suit, drop-kicking the mic, screeching, roaring, galvanising a Congolese crowd into pure hysteria, while chanting ‘I’m black and I’m proud’, so camp as to be almost melting. This is Zaire ’74, the little known concert to accompany the mega-fight Rumble in The […]
Outsized American rapper (and music executive) Rick Ross shot the latest version of his “Hold me Back” song mostly in Obalende, a poor section of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. The video — which resembles the travel diaries shot by rappers on tour — is a strange mix of images and ideas over a nonsensical rap. […]
