'The Legend of Polokwane'
No not the guy on the left.
The music of DJ MO-LAUDI.
Further Reading
Mati Diop’s reparative cinema
In ‘Dahomey,’ Mati Diop reimagines restitution, using surrealist cinema to revive looted African artifacts and amplify youth-led calls for decolonization.
Jacob Zuma’s enduring relevance
The former president’s abiding presence in South African politics reveals the undercurrent of cultural populism and what can happen when local beliefs cut against the grain of liberal democracy.
The trials and tribulations of Rokia Traoré
Detained for over six months, Malian singer Rokia Traoré has been locked in a legal battle with her ex-spouse over custody of their daughter since 2019. Between allegations of abuse and arrest warrants, the case appears to be nearing its conclusion.
Procès et tribulations de Rokia Traoré
Détenue en Italie puis en Belgique pendant prèsde sept mois, la chanteuse malienne est engagée depuis 2019 dans une bataille judiciaire avec son ex-conjoint belge pour la garde de leur fille. Entre accusations d’abus et mandats d’arrêt, le feuilleton semble approcher de sa conclusion.
You are not the sun: FESPACO 85′
Forty years ago, African filmmakers and revolutionaries united to reclaim cinema as a weapon for liberation and cultural sovereignty across the continent.
When Brazil’s African Muslims scared the world
Taking place 190 years ago, the Malê Revolt in Bahia, led by African Muslim slaves, shook Brazil’s foundations and echoed global fears of a new Haiti.
Rememorando os 190 anos da Revolta dos Malês no Brasil
Há 190 anos, a Revolta dos Malês na Bahia, liderada por escravizados africanos muçulmanos, abalou as bases do Brasil e ecoou temores globais de um possível novo Haiti.
Requiem for a revolution
A sweeping, jazz-scored exploration of Cold War intrigue and African liberation, Johan Gimonprez’s ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ lays bare the cultural and political battlegrounds where empires, artists, and freedom fighters clashed.
Making a killing for investors
President Tinubu’s reforms have plunged Nigerians into economic despair, with soaring costs and violent repression, exposing the brutal toll of neoliberal policies.
Bring back Ngonnso
One Cameroonian woman’s quest to reclaim stolen artifacts reveals the enduring wounds of colonialism and the fight to restore Africa’s heritage.
On Safari
On our year-end publishing break, we reflect on how 2024’s contradictions reveal a fractured world grappling with inequality, digital activism, and the blurred lines between action and spectacle.
Feeding fear and prejudice
In South Africa, a spate of food poisoning incidents has ignited another round of xenophobic scaremongering.
Rebuilding Algeria’s oceans
Grassroots activists and marine scientists in Algeria are building artificial reefs to restore biodiversity and sustain fishing communities, but scaling up requires more than passion—it needs institutional support and political will.
Citizens for hire
Kenya’s labor export model treats citizens as commodities, exploiting workers for remittances while neglecting domestic job creation.
Metal that will bend
Once a beacon of hope for militant trade unionism, Numsa’s descent into corruption and political entanglement reflects the broader struggles facing South Africa’s labor movement.
How Rashid Vally showed us the way
Rashid Vally, the visionary behind South Africa’s iconic jazz label As-Shams, forged a legacy of revolutionary jazz that defied apartheid and continues to inspire new generations of musicians, activists, and music lovers.
Ibaaku’s space race
Through Afro-futurist soundscapes blending tradition and innovation, Ibaaku’s new album, ‘Joola Jazz,’ reshapes Dakar’s cultural rhythm and challenges the legacy of Négritude.
An allegiance to abusers
This weekend, Chris Brown will perform two sold-out concerts in South Africa. His relationship to the country reveals the twisted dynamic between a black American artist with a track record of violence and a country happy to receive him.
The beautiful game’s ugly secret
The #MeToo movement exposed abuses across industries, yet men’s football remains resistant to accountability, protecting predators and sidelining survivors.
Shell’s exit scam
Shell’s so-called divestment from Nigeria’s Niger Delta is a calculated move to evade accountability, leaving behind both environmental and economic devastation.