Earlier this year, Djiboutians marched the streets of their capital (where more than half of all Djiboutian citizens live), rallying against their sitting president who changed the constitution in 2010 allowing him to run for another term. It didn’t pan out as planned, with the president (who replaced his uncle as leader of the ruling party in 1999) securing a third term in April. “I regret having no opponent,” he said. “I accuse the opposition of not having the courage to give voters the right to choose between several candidates.” But that doesn’t change the fact today is still Djibouti’s Independence Day.

Awelah Adan is the country’s latest star, singing in Somali. This video dates from a while back, but it is a classic:

Abayzid Ali, on the other hand, sings in Afar. His lyrics have a more poetic touch:

Writer Abdourahman Waberi put us on to this song by Mohammed Ali aka ‘Fourchette’ about whom he says: “It may sound weird, but it is more than that. Inspiring, poetic. He’s singing in Somali. Popular among the youth as well. His son has remixed some of his old songs”:

And finally, this song. Not quite from Djibouti, but the video was recorded there. Why? We have no idea. Neither are we sure they’re showing this on Djibouti TV. Lumidee ft. Chase Manhattan:

You’ll find more on the DjibTube video channels.

Further Reading

Repoliticizing a generation

Thirty-eight years after Thomas Sankara’s assassination, the struggle for justice and self-determination endures—from stalled archives and unfulfilled verdicts to new calls for pan-African renewal and a 21st-century anti-imperialist front.

Drip is temporary

The apparel brand Drip was meant to prove that South Africa’s townships could inspire global style. Instead, it revealed how easily black success stories are consumed and undone by the contradictions of neoliberal aspiration.

Energy for whom?

Behind the fanfare of the Africa Climate Summit, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline shows how neocolonial extraction still drives Africa’s energy future.

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.