There’s still time left to recognize Chad’s Independence Day today, and keeping with our regular feature, we’re posting popular music from the country.

First up is a short clip of Mounira Mitchala, handling a live show in Paris:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gM-LNwHo2w&w=600&h=373]


Being part of the French sphere of influence, Chadians are listening to and making music popular in other Francophone African countries such as Ndombolo, Coupe Decale, Zouk, and Rap.

Jorio Stars, a Cameroonian and Chadian collaboration(?):

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p1XE_8GoMQ&w=600&h=373]

A nice dance song and video by Pyramydes:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaZ8r2cXy5U&w=600&h=373]

And a Rap song with a beat that sounds (a little bit) like it’s sampling Triggerman!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbRYBdAv3HU&w=600&h=373]
___

Rap is no surprise really, partly because of the worldwide trend, but also because the most famous rapper of Chadian origin is non other than the one MC Solaar:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-zygf1U1ms&w=600&h=373]

Today, it seems that there are nuff home studio recordings by Chadian teenagers, if youtube has anything to say about it.

The francophone alignment has historical precedence, folks like Maître Gazonga were making Soukous hits in the 1980’s:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvvD9RSp6c8&w=600&h=373]

There’s also the Arabic language sphere of influence which produced this Auto-tuned wonder set to a propaganda video:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7vdp-mH9XU&w=600&h=373]

It’s a symptom of the digital age that when finding new music information may be distorted, as Sahel Sounds put so eloquently.

This is might or might not be Farge Elhaloani, and he might or might not be a Sudanese singer performing in Chad:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGpEfR3etVU&w=600&h=373]

And finally to smooth out your evening…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEL9Dia0zrg&w=600&h=373]

Further Reading

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.

From Nkrumah to neoliberalism

On the podcast, we explore: How did Ghana go from Nkrumah’s radical vision to neoliberal entrenchment? Gyekye Tanoh unpacks the forces behind its political stability, deepening inequality, and the fractures shaping its future.

The Visa farce

The South African government’s rush to clear visa applications has led to mass rejections, bureaucratic chaos, and an overloaded appeals system—leaving thousands in limbo.