Africa Is a Country

Father figure

Father figure

By
Sean Jacobs

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNn2bqNSS6k&w=600&h=369]

Filmmaker Kurt Orderson sent me “The Unseen Ones,” his new 19-minute musical documentary about the very talented Cape Town rasta rapper Nico10long working on his new self-titled EP (produced by Martin Muller). The dialogue is mostly in Afrikaans with subtitles. Rastafari’s appeal, gangsterism, HIV-AIDS, and identity politics, all get a turn. Fellow MC’s Benji Tafari and Silver Tongue make guest appearances.  The film concludes with Nico10long’s new video for the single “Vaderfiguur” (translated: “Father Figure”).

Further Reading

Kwame Nkrumah today

New documents looking at British and American involvement in overthrowing Kwame Nkrumah give us pause to reflect on his legacy, and its resonances today.

Goodbye, Piassa

The demolition of an historic district in Addis Ababa shows a central contradiction of modernization: the desire to improve the country while devaluing its people and culture.