It was Core Wreckah who first put us on to Lesotho rapper Kommanda Obbs a while ago. Asked for some background about this video, Kommanda tells us that “Ts’epe was shot in the mountainous villages of Bela Bela and Maputsoe in Lesotho. The aim of the song is to instil confidence in youth so that they embrace their cultures while learning about other cultures. The video introduces the album, the movement and the official Sesotho version of hip-hop. ‘Ts’epe’, which could be translated literally as ‘iron’, is used figuratively in this context as hard-hitting lyricism. The radio dj’s in Lesotho and certain parts of South Africa are really supportive. The video is currently playing on Lesotho TV.” We can see why.

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.

O som da revolta

No seu terceiro álbum, o artista afro-português Scúru Fitchádu funde a sabedoria ancestral com a revolta urbana, transformando memória e militância em uma trilha sonora para a resistência.