Since we’re back to our Independence Day meme, yesterday was Guinea-Conakry’s day. (Yes, Sean’s fault again.)

Looking south from where I live, it’s tempting to think of, say, DJ Oudy as being the big star. But that’s because Paris lies somewhere in between here and Guinea. And the Guinean diaspora does a good job at clouding the French perception. Europe offers them all the right studios, the marketeers and the bling. And the resulting videos are quite something. (You must have seen ‘Tchoumakay’ by now). In Guinea though, they’re listening to Tiranké Sidimé:

Les Jumeaux:

And Momo:

I’m going for the Guinean sounds. Here’s to a fair election later this year.

Further Reading

Davido’s jacket

Davido’s appearance at ‘Amapiano’s biggest concert’ turned a night of celebration into a study in Afrophobia, fandom, and the fragile borders of South African cultural nationalism.

Empty riddles

Drawing on his forced migration from Rwanda, Serge Alain Nitegeka reflects on the forms, fragments, and unsettled histories behind his latest exhibition in Johannesburg.