Okay we’re a day late. (It’s Sean’s fault.) Happy Indpendence Day Nigeria. Your music industry is too large and prolific and dominant across the continent and the globe to sum up in a few videos, but here’s an idea:

Neo-Juju

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEkG6EswH2w&w=600&h=369]

Hip Hop

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrxL2XbHnjo&w=600&h=369]

Nneka

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkDgnVJa7SU&w=560&h=315]

Naija!

If this isn’t enough, check out King Ola and DJ E Cool‘s 2011 Nigerian Independence Day Mix!

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.