Africa Is a Country

Music Break. Friday Bonus Edition, N°2

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Music Break. Friday Bonus Edition, N°2

By
Tom Devriendt

An eclectic one. Ethiopian and Ivorian pop, Philly neo soul, Swedish and South African rap and Brazilian jazz.

Philadelphia neo soul keeps it topical. One thing we could not figure out: Bilal–half breaking with the dress code of his hosts Kindred–does a guest verse and throws in a line about ‘USA to Africa’: “And your moving out cause the cost of living is sky high and you know we working on it but its no word from USA to Africa.” What does he want?

In Ethiopia, pop is doing fine. Listen to Nigusu Tamrat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hek1SlQrnQ4

Almost as poppy, from the Ivorian diaspora comes this song by Dobet Gnahoré and Manou Gallo which, they hope, ‘will contribute to bring back together and reconcile all Ivorians’:

Swedish rapper Ken Ring and Norwegian producer Tommy Tee went to record the video for ‘Plocka Han’ in Korogocho (Nairobi, Kenya):

From KwaMashu (Durban, South Africa) comes Zakwe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e9HrQUJgvo

And to end the week: Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay as seen through the eyes of French director Vincent Moon, Brazilian pianist Laércio de Freitas and his daughter, singer Thalma:

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.

Biya forever

As Cameroon nears its presidential elections, a disintegrated opposition paves the way for the world’s oldest leader to claim a fresh mandate.

From Cornell to conscience

Hounded out of the United States for his pro-Palestine activism, Momodou Taal insists that the struggle is global, drawing strength from Malcolm X, faith, and solidarity across borders.