AfricaIs aCountry

Paris is a Continent, N°5

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

Paris is a Continent, N°5

By
Hinda Talhaoui

Not sure what it says about France that Dominique Strauss-Kahn (he is portrayed as a victim of a conspiracy) and David Beckham (a 36-year-old player is entrusted with bringing back gloss to French football) dominate the headlines there this week.

Meanwhile, a mix of French hip hop and smooth R&B continue to dominate my instalments of music from there.  This week is a short offering since I am going on vacation today.

First up,  Tunisian rapper Sniper featuring Sexion d’Assault with “Blood Diamondz.” You may remember that Sexion d’Assault was, until recently, known more for their homophobic outbursts than their music. They claimed to have left hate behind.

I promise to do an all-women post at some point.

For now, here are two: first, Marseille-born singer Kenza Farah featured on the song “Tous de la Fête” by Dibi Dobo (his family comes from Benin). Kenza Farah’s family is Kabyle from Algeria. This, btw, is the only actual music video I am featuring this week.

And second, Evanz, a singer discovered by La Fouine, with “Ton Silence.” (The song features rapper Soprano.)

http://youtu.be/2KyW-Kf_ONQ

Further Reading

Progress is exhausting

Pedro Pinho’s latest film follows a Portuguese engineer in Guinea-Bissau, exposing how empire survives through bureaucracy, intimacy, and the language of “development.”

The rubble of empire

Built by Italian Fascists in 1928, Mogadishu Cathedral was meant to symbolize “peaceful conquest.” Today its ruins force Somalis to confront the uneasy afterlife of colonial power and religious authority.

Atayese

Honored in Yorubaland as “one who repairs the world,” Jesse Jackson’s life bridged civil rights, pan-Africanism, empire, and contradiction—leaving behind a legacy as expansive as it was imperfect.

Bread or Messi?

Angola’s golden jubilee culminated in a multimillion-dollar match against Argentina. The price tag—and the secrecy around it—divided a nation already grappling with inequality.

Visiting Ngara

A redevelopment project in Nairobi’s Ngara district promises revival—but raises deeper questions about capital, memory, and who has the right to shape the city.

Gen Z’s electoral dilemma

Long dismissed as apathetic, Kenya’s youth forced a rupture in 2024. As the 2027 election approaches, their challenge is turning digital rebellion and street protest into political power.

A world reimagined in Black

By placing Kwame Nkrumah at the center of a global Black political network, Howard W. French reveals how the promise of pan-African emancipation was narrowed—and what its failure still costs Africa and the diaspora.

Securing Nigeria

Nigeria’s insecurity cannot be solved by foreign airstrikes or a failing state, but by rebuilding democratic, community-rooted systems of collective self-defense.