Africa Is a Country

Pushing African music into the future

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

Pushing African music into the future

By
Boima Tucker

The Austria-based Ghanian singer, Anbuley, shows a willingness to jump on unconventional beats.

A still from "Kemo' Yoo Keke," by Anbuley.

Anbuley is one of those names that I always check for when seeking out new music. This Austria-based Ghanian singer’s willingness to jump on unconventional beats has her appearing on such underground club hits like Zakee’s “Sane Eba,” and Bert on Beats’ Suomo.

This kind of experimenting in the diaspora, while still rooting one’s self back home (especially by singing in Ga, a Ghanaian language) is at its best when it allows or encourages our brothers and sisters to take risks with their music tastes and production choices. In the face of sometimes stagnating local music scenes, I can’t help but think it’s the kind of thing that will continue to push African music into the future. I assumed as much when a friend of mine threw Sane Eba on in an Accra Taxi, and the driver started murmuring along.

Further Reading

Kenya’s vibe shift

From aesthetic cool to political confusion, a new generation in Kenya is navigating broken promises, borrowed styles, and the blurred lines between irony and ideology.

Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.