Africa Is a Country

Mixtapes and Megaupload

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

Mixtapes and Megaupload

By
Dylan Valley

I was going to post the link to Das Racist’s latest offering too, the funny, irreverent and poignant ‘Nehru Jackets’ by Heems AKA Himanshi Suri, unofficial leader of  the NYC rap group, but the FBI has just shut down the file sharing site Megaupload (which Heems used to post his free mixtape). Apparently Megaupload has been accused of pursuing a business model based on copyright infringement. This comes after a week of high profile protests against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). Interesting times indeed. But we have two awesome mixtapes ready for download for the weekend.

First up is a collaboration between South African MC Tumi (from one of my favourite bands ever, Tumi and the Volume) and Zubz. The mixtape, entitled “Where were you,” is a nostalgic tribute to Kwaito, the genre that captured the jubilation of South Africa’s transition to democracy in the 90’s. Basically, Tumi and Zubz took some of the biggest kwaito hits and laid some verses over them. For those not familiar with the genre, it’s a great recap of what you missed. Download the mixtape here.

Second up is DJ Obah’s brilliant, high energy “Hey Mama” mixtape, part of the Africa in Your Earbuds mixtape series by Okay Africa. It’s mostly a collection of American tracks or artists that have been inspired by the continent, including some African classics. The highlight for me has to be Mulatu Astatke’s Yegelle Tezeta mixed with the hip hop track that went on to sample it, ‘As We Enter’ by Nas and Damian Marley. Download link here.

 

Further Reading

After Paul Biya

Cameroon’s president has ruled for over four decades by silence and survival. Now, with dynastic succession looming and no clear exit strategy, the country teeters between inertia and implosion.

Leapfrogging literacy?

In outsourcing the act of writing to machines trained on Western language and thought, we risk reinforcing the very hierarchies that decolonization sought to undo.

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.