Africa Is a Country

Friday Bonus Music Break, N°5

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

Friday Bonus Music Break, N°5

By
Sean Jacobs

One of my favorite MCs / hip hop producers, Damu the Fudgemunk. I always check for his new work. (Reminds me of Madlib.) The video, below, is from 2009’s Madvillian. And this link is to his latest work.

So the main rapper on this Tanzanian track is a teacher and the featured artist is his student. The kid, Dogo Janja, is considered a star for the future. The song talks about the lack of pay and respect for teachers–no prizes for guessing the name of the great teacher whose pic flashes at the conclusion of the video.

Nigerian wedding music from Nigerian-American Eldee: Golden Arrow buses, Table Mountain, colonial statues in the company gardens. Is Cape Town the honeymoon spot for cool newlyweds or for shooting music videos on budget? Hey Europeans and Americans do it already.

http://youtu.be/VS4aFoeQG6A

A video preview of Chief Boima collaborator DJ Lamin Fofana’s latest:

http://youtu.be/mY6HNGWHzKE

Finally, some Yoruba soft jazz by Dipo (no not Diplo obviously) with “Be Your Man.” There’s also the freestyle version with Ghanaian vocalist Enya.

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.