Friday Bonus Music Break, N°14

By: Tom Devriendt

Quite the mixed bag this week. ‘Disco Malapaa’ by Arusha’s Jambo Squad above; nine more below.

Like Jambo Squad, Mokoomba (from Zimbabwe) switch into Latino mode halfway in their new video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqZdaVNOHj0

Anbuley’s ‘Oleee’ arrives just in time for European summer:

Also based in Europe, although his latest video (like the previous one) suggests a longing for elsewhere, is Gaël Faye:

Simphiwe Dana decided to take a step back from social media a while ago and concentrate on doing what she does best: speak truth through music:

Still in South Africa, taxis and drifters:

South Africa based poppy Cameroonian Denzyl:

From Guinea, the Matoto Family:

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars signed up for a cause:

And — to turn it down a notch — Ablaye Cissoko and Volker Goetze wrote a subdued lament for Haiti — quite beautifully — and recorded a video for it in Gorée:

All the colors of jam

Naledi Yaziyo

I had told many half-truths before, but those little lies were cute compared to this, the first time I told a big lie.

Music Break

Apr 18

The importance of reading ‘Khwezi: The Remarkable Story of Fezeka Ntsukela Kuzwayo’

Sisonke Msimang

The Jacob Zuma years were especially damaging for re-introducing South Africans to political leaders who did not fear shame.

Music Break

Apr 17

Discourse on colonialism

Philip Janzen

Today marks ten years since Aimé Césaire’s death. What would he have thought about the state of the former French colonies today?

Music Break

Apr 16

No more caricatures

Sean Jacobs

Engaging seriously with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s life could help us understand how South Africa got where it is and where it’s going.

Music Break

Apr 15

Sounds of wisdom

Thembi Mutch

The Sauti za Busara festival in Zanzibar aims to show that music is much more than a collection of tunes.

Music Break

Apr 13

Winnie Mandela and the people’s doctor

Jon Soske

The murder of Abu Asvat has clouded Winnie Mandela’s legacy. Their deep friendship symbolized what could have been in the struggle for freedom.

Music Break

Apr 12

The double consciousness of Paul Gilroy

Sindre Bangstad

Striving to be both European and black requires some specific forms of double consciousness — Paul Gilroy in The Black Atlantic.

Music Break

Apr 11

Unthinking refugee studies

Keren Weitzberg

What use are academic categories when they reinforce conservative concepts scholars seek to challenge?

Music Break

Apr 10

You strike a woman, you strike a rock

Michael J Braun

Does Julius Malema’s EFF in South Africa do better by its local party machinery–especially its women officials–than the ANC

Music Break

Apr 09

What is Uber up to in Africa?

Camilla Houeland

Uber’s usual tricks — to provoke price wars in an attempt to increase their share of markets, evade taxes, and undermine workers’ rights — are alive and well in Africa.

Music Break

Apr 06

Set the world on fire

Keisha Blain

How black women shaped black nationalist and internationalist movements in the twentieth century US.

Music Break

Apr 05

Action on land reform lags behind debate in South Africa

Ben Cousins

Land reform dominates public debate in South Africa. But it comes with a lack of data and a clear policy.

Music Break

Apr 05

Refugees and peace in the Central African Republic

It is key that peacemaking in the CAR prioritize inclusion of minorities, especially Muslim and Peuhl Central Africans.

Music Break

Apr 05

The boundaries of how we think of the Global African Diaspora

Dr. Marta Moreno Vega

New York’s Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute seeks to “document and present the creative genius of African Diaspora cultures.”

Music Break

Apr 04

Entrepreneurs in Africa need a strong state to thrive

George Kibala Bauer

Despite what Aliko Dangote believes about the magical power of entrepreneurship, business acumen isn't enough when trying to build a robust national economy.

Music Break

Apr 04

The tale of two presidents

Samson Kaunga Ndanyi

When rain falls on a leopard, it does not wash off his spots. The same can’t be said of Kenya’s media and the opposition after Uhuru Kenyatta’s crackdown.

Music Break

Apr 03

Wokeness and the professional outrage machine

Hussein Badat

Social media group-think derails any chance for a progressive political movement.

Music Break

Apr 03

No platform for Apartheid

Michael Bueckert

30 years ago, free speech advocates were more willing to tolerate far-right voices than oppose them. It’s now happening again.

Music Break

Apr 02

Pythons and lily pads

Joeva Rock

Is the US military on its way to Ghana to set up base? What do Ghanaians think.

Music Break

Apr 01

African in Berlin

Musa Okwonga

Living in the city that hosted the 1884 conference where Western powers divided up Africa for themselves

Africa is a Country