Africa Is a Country

Summer in Paris

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

Summer in Paris

By
Hinda Talhaoui

In what may be the last in a while of my posts highlighting the latest in French music culture, here's a list of tunes for the northern summer.

Screenshot of Atheena in her and Kamelac's music video for "Pas Besoin."

What’s good in Paris this summer? The city’s airwaves of course. And it being France’s capital and its largest metropolis, the country’s most talented musicians congregate there. First up, representing the city’s music is Kamelanc’ (born in Oujda, Morocco) and Atheena (representing Senegal) with ‘Pas besoin‘:

Then Orelsan (born in Alençon). ‘La terre est ronde‘:

Kayna Samet’s (born in Nice) comes with her ‘Ghetto Tale Remix‘ feat. Youssoupha (born in Kinshasa, DRC), Médine (representing Algeria) and Leck (Mokobé’s protegé).

Alonzo (government name Kassim Djae, and originally from the Comoros Islands off Africa in the Indian Ocean, but who grew up in Marseille, Paris’s southern rival, brings ‘Avoir une fille‘:

Princess Sarah, from Avignon (with a Lebanese father and French mother) prefers autumn over summer.

Collectif Métissé’s (just above, many nationalities here but based in Bordeaux) brings us the heavily Caribbean influenced summer tune “Z dance” (I wouldn’t mind if we forgot about the song by autumn).

M.A.S (né Malik, representing Morocco) riffs off Lil Wayne and Bruno Mars’ ‘Mirror’ in his ‘Des regrets.’

Kenza Farah’s (born in Béjaïa, Algeria) presents “Quelque part.”

Tal (representing Yemen and Israel) featuring Mokobé (representing Mali) on ‘Je prend le large.’

Finally, there’s Matt Houston (born in Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe) collaborating with Nigerian superstar duo P-Square.

Further Reading

Rebuilding Algeria’s oceans

Grassroots activists and marine scientists in Algeria are building artificial reefs to restore biodiversity and sustain fishing communities, but scaling up requires more than passion—it needs institutional support and political will.

Ibaaku’s space race

Through Afro-futurist soundscapes blending tradition and innovation, Ibaaku’s new album, ‘Joola Jazz,’ reshapes Dakar’s cultural rhythm and challenges the legacy of Négritude.

An allegiance to abusers

This weekend, Chris Brown will perform two sold-out concerts in South Africa. His relationship to the country reveals the twisted dynamic between a black American artist with a track record of violence and a country happy to receive him.

Shell’s exit scam

Shell’s so-called divestment from Nigeria’s Niger Delta is a calculated move to evade accountability, leaving behind both environmental and economic devastation.

Africa’s sibling rivalry

Nigeria and South Africa have a fraught relationship marked by xenophobia, economic competition, and cultural exchange. The Nigerian Scam are joined by Khanya Mtshali to discuss the dynamics shaping these tensions on the AIAC podcast.

The price of power

Ghana’s election has brought another handover between the country’s two main parties. Yet behind the scenes lies a flawed system where wealth can buy political office.

Beats of defiance

From the streets of Khartoum to exile abroad, Sudanese hip-hop artists have turned music into a powerful tool for protest, resilience, and the preservation of collective memory.