Africa Is a Country

Friday Bonus #MusicBreak

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

Friday Bonus #MusicBreak

By
Sean Jacobs

Yes, I’ve been listening to pop music a lot. You get work done and don’t have to think too much. First up above is Nairobi’s Camp Mulla and their generic rap pop.

Then Nigeria’s Iyanya presents “Ur Waist.” Yes, he could not have been more obvious:

More Nigerian pop: “Fine Lady” by Lynxxx (featuring Wizkid) with its brief Fela sample.

Might as well get continental here. Congolese pop from Shakalewe:

… and Zambian pop from B1 and Debra:

Congolese-French rapper Youssoupha pays homage to his father  — 1970s Congolese rumba star Tabu Ley Rochereau (Google him if you don’t know):

Cane Babu and Young Starz Basagalamanya Squad from the Ugandan capital, Kampala, where the desperate ruling party puts forward 19 year olds for election to Parliament:

Second generation Cape Verdean migrants to The Netherlands shout out Nelson Mandela and the modern state’s founding father Amilcar Cabral:

The Ghanaian-German singer Y’akoto, all neo-soul, with “Good better best”:

And Brooklyn-based Kilo Kish shot this video around Manhattan:

* Bonus: I’ve blogged about this South Sudanese immigrant rapper (more marketing genius) based in Australia before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8VoiVi-yJA

Further Reading

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.

From Nkrumah to neoliberalism

On the podcast, we explore: How did Ghana go from Nkrumah’s radical vision to neoliberal entrenchment? Gyekye Tanoh unpacks the forces behind its political stability, deepening inequality, and the fractures shaping its future.

The Visa farce

The South African government’s rush to clear visa applications has led to mass rejections, bureaucratic chaos, and an overloaded appeals system—leaving thousands in limbo.