It’s been far too long since we had a music break. So without too many words, we’re going to jump right in with what’s been on our radar for the last couple weeks. In a fascinating illustration of cultural appropriation, Ugandan artist Vampino presents himself as a powerful Dracula-figure, surrounded by obedient disciples.

Unstoppable in the Angolan dance music scene, DJ Djeff festively traverses the streets with TLDreamz in “Undi Da Ki Panha”.

Always pushing the visual envelope, director Clarence Peters doesn’t disappoint in “Bigger Better Best”, the new video for Port Harcourt rapper Pucado. Peters takes us for a ride with his camera as Pucado keeps us guessing with his syncopated lyrics.

Fresh off his triple win at the South African Music Awards, Khuli Chana finds a few friends as he cruises through Joburg in the upbeat video for “Mnatebawen”, meaning “it’s nice to be you.” Joined by children, churchwomen and an unexpected mapantsula dancer, Khuli, backed by KayGizm and Fifi Cooper, urges us to “do you”.

Emboldened by a dance crew that’s got his back, Naija rapper May D revisits the colonial era in “So Many Tinz” to rescue his love interest from a cruel captor with true Nollywood flair.

Attempting to fill the twisted niche in West African music left vacant with the untimely passing of Nigerian artist Goldie Harvey, Ghanaian singer Eazzy shows that she’s starting to lose it, in the best way, with her video for “Scream”.

A new Zaki Ibrahim, hot out of the editing suite.

In “Provo E Gosto”, Angolan kuduro crew Os Lambas proves there’s nothing scarier than a partner who smells infidelity. Impressively, the fear is somehow channeled into the most insanely energetic kuduro dance moves yet seen.

Always well-produced with a consistently solid flow, Kahli Abdu tells it like it is with Kid Konnect for the track “No Love”.

Lastly, we head to the beach in Tanzania with former MTV Base VJ Vanessa Mdee. She shows us just how smooth Swahili can sound in “Closer”.

Back next week!

Further Reading

Progress is exhausting

Pedro Pinho’s latest film follows a Portuguese engineer in Guinea-Bissau, exposing how empire survives through bureaucracy, intimacy, and the language of “development.”

The rubble of empire

Built by Italian Fascists in 1928, Mogadishu Cathedral was meant to symbolize “peaceful conquest.” Today its ruins force Somalis to confront the uneasy afterlife of colonial power and religious authority.

Atayese

Honored in Yorubaland as “one who repairs the world,” Jesse Jackson’s life bridged civil rights, pan-Africanism, empire, and contradiction—leaving behind a legacy as expansive as it was imperfect.

Bread or Messi?

Angola’s golden jubilee culminated in a multimillion-dollar match against Argentina. The price tag—and the secrecy around it—divided a nation already grappling with inequality.

Visiting Ngara

A redevelopment project in Nairobi’s Ngara district promises revival—but raises deeper questions about capital, memory, and who has the right to shape the city.

Gen Z’s electoral dilemma

Long dismissed as apathetic, Kenya’s youth forced a rupture in 2024. As the 2027 election approaches, their challenge is turning digital rebellion and street protest into political power.

A world reimagined in Black

By placing Kwame Nkrumah at the center of a global Black political network, Howard W. French reveals how the promise of pan-African emancipation was narrowed—and what its failure still costs Africa and the diaspora.

Securing Nigeria

Nigeria’s insecurity cannot be solved by foreign airstrikes or a failing state, but by rebuilding democratic, community-rooted systems of collective self-defense.