Africa Is a Country

Weekend Music Break 44

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

Weekend Music Break 44

By
Tom Devriendt

Here’s your weekly round-up of new videos and tunes to get the weekend started. First up, Gaël Faye giving us another video off his “Pili Pili sur un Croissant au Beurre” record, and reminding us of everything that’s good in Bujumbura. Pick your dish:

‘Burning’ is the lead single off Silver Bullet’s “Afrikans in Denmark” EP, featuring Afrikan Boy:

From earlier this year: Ghanaians Gemini and EL (and Wanlov):

Art Melody and the band he toured with in France recorded this “live” footage:

‘Kioo’ is a new X Plastaz song and video by Tanzanian rapper Ziggy, shot in Stockholm (Sweden):

Zimbabwean rapper Synik–remember Amkelwa’s interview–released a video for an older track of his:

‘The Sun’ is the dreamy lead single off Malawian (London-residing) artist Dziko’s “Afro Electricity” EP:

Dirtmusic (that’s Hugo Race and Chris Eckman) wrote a song for peace together with Malian singer Aminata Wassidje Traore:

South African Simphiwe Dana held off from releasing the ‘Mayine’ video for an older song, blaming “perfectionist me”— we don’t see why she should have:

And to end, a song by Ghanaian Jojo Abot (who lists Simphiwe as her inspiration):

Further Reading

On Safari

On our year-end publishing break, we reflect on how 2024’s contradictions reveal a fractured world grappling with inequality, digital activism, and the blurred lines between action and spectacle.

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.