Pure Bacardi house fun

Hipsters Don't Dance Top World Carnival Tunes for November 2014.

Spoek Mathambo in July 2012. (Dave Lichterman, Via Flickr CC).

Back, but a little delayed due to our site maintenance and redesign are Hipster’s Don’t Dance with our November 2014 chart of hot World Carnival tunes. Check it below, and be sure to visit the HDD blog regularly for all their great up-to-the-timeness out of London.

DJ Spoko x War God

We don’t know whether it was the excellent Spoek Mathambo doc Future sounds of Mzansi that drew us back to the DJ Spoko LP but the whole thing, which came out in October is excellent. 85 mins of pure Bacardi house fun.

Dr Sid x Lady Don Dada

Not sure if this will get a single release but this cut off his excellent LP this year has been on repeat. After the Mavins successful 2014, we are excited to see what else is in store for this super group.

MI x Wheel Barrow (Feat Emmy Ace & Beenie Man)

MI’s new LP came out this month and we instantly gravitated towards this one. Not only does it feature the immortal Beenie Man but also features some dembow drums which we love.

Edem x Koene (Feat. Ice Queen & Lil Shaker)

This came out earlier in the year but we love it still. Magnum’s beat is great unrelenting but fun and Zambia’s Ice Queen delivers on of our fave verses of the year.

Hagan x M.O.T.Y Edit

Discovered on the rather excellent AIAC Radio show, this edit of the Schoolboy Q hit transforms the West Coat hit into some sparser and a whole lot more fun.

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.