Africa Is a Country

Vampire teeth

Vampire teeth

By
Hipsters Don't Dance

Annual review: Hipsters Don't Dance's "Top 10 African-Caribbean Collaborations" of 2014

Markus Spiske, via Unsplash.

2014 was a year when our musical worlds began to collide and we saw an increase in African artists working with artists from the Caribbean. This is a really big development as some DJs have seen similarities between the musical styles for some time, now artists are jumping on board and helping the sound to develop and grow. Although we still can’t figure out the government endorsed cultural link between Trinidad and Nigeria (Calabar in particular.) We have seen a sudden explosion of these 2 cultures colliding, with the most successful collaboration being Timaya and Machel Montano’s Shake Yuh Bum Bum. Similar artists teaming up together created something magical and we hope that they do it again. M.I. featured Jamiaca’s Beenie Man on his LP and Samini had Popcaan on a single as well. Busy Signal lead the way merging dancehall and afropop with his versions of P Square’s Personally and Mafikizolo’s Khona. We are glad that these artists are working together, not only does it broaden their appeal but selfishly it provides us with more ammunition for the clubs! Here are our top picks for 2014:

Timaya feat Machel Montano – Shake Yuh Bum Bum (Official Soca Remix)

P-Square feat Sizwe – Alingo (Victorious Remix)

2face Idibia feat Machel Montano – Go

M.I feat Emmy Ace and Beenie Man – Wheelbarrow

Samini feat Popcaan – Violate

Ding Dong – Ginja

Kalado – Personally

Busy Signal – Professionally

Busy Signal – Bou-Yah (Vampire Teeth)

Fuse O.D.G. feat Sean Paul – Dangerous Love

Further Reading

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Ruto’s Kenya

Since June’s anti-finance bill protests, dozens of people remain unaccounted for—a stark reminder of the Kenyan state’s long history of abductions and assassinations.

Between Harlem and home

African postcolonial cinema serves as a mirror, revealing the limits of escape—whether through migration or personal defiance—and exposing the tensions between dreams and reality.

The real Rwanda

The world is slowly opening its eyes to how Paul Kagame’s regime abuses human rights, suppresses dissent, and exploits neighboring countries.

In the shadow of Mondlane

After a historic election and on the eve of celebrating fifty years of independence, Mozambicans need to ask whether the values, symbols, and institutions created to give shape to “national unity” are still legitimate today.

À sombra de Mondlane

Depois de uma eleição histórica e em vésperas de celebrar os 50 anos de independência, os moçambicanos precisam de perguntar se os valores, símbolos e instituições criados para dar forma à “unidade nacional” ainda são legítimos hoje.