Africa Is a Country

Weekend Music Break No.73

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

Weekend Music Break No.73

By
Boima Tucker

Here’s our selection of tunes for the weekend of May 9th, 2015

It’s mother’s day weekend in much (but not all) of the world… so let’s start out with Vusi Mahlasela’s “Thula Mama”.

Burna Boy turns in a really cool video for “Soke”.

Brooklyn artist Teleseen shoots a video on the coast of Brazil, documenting the lives of fishermen on Ilhabela for “Outlines”.

Sahel Sounds has a new Balani show album out. Here is “Danbe” from Supreme Talent Show, read up on them on the Sahel Sounds blog.

Danbe by Supreme Talent Show

Stones Throw artist Knxwledge goes “In the Dungeon” for a live performance of some of his beats.

This week Meklit Hadero realeased a clip for “Kemekem” dedicated to your beautiful afro.

Ismael & the Radiant Select is playing around New York these days. Here is their song “Sa Diatale”.

I can’t wait for the clip for Young Fathers’ crazy good neo-rap tune ‘Old Rock N Roll’, so here’s the song in a youtube stream… This one might get a double posting on the Weekend Music Break if the video ever comes out.

“Canto da lavadeira, Prelúdio das águas” from As Ganhadeiras de Itapuã sounds like it’s coming from an island in the middle of the Atlantic equidistant between Cabo Verde and Brazil.

As Ganhadeiras de Itapuã by As Ganhadeiras de Itapuã

Not a new track, but a big one that we haven’t put up yet. Here’s Kiss Daniel’s Woju Remix feat. Tiwa Savage and Davido

Happy Mother’s day and have a great weekend!

 

Further Reading

Kenya’s vibe shift

From aesthetic cool to political confusion, a new generation in Kenya is navigating broken promises, borrowed styles, and the blurred lines between irony and ideology.

Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

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.