Africa Is a Country

Weekend Music Break No.74

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

Weekend Music Break No.74

By
Boima Tucker

Here is our weekend round up of audio and visuals from around the African Internet…

Kicking things off, Spoek Mathambo spearheaded band Fantasma premiered their video for Cat and Mouse this week, featuring a collection of young South African ballet dancers.

Alabama neo-trap poster boys Rae Sremmurd saw Fantasma’s video, and decided to head to South Africa for their latest as well. Some over here at Africa is a Country think they’ve spotted a Sean Jacobs doppelgänger.

The Alkebulan project is a series of EPs accompanied by a series of short stories from prominent African artists. They released the first video from the project this week.

Cape Town weirdo rappers DOODVENOOTSKAP jump in-to the Internet and dance around a bit in their video for “Protein Shake”.

13 year-old Kudurista Buriana of Cabo Snoop’s Power House crew brings us the video for “Pica malembe”.

Bebeto Bongo takes us to Burkina Faso and teaches us the Zoungou Zoungou dance.

Ghana and Nigerian dancehall link up on Shatta Wale and PatoRanking’s “Romantic”.

In honor of Afropop’s Hip Deep special this week on Afro-Peruvian music and culture, here is Susana Baca’s classic “Maria Lando” (Lando), live in Buenos Aires.

Nigerian singer Asa launched the visuals for Eyo last week. Here it is for you to enjoy today!

When Bono’s not getting run over on American television, he is promoting an end to poverty through his One organization. Here they assemble an All Star cast of African women performers for their “Strong Girl” campaign.

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.