Weekend Music Break No.75

Wanlov the Kubolor

Here’s your weekend selection for May 23rd, 2015. To kick things off, just stop what you’re doing, watch and listen to this by Wanlov…

A message from Sierra Leone to South Africa (to the World) — relevant to many of the posts going up on this site as of late — Kao Denero asks, “Why?”…

A song is so good, it kind of hurts… Nneka channels the spirit of Bob Marley in “Book of Job”…

Also in the “conscious” vein, a sax-backed message from Togo’s Elom 20ce…

Continuing the rap section of today’s selection, Pappy Kojo teams up with Sarkodie on “Ay3 Late”…

South African rap duo Gods on Drugs sent us this video for their track “Garage Dragon”…

Switching gears a bit, Djeff turns in a high-energy video for his mind-blowing “Ser Kazukuta” track!

Wunmi shows us how to keep a “Fit Body”…

Going through the Africa is a Country email archives we ran into this from Boston based Kina Zoré…

And finally, an interesting artifact from the Okayplayer family, Questlove goes to Cuba…

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.