Africa Is a Country

Weekend Music Break No.78

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

Weekend Music Break No.78

By
Boima Tucker

The‡ procession of El GaGa‡ de San Luis, Dominican Republic

South Carolina and the island that Haitians and Dominicans share is on our minds this weekend, so your music break reflects that.

The Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters kick us off with an African folk tale from the Sea Islands; then Fatoumata Diawara bridges the distance between Charleston and Timbuktu, with a Malian Blues from the movie Timbuktu; we move from there to the Dominican Republic with Enerolisa y sus Salves and their take on the classic palo “Ogun Balenyó“–a song that proudly celebrates Dominican African heritage; Pacheman y Griselito blur the lines between Haiti and the Dominican Republic tapping into the pan-island tradition of rara, or gaga in the DR, with their song “Pa ke suden lo cahetes“; this is what gaga looks and sounds like in Villa Central of Santa Cruz de Barahona, Dominican Republic; G-Dolph is Haiti’s most prolific Raboday producer, the Haitian equivalent to mambogaga; A little Kompas selection from Djakout Mizik that shows how love can cross all boundaries; Amara La Negra is the Dominican Republic’s black pride dembow princess, this time coming with a Brazil influenced Samba-Funk called “Ayy”; Keeping it in Brazil, Bahia’s OQuadro released “Jesus Cristin” before heading over to Europe to play summer festivals; and finally, Coreon Du brings it back to the DR by doing his best Enrique Iglesias interpretation on the pan-Afro Latin pop tune “Que Paso?“.

Further Reading

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.

From Nkrumah to neoliberalism

On the podcast, we explore: How did Ghana go from Nkrumah’s radical vision to neoliberal entrenchment? Gyekye Tanoh unpacks the forces behind its political stability, deepening inequality, and the fractures shaping its future.

The Visa farce

The South African government’s rush to clear visa applications has led to mass rejections, bureaucratic chaos, and an overloaded appeals system—leaving thousands in limbo.