Africa Is a Country

Weekend Music Break No.80

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

Weekend Music Break No.80

By
Boima Tucker

Ethiocolor's 360 degree interactive video.

Africa is a Country is now on Break for the weekend, so here is some Music we’ll be relaxing to over the next couple of days:

In this week’s selection: Stocktown directs a 360 degree interactive clip from the top of a roof in downtown Addis Ababa for the band Ethiocolor; An appeal for support, gives the world a sneak peak into the recording sessions of Colombian Salsa super-band Ondatropica’s new album; Fouma System brings electronic dance music to Dakar via the Akwaaba Music record label; Taking a peak at AIAC contributors Hipsters Don’t Dance’s site, revealed this wonderful London Alkaida-ish stomper from Kwamz, Flava and Mista Silva; We interviewed Uno July about his new EP last month, and this week he released a visual to “Skelem”, one of the songs off of that project; 99K and Wanlov release a controversial track and video called “Kasa”; Chosan, releases “Show Goes On’, a song and video that reads like a story of the life of the Freetown via London via New York via Baltimore rapper; Timaya dips his toes into Afrohouse with “Some More”; Becca and Ice Prince smooth things out with their own take on the genre; and finally, Uganada’s Radio and Weasal have been making noise in Cartagena, Colombia of all places. Perhaps their latest video “Juicy” and it’s Caribbean vibes will continue that success for them.

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.