Don’t kill yourself because of suffering

Weekend Music Break, No.104 is just a playlist of ten great songs accompanied by predictably striking visuals from across Africa and its diaspora.

Malian singing legend Oumou Sangare performing in Essaouira, Morocco in June 2012.

Weekend Music Break is back to our regularly scheduled programming.  This week we start out with Malian legend Oumou Sangaré’s first release in seven years – and to top it off, she appears with Tony Allen in tow. The main message is about staying alive: “Don’t kill yourself because of suffering /  No-one should commit suicide because of pain / My brothers and sisters, we should not take our own lives /
because of suffering …”

Life on earth is not easy, but-no one should kill themselves

Then we head to Kenya where Muthoni channels a bit of (UK singer) MIA to call out corrupt politicians in her home country.

Up next, MHD and crew head from Paris to Manchester, and showing the Brits the French-African flavor their gonna miss out on as they start the EU exit process this week.

But London-based Mazi Chukz shows that the British-Africans can hold their own when it comes to stews.

Let’s head back to our continent now, alongside Wizkid who takes on a journey as he plays another packed live show somewhere on the continent.

Back home in Nigeria Lil’ Kesh makes an appeal for no fake love.

Cassper Nyovest does his best “I’m from Atlanta” impression with”Tito Mboweni.”

Let’s calm down from that a bit and head to Tidiane Thiam’s and Amadou Binta Konte in Senegal, and enjoy a more stripped down sound: one guitar, a hoddu and a microphone.

And let’s close out this week’s playlist with my current home of Brazil, and a who’s who of Afro-Brazilian rappers of many different stripes. Here they’re making an appeal for better and more and equal representation in their own country.

Further Reading

Drip is temporary

The apparel brand Drip was meant to prove that South Africa’s townships could inspire global style. Instead, it revealed how easily black success stories are consumed and undone by the contradictions of neoliberal aspiration.

Energy for whom?

Behind the fanfare of the Africa Climate Summit, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline shows how neocolonial extraction still drives Africa’s energy future.

The sound of revolt

On his third album, Afro-Portuguese artist Scúru Fitchádu fuses ancestral wisdom with urban revolt, turning memory and militancy into a soundtrack for resistance.

O som da revolta

No seu terceiro álbum, o artista afro-português Scúru Fitchádu funde a sabedoria ancestral com a revolta urbana, transformando memória e militância em uma trilha sonora para a resistência.

Biya forever

As Cameroon nears its presidential elections, a disintegrated opposition paves the way for the world’s oldest leader to claim a fresh mandate.

From Cornell to conscience

Hounded out of the United States for his pro-Palestine activism, Momodou Taal insists that the struggle is global, drawing strength from Malcolm X, faith, and solidarity across borders.

After the uprising

Following two years of mass protest, Kenya stands at a crossroads. A new generation of organizers is confronting an old question: how do you turn revolt into lasting change? Sungu Oyoo joins the AIAC podcast to discuss the vision of Kenya’s radical left.