Africa Is a Country

Weekend Music Break No.107 – French presidential election edition

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

Weekend Music Break No.107 – French presidential election edition

By
Boima Tucker

Paris, even though I’ve never lived there, has perhaps been more important in my formation as a DJ than any other city (ok maybe New York is tied). Its diverse immigrant communities have created a rich cultural mix, the impact of which has spread across the globe. For example, without France’s African communities, the global Afropop (Afrobeats) industry from Lagos to Johannesburg wouldn’t have the reach or aesthetic it touts today. Standing on the front lines of the global battle against European supremacy, and redefining what belonging means in the global North in general, I believe we all owe France’s immigrant communities a deep debt.

This playlist is dedicated to all my French immigrant whatever generation brothers and sisters living up and down the country. My thoughts and heart are with you this weekend.

Further Reading

Repoliticizing a generation

Thirty-eight years after Thomas Sankara’s assassination, the struggle for justice and self-determination endures—from stalled archives and unfulfilled verdicts to new calls for pan-African renewal and a 21st-century anti-imperialist front.

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.