The future of Françafrique
Is it France’s interests to reform its unequal, exploitative relationship with Africans?
6431 Article(s) by:
Nathan Chiume
Nathan Chiume is an Africa analyst and consultant.
Radio Freedom’s Afrikaans Service
Learning that Radio Freedom, the exiled ANC’s radio service, broadcast in Afrikaans, further undermines the idea of the language as belonging to the oppressor.
Achille Mbembe at the Tate Modern
The moderator received a text which said that the political philosopher was trying to find an internet café, then another saying Mbembe was trying to find an internet café with Skype, then another saying that he was trying to find an internet café with Skype in a part of the city where there wasn’t a power-cut.
Livetweet Recap: NYT (and Vogue Italia) “Rebrands Africa” (again)
From a series of tweets I did on the New York Times story "Rebranding Africa" which
The elephant in the room
The DJ’s, Venus X and Boima, talk about their approach to music, but also about their run-ins with tastemaker Diplo, who has shaped popular music tastes globally.
Coca-Cola can’t copyright colour: the art of Sokari Douglas Camp
"Coca-Cola Bird" stands facing the corner of the gallery, half-turned towards us in surprise or exhibition, oily red paint spun across the bucket cocked over her head, the same brash color on the feathered tutu winding around her waist. Her chest sprouts sparkling empty bottles bearing the famous label, and familiar labile curves.
Uptown Sahel
Thinking about ways that Africa is represented by NGO’s and other international organizations.
First as tragedy, then as farce
What is it with the conviction, held primarily in the West, that you can save yourself and the world (well, usually Africans) by shopping?
Congo Gold
Congolese-Belgian MC, Baloji: “In Congo, we had gold, but we turned it to something that had no value because we didn’t treat our country with the right respect.”
Acoustic Guitar Break
We thought it would be nice to compile a Bonus Music Break centered on acoustic guitar
Africanos Latinos
http://youtu.be/fvCvNwzsYvE Latin America and the Caribbean haven't gotten enough attention on this site. We're going to
Africa as Science Fiction
Science fiction as genre offers the opportunity to African artists to consider Western cartographies of the future as fictions in their own right.
An Ode to Oshodi Market
Old Oshodi highlighted the complexity of the city, showcasing the ingenuity of the people of Lagos in their use of the informal market in making a living.
Somewhere between folklore, memoir and modern fiction
Reading Yewande Omotoso’s novel “Bom Boy,” just when you think you’ve figured the characters out, the author opens them up a little more, and our perceptions change.
We’ve always been migrating
A film about a Sudanese migrant to America explores a general fact of contemporary existence.
The Passing of Ernest Cole
We don’t know why the South African photographer decided to apply to become “coloured” under Apartheid’s racial classification laws.
The Other African Election: Sarkozy K.O.’d
What does all that mean for French-African politics? It’s hard to tell what will next emerge from that fetid swamp.
Fighting Pop
Congolese/South African (via Belgium) musician Yannick Ilunga, AKA Iamwaves, has been rather busy lately. His group Popskarr, a new ‘electronic/Nu Disco/Misty Pop’ outfit, has just released a stylish single called Fighter; and as his alter ego Petite Noir he has released a mixtape for Okayafrica’s ‘Africa in Your Earbuds’ series (which earned him a tweet shout out from Questlove of The Roots) and a new video for his song 'Till We Ghosts.'
A French migration fairytale
A remarkable amount of new films in recent months have used migration, detention and illegal sea crossings as their subject matter.
The cinema of liberation
The film, “Come Back, Africa,” first released in 1959, challenged how white liberals imagined black people or tried to shape their struggles in South Africa.