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.
hip hop
A worldly Nubian energy
The music and art of Lauryn Hill and Chiwoniso Maraire combined sexiness with political consciousness, offering Black women a way out of rigid categorization.
Sampa The Great’s new chapter
Zambian artist, Sampa the Great, returns to the stage in Australia with "An Afro Future." In an interview, she talks reconnecting with her roots and redefining the future.
Two women, two stories, both winners
The documentary film Mane about two women—a rapper and a wrestler—is a much-needed boost of fresh air in the male-saturated tale of the “Generation hip hop” of Senegal.
Songs of freedom
This month on Africa Is a Country Radio we wrap up our seasonal theme of port cities, and make a stop in Dakar, Senegal. Listen on Worldwide FM or Mixcloud.
The cultural resilience of a creole city
On this month’s AIAC Radio we head to Cape Town to understand how this creole city's musical culture resisted containment throughout history. Listen on Worldwide FM and follow us on Mixcloud.
The music of the Nyayo era
Tracing the music, from 1978 to the 2000s, that defined the rule of former Kenyan president Daniel Torotich Arap Moi.
A Cuban individual
A new project from Cuban rapper El Individuo humanizes the Cuban perspective, inadvertently flying in the face of the United States Republican Party's agenda.
Tupac is alive in Africa
Young Africans are breathing life into Tupac’s memory, channeling his image and his music to be heard and seen in social spaces where they feel neither audible nor visible.
The hip hop president?
Hip hop and the Black political mainstream more broadly, continues to have hope in the promises of American capitalism.
Hip hop futures in Kenya
Rapper Khaligraph Jones (government name: Brian Ouko Robert) chronicles the challenges faced by young people in Nairobi, Kenya.
The podcast for African Hip Hop
The Hip Hop African is a podcast series about African hip hop culture made by Howard University and George Washington University students.
Smashing patriarchy, one hip hop cypher at a time
'Words of a Rebel Sistah' wants to create a counter-culture in which women are liberated and all forms of oppression are eradicated.
Power against Power in Ghana
Art – especially music – occupies a double-edged place in Ghanaian history in its relation to power.
Africa is a Radio: Episode #17
In the shadow of the Brexit vote, on this episode of Africa is a Radio, we
Africa is a Radio: Episode #16
Africa is a Radio is back for April with both classic and contemporary sounds out of Africa
A non verb
At a time when South Africa is on fire politically, there is sadly zero social commentary on rapper Proverb's album, "The Read Tape."
Cutting colonists’ heads
We talk to Togolese rapper Elom 20ce who aims to bring his politics to the masses.
The corruption of hip hop in Burkina Faso
For rapper, Art Melody, hip hop is a philosophy, one that can’t be sold out for fame, money, or even politics.