Erykah Badu’s Royal Problem
Erykah Badu’s online defense of her visit to autocratic Swaziland exposed her lack of knowledge about the continent.
Music
Hip hop and electoral politics
South Africans vote on May 2nd, 2014, the country's 5th democratic elections. Do rappers vote?
Tumi Molekane’s New Song
With no Volume to his name, it seemed almost impossible to imagine South Africa-based self-proclaimed poet/emcee
The African Hip-Hop Generation Arrives
Frantz Fanon once said: “Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it, in relative opacity.”
The hands played by themselves
Basil Breakey's photographs serves as an important recording of South Africa jazz music in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Sonic Geography of Cartagena
The strong local identity of Colombia's most African big city is slowly being erased. But not all its artists, especially musicians, are giving up without a fight.
Jazz as Tradition in Cape Town
"Jazzing" on the Cape Flats, almost similar to salsa as developed in New York City. It's the dominant sound of parties in Cape Town.
Old Money’s mothership is here to save us all
The musical groups perhaps setting the pace for a new idea of liberation for people of African descent in the Americas.
The Expatriate
Ethiopian-American artist, Wayna, explores issues including police brutality, disenfranchisement, race and identity in her music.
Happy Africans
Pharrell Williams's pop hit, "Happy," is infectious and feel good. But what is it all about really?
Notes from the Native Yards
Cape Town hip hop duo, Ill Skillz's music documents their musical joy-ride through the good, the bad, and the nostalgic.
Lesotho’s Politics Go Pop
Lesotho’s Prime Minister and leader of the coalition government Tom Thabane has found love: ‘It is
Before And After The Disco
The self-titled debut album of Ibibio Sound Machine, features songs mostly in the southern Nigerian language of lead vocalist, Eno Williams.
Meet Bittereinder
I discovered the three piece Afrikaans outfit Bittereinder through the internet and fell in love with
Azonto soca in your area
It’s Carnival time again! Besides being one of my favorite annual excuses to party (although I
Homophobia in Senegal
While there is no Wolof word for “lesbian,” there are multiple words for the practice of a woman having sex with a woman, or a man having sex with a man.
Musician Umlilo pushes gender boundaries in South Africa
Artists in South Africa continue to push the boundaries of gender norms in popular media. In
The ‘Born Free Generation’
The Fader (yes, they’re still around) has been putting up a series of posts from Johannesburg
The Rediscovery of William Onyeabor
The continued relevance or irrelevance of a musical figure to an African audience doesn't factor into that figure's "rediscovery" outside the continent.
Eastern Highlands
This Weekend Music Break features a number of strong women performers: Nosiwe, Rina Mushonga, Alicious Theluji, and the 95 year old Tututa Evora, who just passed away.