March 30, 2023
Africa: Happy Songs - These Are the Musical Elements That Make Us Feel Good
Music has a unique power to affect the way people feel and many people use music to enhance or change their mood, channel emotions and for psychological support. Read more »
March 23, 2023
Africa: The Gaming Audience Is 'Queerer Than Ever' - So How Are Game Creators Responding?
Mainstream games are embracing openly queer characters - and so are many of their players and fans. Read more »
March 29, 2023
East Africa: Ancient DNA Is Restoring the Origin Story of the Swahili People of the East African Coast
The legacy of the medieval Swahili civilization is a source of extraordinary pride in East Africa, as reflected in its language being the official tongue of Kenya, Tanzania and… Read more »
March 30, 2023
South Africa: Amapiano Awards - South Africa's Dance Music Scene Spreads Its Joy Across the World
In 2019 amapiano began to dominate South Africa's dance floors to such an extent that, by 2021, the first South African Amapiano Awards were held to mark the rise of the country's… Read more »
March 29, 2023
Ethiopia: The Astonishing Life and Music of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the Ethiopian Nun Who's Died At 99
As the Ethiopian pianist Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou approached the age of 100, fans and music critics from the US to Ethiopia, Israel to Europe have been eagerly… Read more »
March 23, 2023
South Africa: Album Celebrates New Traditions in South Africa's Ancient Bow Music
Musical bows are among the oldest instruments in southern Africa. Musicologists think the "ping" a bowstring makes when an arrow is released inspired early hunters (as far back as… Read more »
March 22, 2023
South Africa: Noni Jabavu Was a Pioneering South African Writer - A New Book Shows How Relevant She Still Is
Noni Jabavu was the first black South African woman to publish memoirs and one of the first African women to pursue a literary career abroad. She left the country as a teenager to… Read more »
March 21, 2023
Africa: How a Nigerian Singer and a Cameroonian Dancer Inspired a Powerful Protest in Iran
On 8 March 2023, five teenage girls uploaded on social media a video of themselves performing the Calm Down Dance Challenge. This is the choreography for the first verse of the… Read more »
March 19, 2023
South Africa: Gloria Bosman Was More Than a South African Jazz Vocalist, She Was a Guiding Light
The immediate public reaction to the death of Gloria Bosman from a short respiratory illness on 14 March 2023 was shocked disbelief. The multiple award-winning South African jazz… Read more »
March 15, 2023
Africa: Looting and Decay - How The Pandemic Wrought Real Damage to African Heritage
The Covid-19 pandemic will long be remembered for the lockdowns it imposed and the millions of lives it stole, particularly among the elderly. A recent Unesco report shows that it… Read more »
Nigeria: 3 Recent Books That Explain the Work of Nigeria's Famous Decolonial Scholar Toyin Falola
Toyin Falola, distinguished professor of history, is one of Africa's most accomplished intellectuals. Born Oloruntoyin Falola in 1953 in the Nigerian city of Ibadan, he grew up in… Read more »
March 13, 2023
South Africa: Costa Titch - the Rising White South African Rap Star Who Embraced Black Hip-Hop Culture
Rising 28-year-old South African dancer and rapper Costa Titch (born Costa Tsobanoglou) dies after collapsing on stage on 11 March while performing in Johannesburg. Read more »
March 09, 2023
Africa: The World's First Islamic Art Biennale Shines a Light On Muslim African Artists
The inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale is underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Biennales are large and prestigious international art exhibitions held every two years.) This important… Read more »
March 06, 2023
South Africa: The Real Johannesburg - 6 Powerful Photos From a Gritty New Book On the City
Wake Up, This is Joburg is a collaboration between photographer Mark Lewis and urban planner and writer Tanya Zack. Striking images and beautiful texts follow 10 stories the team… Read more »
March 02, 2023
Egypt: Five Discoveries That Changed Our Understanding of How the Ancient Egyptians Created Mummies
Centuries after the first golden coffins were taken to Europe, ancient Egyptian mummies still vividly capture people's imaginations. Perhaps we're awed by the grandeur of their… Read more »
March 01, 2023
South Africa: Dance Me to the End of Time - South African Film On Death Is a Powerful Celebration of Life
In her 2021 documentary Dance Me to the End of Time, South African film-maker and educator Melanie Chait has produced a truly great film. Not only for the breadth of themes it… Read more »
Nigeria: 5 Essential Books Nigeria's New President Should Read
Not many African political leaders are known to have publicly declared their love of reading. US president Barack Obama popularised the idea of a recommended reading list and he… Read more »
February 24, 2023
South Africa: South African Rapper AKA's Murder Video Went Viral - It Shouldn't Have
In the days after the killing of rapper Kiernan Jarryd Forbe, known as AKA, and his friend Tebello "Tibz" Motoane, the murders kept playing out on social media. Again and again,… Read more »
South Africa: Murdered South African Rapper's Posthumous Album Is a Mixed Bag
Just weeks before being gunned down in what appeared to be a hit, the South African rapper AKA (Kiernan Forbes) had announced he was ready to release his new album, Mass Country.… Read more »
February 23, 2023
Nigeria: Nigeria Elections - the Surprising Influence of Afrobeats Music On Politics
In the run-up to Nigeria's February 2023 elections, the country's younger generation has mobilised to demand change and redefine the political landscape - and music has been… Read more »
South Africa: Pretty Yende, a South African Opera Star With a Voice That Shatters Glass Ceilings
It's been announced that South African opera star Pretty Yende will sing at King Charles III's coronation on 6 May in Westminster Abbey, London. The 37-year-old soprano was elated. Read more »
February 22, 2023
Africa: Rock Art As African History - What Religious Images Say About Identity, Survival and Change
To "read" the history of times before writing, scholars have traditionally used excavated evidence. Remains like dwellings, burials and pots can reveal a lot about how people lived… Read more »
February 16, 2023
Africa: Leo Frobenius Made African Rock Art Famous, but Is Tainted By Racism and a Lack of Understanding
Leo Frobenius was a largely self-taught German ethnologist (someone who studies societies and cultures) who undertook numerous expeditions. One of them, from 1928 to 1930, was to… Read more »
February 15, 2023
Africa: Invisible Trillions Book Review - Global Capitalism Operates Beyond Rule of Law, Threatens Democracy
Secrecy has become as important for corporations as transparent and taxable profits used to be, according to Raymond W. Baker in his new book Invisible Trillions. Global… Read more »
Cameroon: Jean-Paul Zé Bella - the Cunning Cameroonian Soldier Who Became a Global Music Legend
One of Cameroon's most influential music stars - Jean-Paul Zé Bella - passed away on 15 January at the age of 71 after a battle against cancer. The singer and drummer was a… Read more »