October 21, 2022
Zimbabwe: More Dambudzo Marechera Letters - to Karen, Flora, Amelia and Samantha (Part 1)
What's race got to do with it? Dambudzo Marechera channelled his Oxford swag, Rastaman aura and leftist virtue signalling to chat up White writer-types. His stated preference for… Read more »
Africa: "Les Sapeurs", Black Dandyism and the Genesis of Gender Fluid African Fashion
African youths are today positioned where cultural identities intermingle and there is a need to embrace a contemporary style that merges those identities. Black dandyism inspired… Read more »
October 18, 2022
Egypt: 'Repatriate Rashid' - Egypt Demands The Return Of The Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone, an ancient Egyptian artefact that unlocked the secrets of hieroglyphic script and birthed Egyptology, has been part of the British Museum's plundered collection… Read more »
October 12, 2022
Ghana: Ghanaian Music Festival 'Afrochella' Sued for Copyright Infringement
Coachella and its parent company Goldenvoice are suing music and culture festival Afrochella for "intentionally trading on the goodwill" of the California-based festival's name and… Read more »
October 09, 2022
Zimbabwe: Kaluba, the Author of 'Marechera's Samantha Letter', Chats With Chirere
In the following interview, Memory Chirere chats with Austin Kaluba regarding the letter he wrote in 2011 in memory of Dambudzo Marechera. The letter is included at the end of the… Read more »
October 04, 2022
Kenya: A Deserted North - Forgotten By History and Cursed By Devolution
The history of Northern Kenya and marginalisation goes as far back as the colonial days. The same trend used by colonisers has remained in play. Historical evidence points at a… Read more »
October 03, 2022
Africa: 'Afrobeats' Could Become a Grammy Category
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. announced during a press conference in Ghana that the institution is considering adding an Afrobeats category to next year's 65th Annual… Read more »
August 31, 2022
Cote d'Ivoire: First Locally Made Smartphone Provides Accessibility in 16 Languages
In the modern age, mobile phones are life partners and tools for literacy and positive socioeconomic progress. Expanding local language accessibility is essential in reducing the… Read more »
August 05, 2022
Zimbabwe: Book Review - New African Poetry Turns History Pictures to the Wall
Old Love Skin, a pan-African poetry collection, finds new voices summoning divinity where they please, and turning history pictures to the wall to fill in the blank negatives with… Read more »
August 03, 2022
Africa: Benin's 30m 'Amazon' Statue Honours the Women Warriors of Dahomey
The Amazons of Dahomey are the only documented female army in modern history and one of the world's unresolved curiosities. As the West turns their story into fetishised cinema,… Read more »
August 01, 2022
Kenya: Meet Kenyan Creative Polly Irungu, the First Official Photo Editor for Office of VP Kamala Harris
The White House visual storytellers help shape public perceptions and craft the impressions that become fixed in the collective imagination. Visual archives are, therefore, a… Read more »
July 28, 2022
Zimbabwe: Book Review - the Conflicted Legacy of Solomon Mujuru
Blessing-Miles Tendi writes with thorough commitment. The Army and Politics in Zimbabwe came out of approximately 150 in-depth interviews with Solomon Mujuru's military and… Read more »
July 25, 2022
Nigeria: 'Love, Damini,' Burna Boy's Latest Album Is the Highest Charting Nigerian Album in History
African Giant Burna Boy is topping international charts with his latest album. The personal letter to his fans inspired by his life, is a fusion of sound, featuring popular… Read more »
July 14, 2022
Kenya: Digital Archiving - Stories for Future Generations
A digitisation project in Kenya is asking what other ways memory can exist. Can it exist in music, fashion, or landscapes? And how much is lost by not tapping into the collective… Read more »
June 29, 2022
Zimbabwe: Jah Prayzah's History... As Told Through the Zimbabwean Griot's Best Albums
A roaring and smoking mbira song, one for the party animals, a Nollywood pity party to confuse the crush outside your league, and a two-season coup soundtrack - Jah Prayzah created… Read more »
June 27, 2022
Zimbabwe: "Hip Hop Is an Aggressive Genre" - Holy Ten Interview
Holy Ten, also known as "the leader of the youths" is making a case for Hip hop as Zimbabwe's next big genre, urged on by adoring legions of Generation Z and the decline of… Read more »
June 09, 2022
Africa: Pride Month - Contemporary Artists Exploring Queer Africa
Artists move the dial when exploring the nuances of humanity. Their work helps us change perspective and have emotive dialogue about difficult themes. Here are some African visual… Read more »
June 02, 2022
Nigeria: Historic Nebula Winner Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki Came for Everything
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki's Nebula-winning story "O2 Arena" is a biopolitical dystopia in which oxygen has become a commodity, with all the possible class implications. Read more »
May 31, 2022
Africa: Kendrick Lamar - the Black Mecca and Hip-Hop Pan-Africanism
Kendrick Lamar recently visited Ghana, promoting his new album and reportedly shooting a documentary. State officials celebrated the visit in the context of Beyond the Return,… Read more »
May 19, 2022
Zimbabwe: Ndebele Novelist Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya Is Seeking the Ancient Paths
Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya is one of the more prominent writers writing in Ndebele. Her new novel, Zalabantu Ziyebantwini', came out this month. It will be followed by her fourth book,… Read more »
May 17, 2022
Africa: Google Translate Learns 10 New African Languages
Ten of the new language additions on Google translate are African languages including Lingala, Twi, and Tigrinya. There are now 133 languages supported by a technology that is… Read more »
May 13, 2022
Kenya: Elsa' Is the Story of Kenyan Comedian and International Star Elsa Majimbo
Elsa Majimbo's meteoric rise to stardom shows no sign of letting up. The Kenyan Instagram star has gone from short funny videos to fashion collaborations, a designer Alphabet Book… Read more »
April 06, 2018
South Africa: Esther Mahlangu, the Matriarch of Contemporary Ndebele Art, Receives Honorary Doctorate
At the age of 82, internationally acclaimed Ndebele artist Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg for "her legacy as a… Read more »