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January 24, 2023
Zimbabwe: Stella Chiweshe - Zimbabwe's Mbira Queen, Rebel Music Star and Pioneer
Stella Rambisai Chiweshe, affectionately known in Zimbabwe as "the queen of mbira" or "Ambuya (grandmother) Chiweshe", passed away on 20 January 2023. Read more »
January 13, 2023
South Africa: Madosini, a South African National Treasure Whose Music Kept a Rich History Alive
Renowned African musician, songwriter and storyteller Latozi "Madosini" Mphahleni passed away late in 2022. The cultural and indigenous music activist, who laughed as often as she… Read more »
December 27, 2022
Africa: Afrobeats in 2022 - Global Mobility, Election Songs, Placemaking Albums - and Tems
More than Nollywood films, Afrobeats is arguably Nigeria's strongest cultural export since the turn of the millennium. It is a hugely dynamic music category that incorporates a… Read more »
December 15, 2022
Africa: 'Tis the Season to Be Jolly - Singing Christmas Carols Together Isn't Just a Tradition, It's Also Good for You
On a December night 50 years ago, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed in the Everglades, Florida. Miraculously, 77 people survived the initial impact but then endured a traumatic… Read more »
December 06, 2022
South Africa: Music Streaming in South Africa - New Survey Reveals Musicians Get a Raw Deal
Musicians worldwide have been placing their tracks with global streaming platforms such as Spotify for many years. South African musicians, however, have reported only sparse… Read more »
November 02, 2022
Africa: South Africa's Dance Music Craze, Amapiano, Could Conquer the World - If Its Stars Step Up
There's a lot of hype around amapiano. The South African dance music genre has dominated dancefloors since 2019, spreading from South Africa to West Africa and now to the world.… Read more »
October 20, 2022
South Africa: Struggle Songs Against Apartheid Come From a Long Tradition of Resistance
Struggle songs, also known as protest music or liberation songs, are defined as "expressions of discontent or dissent" used by politically disenfranchised protesters to influence… Read more »
October 09, 2022
South Africa: What Is Cultural Appropriation and Why Is It So Harmful?
Die Antwoord is a South African band that uses hip-hop music to create a style it calls "zef". Since it first appeared in 2009, Die Antwoord has been criticised for cultural… Read more »
August 30, 2022
Ethiopia: Haacaaluu Hundeesaa - Sublime Singer Who Inspired Oromo Struggle Protesters
I speak to myself whisperingOur situation has defied resolution, our misery isn't improvingWe are in despair and idling, that is why I am whispering. Read more »
August 18, 2022
South Africa: South African Reedman Linda Sikhakhane's New Album Is a Revelation
People were listening to (Duke Ellington and Count Basie) at home because we felt this is our music and these are our black heroes. The attraction ... was that the rhythms were… Read more »
July 25, 2022
Nigeria: Setting the Record Straight - Burna Boy Didn't Create a Music Genre Called Afrofusion
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu was born in 1991 in Port Harcourt, the largest city in Rivers State in Nigeria. He would become known as Burna Boy, a singer, songwriter and record producer… Read more »
July 14, 2022
Nigeria: 100 Years of Popular Music in Nigeria - What Shaped Four Eras
The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early months of 2020 shut down nearly all physical and social human activities. For musical practice this meant near death.… Read more »
June 29, 2022
Africa: How the Music of an Ancient Rock Painting Was Brought to Life
Archaeologists spend a lot of time examining the remains of distant pasts, which includes the study of rock paintings. This is largely visual work - but sometimes we can "hear" the… Read more »
May 30, 2022
Kenya: How 'Patriotic' Choral Music Has Been Used to Embed a Skewed Version of History
Choral music - patriotic choral music in particular - is a significant genre in Kenya's political history. Read more »
May 27, 2022
South Africa: Spirit of Ntu - South African Piano Maestro Nduduzo Makhathini On His 10th Album
Nduduzo Makhathini is a prolific South African pianist, improviser, healer, educator, scholar and storyteller. He possesses a gift that enables him to articulate a distinct and… Read more »
May 26, 2022
Nigeria: Super Afro Soul - the Music of Orlando Julius, Titan of Nigerian Music
Highlife crooner and Afrobeat singer Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode died, according to his wife Latoya Aduke, in his sleep on 15 April 2022. Read more »
May 12, 2022
Senegal: Rudy Gomis, a Masterful Collaborator Who Kept the Diversity of Senegalese Music Alive
The world has lost one of the great pioneers of the post-independence movement of modern popular music in Senegal. After a long illness, Rudolphe "Rudy" Clément Gomis -… Read more »
May 06, 2018
Africa: Why Hip-Hop Needs to Be Taken More Seriously in Academic Circles
Jazz's current generation of stars grew up in these genre-fluid times with hip-hop. Concurrently, a significant number of hip-hop artists have been integrating jazz into their… Read more »
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