Arts + Culture
“Coupé Bibamba” came out in 1998. Almost three decades later, no West African wedding is complete without it
Congolese singer Awilo Longomba released the album Coupé Bibamba in 1998. Its title track, a fast soukous dance…
Arts + Culture
Dive into a world of boundless creativity and diverse perspectives with our Arts + Culture corner. Explore the latest in visual arts, literature, and cultural trends
Arts + Culture
“Khona” brought Mafikizolo back and swept South Africa’s awards. It is still a wedding favourite
Mafikizolo released "Khona" featuring Uhuru on 10 January 2013 as the lead single from their comeback album Reunited.…
Arts + Culture
They met at an institute for the blind in Bamako. Amadou & Mariam took Malian music around the world
Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind and became the duo known…
Arts + Culture
Papa Wemba collapsed on stage in Abidjan in 2016. The King of Rumba Rock had been performing for nearly fifty years
On 24 April 2016, Congolese star Papa Wemba collapsed on stage at the FEMUA festival in Abidjan and…
Arts + Culture
More than 600 songs and a UNESCO listing for his genre: Franco and the Congolese rumba
Franco Luambo Makiadi led TPOK Jazz for almost three decades and recorded more than 600 songs before his…
Arts + Culture
“Mama-say mama-sa mama-ko-ssa”: the Cameroonian B-side Michael Jackson borrowed for Thriller
Manu Dibango's "Soul Makossa" was released in 1972 as the B-side of a song for the African Cup…
Arts + Culture
She sang barefoot and became famous in her fifties. Cesária Évora and “Sodade”
Cesária Évora, the "barefoot diva" of Cape Verde, spent decades singing in bars in Mindelo before international fame…
Arts + Culture
They learned guitar in rebel camps in Libya. In 2012 Tinariwen won a Grammy
Tinariwen formed in the late 1970s among Tuareg exiles in Libya and Algeria, playing electric guitar songs about…
Arts + Culture
A descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, cast out for being albino, became Africa’s Golden Voice
Salif Keita is a descendant of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire. Born with albinism and rejected…
Arts + Culture
Every October, Lagos throws Fela a birthday party that lasts a week. The New Afrika Shrine and Felabration
Fela Kuti was born on 15 October 1938. Every October, the New Afrika Shrine in Ikeja, opened by…