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
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
“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…
Arts + Culture
The Grammy winner who preferred his farm: Ali Farka Touré, Ry Cooder and the desert blues
Ali Farka Touré and Ry Cooder's Talking Timbuktu won the Grammy for Best World Music Album. Touré then…
Arts + Culture
Time magazine called her the Madonna of the Townships. Brenda Fassie and “Weekend Special”
Brenda Fassie was 19 when "Weekend Special" made her a star in 1983. She became South Africa's biggest…
Arts + Culture
67 albums, one voice, and a song that made Zimbabwe talk about HIV: Oliver Mtukudzi
Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi recorded 67 albums in a career of four decades. His song "Todii", sung in Shona…
Arts + Culture
“7 Seconds” spent 16 weeks at number one in France. Its singer later became Senegal’s minister of culture
In 1994, Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry released "7 Seconds", sung in Wolof, English and French. It spent…