Arts + Culture
A groaner, three singers and a band that invented a style: Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens
Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens were brought together in Johannesburg in 1964 by producer Rupert Bopape at Gallo.…
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
They called him the evil genius of highlife: Victor Olaiya, the trumpeter who gave Fela a job
Victor Abimbola Olaiya, the Nigerian trumpeter known as the evil genius of highlife, was born on 31 December…
Arts + Culture
South Africa banned “Fire in Soweto”. The townships played it anyway: Sonny Okosuns and the songs against apartheid
In 1977, Nigerian musician Sonny Okosuns released "Fire in Soweto" and "Papa's Land", attacks on apartheid South Africa.…
Arts + Culture
Ghana’s Golden Voice of Africa got a second career at Glastonbury: Pat Thomas and the Kwashibu Area Band
Pat Thomas, known as the Golden Voice of Africa, became a highlife star in Ghana in the 1970s…
Arts + Culture
Was the first rap record made in Ghana in 1973? Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and “Simigwa-Do”
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley recorded "Simigwa-Do" with Ghana's Uhuru Dance Band in 1973, delivering fast, spoken Fante lyrics over highlife…
Arts + Culture
Lagbaja means “somebody” in Yoruba. Why Bisade Ologunde hid his face to make Afrobeat
Lagbaja, the masked Nigerian musician born Bisade Ologunde in Lagos in 1960, performs with his face covered to…
Arts + Culture
One album changed juju music in 1989: Sir Shina Peters, Ace and the Afro-juju craze
Sir Shina Peters and his International Stars released Ace (Afro-Juju Series 1) in 1989 on CBS Records Nigeria.…
Arts + Culture
He took his stage name from a board game he rarely lost: Oliver De Coque, the king of Igbo highlife
Oliver De Coque, born Oliver Sunday Akanite in Ezinifite, Anambra State, in 1947, became one of the most…
Arts + Culture
“Zombie no go walk unless you tell am to walk”: the Fela song that Nigeria’s soldiers never forgave
Fela Kuti's Zombie, released in Nigeria in 1976 by Coconut Records, mocked soldiers who obey orders without thinking.…
Arts + Culture
“Without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat”: the drummer who built Fela’s rhythm
Tony Allen, the Lagos-born drummer, created the rhythmic foundation of Afrobeat with Fela Kuti in the Africa 70…