Music
Daddy Lumba, 1964 to 2025: from the Lumba Brothers in Germany to highlife royalty
Daddy Lumba, born Charles Kwadwo Fosu in Nsuta, Ashanti, in 1964, began his career in Germany with Nana…
Music
immerse yourself in a symphony of genres, from the latest chart-toppers to hidden indie gems. Gospel, HipHop, Highlife, Amapiano, Afrobeats
Music
Benin’s funkiest band was rediscovered by record collectors: Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou was founded in 1968 by Mélomé Clément in Cotonou, Benin. Mixing vodun rhythms with…
Music
The slow soukous of tcha tcho and a sold-out Bercy: Koffi Olomidé’s long reign in Congolese music
Koffi Olomidé, born Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba in Kisangani in 1956, introduced the slower soukous style known as…
Music
From Quartier Latin to Tokooos: Fally Ipupa, the modern king of Congolese music
Fally Ipupa, born in Kinshasa in 1977, rose through Koffi Olomidé's Quartier Latin International before launching a solo…
Music
The log drum that shook Africa: how amapiano grew from South African townships
Amapiano emerged in South Africa's Gauteng townships in the 2010s, blending deep house, jazz, soul and kwaito with…
Music
From the streets of Masaka to the Grammys: Eddy Kenzo and “Sitya Loss”
Eddy Kenzo, born Edrisah Musuuza in Masaka, Uganda, lost his mother at about five and spent 13 years…
Music
From a Cameroonian village to New York’s jazz stages: Richard Bona and the bass
Richard Bona, born in Minta, Cameroon, in 1967, grew up in a family of musicians and switched to…
Music
The Queen of African Rumba: how Mbilia Bel became Afrisa International’s star voice
Mbilia Bel, born Marie-Claire Mboyo Moseka in Kinshasa in 1959, joined Tabu Ley Rochereau's Afrisa International in 1981…
Arts + Culture
Students in Abidjan turned their frustrations into dance music: the story of zouglou
Zouglou was born in the early 1990s among university students in Abidjan, who sang humorous and critical songs…
Arts + Culture
The records Ethiopia almost lost: how the Éthiopiques series brought “Swinging Addis” to the world
In 1997, the Paris label Buda Musique, with producer Francis Falceto, began the Éthiopiques series, reissuing Ethiopian popular…