Arts + Culture
The Miliki sound: Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Adé’s great juju rival, who later turned to evangelism
Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey led the Inter-Reformers band and created the "Miliki" sound, one of the two great…
Music
immerse yourself in a symphony of genres, from the latest chart-toppers to hidden indie gems. Gospel, HipHop, Highlife, Amapiano, Afrobeats
Arts + Culture
Hugh Masekela came to Accra looking for a band. Hedzoleh Soundz became his partners on a 1973 classic
In the early 1970s, the South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, living in exile, travelled to West Africa and…
Music
What a Sarkodie verse actually does
Speed made Sarkodie famous, but judgment kept him on top of Ghanaian rap for almost twenty years. A…
Arts + Culture
Cream’s drummer drove across the Sahara to Lagos and played with Fela: Ginger Baker’s African years
In the early 1970s, Ginger Baker, the drummer of Cream, drove a Land Rover across the Sahara to…
Arts + Culture
Paul McCartney flew to Lagos in 1973 to record Band on the Run. Fela accused him of coming to steal African music
In August 1973, Paul McCartney and Wings recorded most of Band on the Run at EMI's studio in…
Arts + Culture
C.K. Mann, the Takoradi bandleader who made Fante highlife sound like the sea
C.K. Mann, born in Cape Coast and based in Takoradi, led the Carousel 7 and other bands that…
Arts + Culture
The Ghanaian drummer who taught American jazz about Africa: Guy Warren, later Kofi Ghanaba
Guy Warren, born in Accra in 1923, played drums with E. T. Mensah's Tempos, then took African drums…
Arts + Culture
“Didi” was sung in Algerian Arabic and still became a hit from India to Europe: Khaled, the king of raï
Khaled, from Oran in Algeria, became the most famous raï singer in the world. His 1992 song "Didi"…
Music
The album is back in Afrobeats
Burna Boy, Wizkid, Asake, Rema and Tems have turned the album back into an event. Why Afrobeats stopped…
Arts + Culture
Her concerts lasted hours and stopped the Arab world. Umm Kulthum, the voice of Egypt
Umm Kulthum, the Egyptian singer known as the Star of the East, performed monthly radio concerts that brought…