Arts + Culture
Les Ballets Africains: the Guinean troupe that brought West African dance to the world’s stages
Les Ballets Africains, founded by Fodéba Keïta in Paris in the early 1950s, became Guinea's national ballet after…
AfroYard.net — African Music News, Releases & Artist Profiles
Latest Stories
Music
Super Rail Band: the Bamako railway hotel band that launched Salif Keita and Mory Kanté
The Rail Band, formed in 1970 at the station hotel in Bamako, mixed Mande griot music with Cuban,…
Music
The Grammy for Best African Music Performance: how African pop got its own category
In 2023, the Recording Academy announced a new Grammy category, Best African Music Performance. At the first presentation…
Music
Made Kuti: Fela’s grandson and the third generation of Afrobeat
Made Kuti, son of Femi Kuti and grandson of Fela Kuti, released his debut album For(e)ward in 2021…
Arts + Culture
Ben Enwonwu’s “Tutu”: the lost portrait of a Yoruba princess that sold for £1.2 million
Ben Enwonwu painted Tutu, a portrait of Ile-Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi, in 1974. The painting disappeared for decades…
Arts + Culture
Chris Ofili: the British-Nigerian painter who won the Turner Prize with elephant dung
Chris Ofili, born in Manchester to Nigerian parents, won the Turner Prize in 1998, the first Black artist…
Arts + Culture
Tingatinga: the bright animal paintings that began on a Dar es Salaam roadside
Tingatinga painting, known for bright enamel colours and stylised animals, was created by Edward Saidi Tingatinga in Dar…
Arts + Culture
Makonde carving: the ebony sculptures of Tanzania and Mozambique
The Makonde people of southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique are famous for sculptures carved from African blackwood. Styles…
Arts + Culture
The Golden Stool: the sacred throne that holds the soul of the Asante nation
The Golden Stool, Sika Dwa Kofi, is the sacred symbol of the Asante nation. According to tradition, it…
Music
Waldemar Bastos: the Angolan singer of exile and longing
Waldemar Bastos, born in Angola in 1954, left his homeland in 1982 during the civil war. His 1998…