Music
I.K. Dairo: the juju star who brought the accordion to Yoruba music and got an MBE
I.K. Dairo, born around 1930, is often called the father of juju. He introduced the accordion and harmonica…
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Jewel Ackah: the Prince of Highlife from Axim who wrote “Arise, Arise”
Jewel Ackah, born in Axim in the Western Region, sang with C.K. Mann's Carousel Seven and the Sweet…
Music
“Sarz on the beat”: the Benin City producer behind a decade of Nigerian hits
Sarz, born Osabuohien Osaretin in Benin City in 1989, is one of Nigeria's most influential producers. Known for…
Arts + Culture
PANAFEST: the Cape Coast festival Efua Sutherland imagined for Africa and its diaspora
PANAFEST, the Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival, was first held in 1992 in Cape Coast. Proposed by the playwright…
Music
King Ayisoba: the kologo master from Bolgatanga who took Frafra music abroad
King Ayisoba, born Albert Apoozore in 1974 near Bolgatanga, plays the kologo, a two-stringed lute of northern Ghana.…
Arts + Culture
The jeli: West Africa’s griots and the families that keep history in song
In the Mande world of West Africa, the jeli, or griot, is a hereditary musician, historian and praise…
Arts + Culture
Mbalax: how Senegal’s sabar drums became the country’s pop music
Mbalax is Senegal's national popular music, built on the rhythms of the Wolof sabar drums combined with guitars,…
Music
Les Têtes Brûlées: the painted Yaoundé band that took bikutsi to the world
Les Têtes Brûlées, founded in Yaoundé by Jean-Marie Ahanda, popularised a pop version of bikutsi in the 1980s.…
Music
WITCH and Zamrock: the Zambian rock band that came back after 40 years
WITCH, short for We Intend To Cause Havoc, was the most popular Zambian rock band of the 1970s,…
Music
Yaw Sarpong and Asomafo: the gospel highlife band that sang for ordinary Ghanaians
Yaw Sarpong led the gospel highlife band Asomafo, "the messengers", founded in 1986. He released about 25 albums,…