Music
Jonas Gwangwa: the trombonist who scored Cry Freedom and led the ANC’s cultural army
Jonas Gwangwa was a founding member of the Jazz Epistles in the 1950s, led the ANC's Amandla cultural…
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Stella Chiweshe: the mbira queen who played an instrument women were told to leave alone
Stella Chiweshe, born in Mhondoro in 1946, took up the mbira in the 1960s despite criticism that it…
Arts + Culture
Gye Nyame to Sankofa: a guide to Adinkra symbols and where they come from
Adinkra symbols are visual proverbs from Asante culture, stamped onto cloth with carved calabash stamps and dye. Ntonso,…
Arts + Culture
Kente at Bonwire: the weaving village behind Ghana’s most famous cloth
Bonwire, a town near Kumasi, is famous as a centre of Asante kente weaving. The cloth is woven…
Music
Gyakie’s “Forever”: the Kumasi love song that conquered Lagos
Gyakie's "Forever" appeared on her 2020 EP Seed. Its March 2021 remix with Omah Lay topped Nigeria's TurnTable…
Arts + Culture
Staff Benda Bilili: the Kinshasa street band on tricycles that conquered Cannes
Staff Benda Bilili was a Kinshasa band whose core members were disabled by polio. Their 2009 album Très…
Music
Werrason: the Wenge split, Solola Bien and the night at Bercy
When Wenge Musica split in 1997, Werrason co-founded Wenge Musica Maison Mère. Their 1999 album Solola Bien! went…
Music
Mushin 2 Mo’Hits: the Wande Coal debut that Nigerian pop still copies
Wande Coal's debut album Mushin 2 Mo'Hits, released on 12 April 2009 and produced entirely by Don Jazzy,…
Music
Seun Kuti and Egypt 80: the youngest son who kept Fela’s band alive
After Fela Kuti died in 1997, his youngest son Seun took over leadership of his father's band, Egypt…
Music
Busi Mhlongo: the queen of maskandi who took a male tradition and made it hers
Busi Mhlongo, born in Inanda in 1947, began her career with a 1963 South African hit version of…