Arts + Culture
The atumpan: how Asante’s talking drums speak Twi
The atumpan are a pair of Asante talking drums, one higher and one lower in pitch, that reproduce…
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Arts + Culture
Kpanlogo: the Ga drum and dance that grew up in 1960s Accra
Kpanlogo is a Ga recreational drum and dance from Accra that became popular in the early 1960s. Credited…
Arts + Culture
Singeli: the hyper-fast street music of Dar es Salaam
Singeli emerged in the mid-2000s in the crowded Dar es Salaam neighbourhoods of Tandale and Manzese, where DJs…
Arts + Culture
Gqom: the raw, bass-heavy sound that came out of Durban’s townships
Gqom emerged in Durban's townships in the early 2010s, built on minimal, repetitive beats and heavy bass. Pioneers…
Music
“Fall”: the Davido love song that became Afrobeats’ slow-burn American hit
Davido's "Fall", produced by Kiddominant and released in 2017, became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song on Billboard and…
Music
Kabza De Small: the Pretoria producer crowned king of amapiano
Kabza De Small, born Kabelo Petrus Motha in 1992, broke through with "Umshove" in 2018. With DJ Maphorisa…
Music
Nana Tuffour: the “9-9-2-4” highlife romantic who learned his trade with King Sunny Ade
Nana Tuffour, born James Kwaku Tuffour in 1954, started as a keyboardist, worked with King Sunny Ade in…
Arts + Culture
E.K. Nyame and the Akan Trio: the man who sang highlife in Twi on the concert party stage
E.K. Nyame (1927 to 1977), from Kwahu, founded the Akan Trio concert party in 1952, combining guitar band…
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…
Music
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…