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…
Grammy
Arts + Culture
Six Grammy nominations and a new Shrine: Femi Kuti’s decades out of his father’s shadow
Femi Kuti, Fela's eldest son, formed his band Positive Force in 1986 and opened the New Afrika Shrine…
Arts + Culture
Seventy-one generations of griots, one kora: Toumani Diabaté, who died in 2024
Toumani Diabaté, the Malian kora master from a long line of griots, won Grammys with Ali Farka Touré…
Arts + Culture
Oumou Sangaré sang against polygamy and forced marriage. Mali made her a star anyway
Oumou Sangaré, the Malian singer known as the Songbird of Wassoulou, became a star in 1989 with Moussolou,…
Arts + Culture
She sang barefoot and became famous in her fifties. Cesária Évora and “Sodade”
Cesária Évora, the "barefoot diva" of Cape Verde, spent decades singing in bars in Mindelo before international fame…
Arts + Culture
They learned guitar in rebel camps in Libya. In 2012 Tinariwen won a Grammy
Tinariwen formed in the late 1970s among Tuareg exiles in Libya and Algeria, playing electric guitar songs about…
Arts + Culture
Five Grammys, four in one category: Angélique Kidjo’s record in global music
Angélique Kidjo has won five Grammy Awards, four of them for Best Global Music Album, more than any…
Music
A Grammy with Future and Drake, an Oscar nomination with Rihanna: how Tems became Afrobeats’ most wanted voice
Tems went from "Essence" with Wizkid to a Grammy for "Wait for U" and an Oscar nomination for…
Music
Angélique Kidjo beat Burna Boy to a Grammy in 2020 and told the world he was next. A year later he won
At the 2020 Grammys, Angélique Kidjo won Best World Music Album over Burna Boy's African Giant and used…