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Entertainment
Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti was already outspoken about conditions under Nigeria’s military regime, but his 1976 song “Zombie” took it to a new level, lambasting the government’s minions with lyrics like “zombie no go think, unless you tell ’em to think,” over one of his trademark Africanized James Brown grooves. The junta responded by …
Souleymane’s Story, an award-winning French film directed by Boris Lojkine, has premiered in the U.S. The film stars Abou Sangaré and depicts the challenges faced by Souleymane, an undocumented Guinean immigrant in Paris. It illustrates his struggles to obtain work as a bicycle courier for a food delivery app, secure housing, and seek asylum in …
Group Therapy, a rave event in Lagos, has been attracting thousands of attendees to its monthly gatherings. It provides an environment focused on dancing and community rather than on the competition to purchase expensive drinks, according to participants. “Raves are more democratic,” says one attendee. Ope Adetayo reports. On a recent Friday night, thousands of …
Italy’s fashion industry has historically seen limited involvement from Black individuals, but the Afrofashion Association has recently supported over 30 designers. Among them is Ghanaian-born Victor Reginald Bob Abbey-Hart, whose denim coats garnered attention at Milan’s Fashion Week in January. Colleen Barry reports. A day before an emerging Ghanaian designer made his Milan runway debut …
There’s something seemingly novel about a song from South Africa going viral to the extent that the 2019 house-music song “Jerusalema” has done in 2020. The song is performed by musician and producer Master KG and vocalist Nomcebo Zikode. Apart from the song’s omnipresence on the sound systems of neighborhoods all across South Africa, it …
The COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic for Nigeria’s film industry, halting production and shuttering theaters. A quarter of the one million people it employs could lose their jobs, and making new films has been hindered by the requirement that actors stay six feet apart. Abraham Achirga and Alexi Akwagyiram report. Nigeria’s film industry is creeping …
In Lagos plastic waste is everywhere to be seen, as people continue to be casual about littering. Artist Adeyemi Emmanuel collects such waste and turns it into fashionable leather bags to raise environmental awareness. Nneka Chile reports. The sight of discarded plastic bottles and bags floating in the open drains of Nigeria’s megacity Lagos moved …
Nigerian artist creates leather bags out of plastic waste Read More »
A recent catwalk by models in Paris at the Haute Couture Fashion Week sporting gowns made of an indigenous cotton cloth from Burkina Faso were impressive enough, but much moreso when you realize that their designer, Cameroonian Imane Ayissi, has been trying to break that cultural fashion barrier for 28 years. He is now the …
Ayissi finally hits Paris Haute Couture in style Read More »
The film, An Act of Defiance, puts the spotlight on the 1963 trial of Nelson Mandela and nine of his African National Congress comrades in South Africa on charges of sabotage. It became known as the Rivonia Trial, and their lead lawyer was Bram Fischer, an Afrikaner. Lindie Koorts reports that the film is a …