Amadou Bagayoko is dead. He was part of “the blind couple of Bamako”
Introduction: With their conviction, talent, strong melodies and good production, Amadou & Mariam became hugely successful. They made lovely music that makes you happy. On...
By Alaba Ilesanmi Rikki Stein, born into a regular, middle-class home in the UK, has had what must have seemed an unlikely career. As a...
Kenyan artists reflect Gen Z hopes and frustrations in new exhibition
By Anne Mwiti In the Absence seeks to trigger thoughts and pose questions about Kenya as a nation. Is Kenya really free from its colonial...
Fela Kuti is more famous today than ever – what’s behind his global power
By Alaba Ilesanmi Almost three decades after his passing in 1997, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary Nigerian musician and activist who created the Afrobeat music movement, remains the subject of...
Toumani Diabaté: the famed musician from Mali who took the kora to the world
By Roderic Knight The world has lost a significant musical ambassador for the Mande people of West Africa – the virtuoso kora player, composer,...
Wole Soyinka at 90: writer and activist for justice
By Abayomi Awelewa Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka, the legendary African author and activist, is proof of what words and acts can achieve in the struggle for...
By Nemata Blyden There’s a long history of African Americans settling in Ghana or keeping in close contact with the first African country to gain...
The mother of African dance at 80. Why Senegal’s Germaine Acogny is so influential
By Lliane Loots Africa’s most celebrated dancer and choreographer, Germaine Acogny, turns 80 on 28 May. I have had the privilege of meeting the Senegalese...
