Africa Is a Country

Friday Bonus Music Break, N°26

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Friday Bonus Music Break, N°26

By
Tom Devriendt

We should start numbering these bonus music breaks. First up, above, from Kenya: the Large Gang, who claim to be “a lifestyle,” or at least more than a music group. Also from Nairobi (H/T “urban soul” blog GetMziki), the Grandpa Records family (basically a group of artists that are signed to the label) doesn’t take itself too seriously. Refreshing:

Coupé-décalé from Côte d’Ivoire in front of a green screen with beats by DJ Arafat (check the hilarious virtual guitar halfway into the video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UjGb1th2EU

A new and dreamy video for Ghanaian singer Efya:

You’re familiar with Mensa by now, so you know what to expect. File under Good Music (seriously) / Humor / No Further Comment:

According to South African rapper Jack Parow, Afrikaans (the language) is Dead.

But that’s of course not quite what he means, if you listen closely to the lyrics. Another Afrikaans rapper, also from Cape Town, is HemelBesem. Not sure what’s up with the Tennessee reference at the start here:

Switching gears: South London rapper Corynne Elliott aka Speech Debelle’s living for the message:

I’ve been listening to Salif Keita’s excellent new record this week. It’s produced by Philippe Cohen Solal (from Argentinian Gotan Project). Here they talk a bit about the recording (also introducing Esperanza Spalding) — the recurring song in the background is stand-out track ‘C’est Bon, C’est Bon’, a collaboration with Roots Manuva:

And finally, Seu Jorge has uploaded to his YouTube channel the complete concert he gave a year ago at the Quinta Da Boa Vista park in Rio de Janeiro at the occasion of the Dia da Consciência Negra. It was a star-studded affair (what a band!). Here’s Seu Jorge jamming with Caetano Veloso:

Further Reading

Kenya’s vibe shift

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Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.