August 1, Benin
Maybe not the most popular artist in Benin today, but the country’s independence day is a
Culture
Music Break / Ana Tijoux
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1jFThFnGTY&w=600&h=373] Last week in Bolinas, CA, my friend, Kora McNaughton (she lives in Santiago), got me
The Bang Bang Club
Journalists in South Africa are picking up on how the film, "The Bang Bang Club," treats some of the Bang Bang Club's black colleagues. And other Weekend Specials.
July 26, Liberia
The oldest republic in Africa, Liberia–formed in 1847–celebrates its independence today. Chances are Dumyarea, the song we
The Planet of Hip Hop
One of the founders of Cape Town rap music label, Pioneer Unit Records, talks about the local hip hop scene, talks about the coloured Afrikaans and Xhosa rap scene there.
Music Break / The Plastics
Music video for the Cape Town band, The Plastics. They worked with Gordon Raphael, who also produces
Spinning in Gauteng
Journalist/photographer Chris Parkinson, who lives in Johannesburg, has shot this short film about car spinning in
Mandela's heirs
The documentary “Dear Mandela,” about three young leaders of a shack dwellers movement in Durban, South
The people of Blikkiesdorp
Photographer Lizane Louw chronicles the people of Blikkiesdorp, a temporary relocation camp on Cape Town's Cape Flats.
Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela
South Africa’s first democratic president is 93 years old today. The artwork is a collaboration between
Ken's Song
Some rural flavor from Hambale, Zambia. Filmed by David Tree. H/T: Adrian Bischoff.
Hillywood
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD2ZHiGmws8&w=600&h=373] The program of selected films and documentaries for this year’s Rwanda Film Festival going down
'The last photo before leaving'
Kwa Heri Mandima (Goodbye Mandima) is a short film by the French-Dutch director Robert-Jan Lacombe doing
The Redemption of General Butt-Naked
A film about former Liberian child soldier, Joshua Milton Blahyi, adds to his celebrity and his reputation as a skilled manipulator.
Corner Shops and Arcade Games
In hoods in 1980s South Africa, 20-cent pieces were used to play the old bootleg arcade games at corner stores. It also inspired a clothing label.
Liberian identity for a new generation
Young people in Monrovia create a new music genre. Junior Freeman is at the heart of this musical revolution.
Lady Gaga lives in Lagos
Goldie’s allusions to madness typify a common theme present in the music of many of today’s successful female artists.
A nice saxophone solo
Pop culture is often at its best when it accurately reflects reality, so it’s no surprise that our music, like our history, is repeating itself.
Pretty in Pink
One in ten young people on Cape Town's Cape Flats finish high school. The highlight of their school career - and sometime their lives - is prom, known as the matric ball.
Jeremy Cronin’s Cape Town
The leftist and poet Jeremy Cronin speaks on identity politics and race in South Africa's second city, Cape Town.