Liz Johnson-Artur’s Archive
The Ghanaian-Russian photographer documents the African diaspora in Europe, mostly in the United Kingdom.
Culture
The Trumpet King
Zeal Onyia was a master Nigerian trumpet player from the 1950s treated as an equal by Louis Armstrong.
Jeffrey Gettleman, Our Man in Kenya
Is the New York Times' correspondent in East Africa, a journalist or just someone relaying stereotypes?
Addis Swing
The revival of Ethiopian jazz, a tradition that dates back to the 1920s, and had its heyday under Emperor Haile Selassie.
Lifestyle TV
Parts of Johannesburg's inner city has been subjected to aggressive gentrification. It also comes with lots of mindless media.
Among the Savages
Why does a progressive Spanish TV channel close to the ruling Socialist government exploit Africans for entertainment?
Die Antwoord is Blackface
Die Antwoord is basically blackface. But blackface is also tricky, argues poet and writer Rustum Kozain.
Akon’s Africa
The Senegalese-American crooner's uninspiring "Oh Africa" reminds of bubblegum South African pop from the 1980s.
Songs for Nelson Mandela
The top tunes dedicated to Nelson Mandela, arguably the most recognizable liberation figure from South Africa.
Kehinde Wiley paints African football
Wiley, known for painting black men as figures from Renaissance art, now does the same with Africa's best football talents.
The Transformation of K’naan
How a political song about the aftermath of the Cold War, refugees and statelessness was defanged, first for FIFA and then for Coca Cola.
Representing Fela
The New York Times' chief theater critic, surprise, misses the point about the musical, "Fela!"
The Bubu King
Janka Nabay is the premier exponent of Sierra Leone's frantic and frenetic Bubu Music.
The Wrong Answer
The nonsense that foreign journalists, who don't understand Afrikaans or the language's creole cultural history, write about Die Antwood.
Abuse of Patriarchy
South African feminist academic, Pumla Gqola, takes on all the whataboutisms thrown up by Jacob Zuma's defenders.
Out of Italy
We join forces with the Italian news aggregator Afronline. That and other "Africa" references from this week.
Martin Scorcese namechecks Ousmane Sembene
Scorcese not only restores prints of African cinema classics, he also counts Ousmane Sembene as one of cinema's greatest directors.
What Obama means to Black Americans
Black America want better schools, better jobs, cheaper health care, lower taxes, smaller prison populations, stronger labor unions.
The Music of Alex van Heerden
Van Heerden was a fixture in Cape Town's jazz and alternative music scenes. His music is now available for purchase online.
Mos Def and the Battle of Algiers
What is that sample of Arabic during Slick Rick’s verse on Mos Def's "The Auditorium"?