*By Jimmy Kainja* Last week we had a public holiday in Malawi. May 14 is "Kamuzu Day," when the nation celebrates the life of its founding president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda whose autocratic rule lasted between 1964 and 1994. The day has been there since Kamuzu's reign, during which it was celebrated as his birthday. This despite [...]

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*By Jimmy Kainja* Last week we had a public holiday in Malawi. May 14 is "Kamuzu Day," when the nation celebrates the life of its founding president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda whose autocratic rule lasted between 1964 and 1994. The day has been there since Kamuzu's reign, during which it was celebrated as his birthday. This despite [...]

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"There are no foreclosed destinies, only deserted responsabilities" has become one of the mottos of the collective of Senegalese singers and journalists known as Y'En A Marre ("Enough is enough" in French). In the wake of the 2012 presidential elections, the group gained international recognition for leading the charge against then President Abdoulaye Wade, who [...]

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"There are no foreclosed destinies, only deserted responsabilities" has become one of the mottos of the collective of Senegalese singers and journalists known as Y'En A Marre ("Enough is enough" in French). In the wake of the 2012 presidential elections, the group gained international recognition for leading the charge against then President Abdoulaye Wade, who [...]

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Okwui Enwezor described the ephemera of Africa that arrived in European docks as "strange cargo": as it was unloaded from ship to warehouse by longshoremen, as it was bid on, sold, and displayed in wealthy homes, lost and rediscovered, each object shaped European visions of Africa. 'Africa' as we imagine it now, was shaped by [...]

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Okwui Enwezor described the ephemera of Africa that arrived in European docks as "strange cargo": as it was unloaded from ship to warehouse by longshoremen, as it was bid on, sold, and displayed in wealthy homes, lost and rediscovered, each object shaped European visions of Africa. 'Africa' as we imagine it now, was shaped by [...]

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Tony Allen's forthcoming book Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat (Duke University Press, September 2013): "Tony Allen is the autobiography of legendary Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, the rhythmic engine of Fela Kuti's Afrobeat. Conversational, inviting, and packed with telling anecdotes, Allen's memoir is based on hundreds of hours of interviews with the [...]

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Tony Allen's forthcoming book Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat (Duke University Press, September 2013): "Tony Allen is the autobiography of legendary Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, the rhythmic engine of Fela Kuti's Afrobeat. Conversational, inviting, and packed with telling anecdotes, Allen's memoir is based on hundreds of hours of interviews with the [...]

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Gata Misteriosa and Lee Bass (the Mozambican-Portuguese-Ghanaian-German duo who go by the name of Gato Preto) dropped this new video for "Pirao" last night: no longer strictly kuduro, not yet sure what to call it, but right in time for our weekend special of ten. Janka and the Bubu Gang (Sierro Leone via Brooklyn) also surprised [...]

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Gata Misteriosa and Lee Bass (the Mozambican-Portuguese-Ghanaian-German duo who go by the name of Gato Preto) dropped this new video for "Pirao" last night: no longer strictly kuduro, not yet sure what to call it, but right in time for our weekend special of ten. Video above. Janka and the Bubu Gang (Sierro Leone via [...]

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