Africa Is a Country

Bam bam riddim

Bam bam riddim

By
Hipsters Don't Dance

Hipster's Don't Dance's 'Top 5 World Carnival Tunes' for September 2014.

Gaia Beat.

The second edition of the Hipster’s Don’t Dance monthly chart on Africa is a Country is here. Check it below, and be sure to visit the HDD blog regularly for all our great up-to-the-timeness out of London.

Wizkid – In My Bed

Last time we did a chart we bemoaned the fact that Wizkid wasn’t releasing his 2nd Lp, stashing it away like it was Detox. Then he went ahead and dropped it in the middle of the night ala Beyonce (he says it was in fact leaked). It’s a great effort and this one sees his channeling South Africa more than his recent efforts.

Burna Boy – Check and Balance

I really hope Burna Boy and his record label patch things up because part of his appeal was Leriq’s beats. This weak Bam Bam riddim retread is ok and keeps his dancehall fans happy but at the end of the day its just not the same.

Gaia Beat – Kimpelequecé (feat Fiuk Tutuka)

Can everything be produced by Angolan Gaia Beat? Commercials, ringtones, alerts on public transport? This track from earlier in the year features some incredible kuduro dancing as well.

Kcee – Ogaranya ft. Davido

Kcee and Davido team up for Ogaranya and the video is one of the most vibrant Afropop videos out at the moment. It sees the pair stunting in their best traditional attire complete with Nigerian coral. Keep your eyes peeled for the shot with the doves!

Wande Coal x Baby Hello

Wande Cole’s “Baby Hello” video sees Yemi Alade as the video girl in what looks to us like Naija’s 2014 take on Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” video. “Rotate” is still getting a lot of love from us and this one is following in its footsteps.

Further Reading

Not exactly at arm’s length

Despite South Africa’s ban on arms exports to Israel and its condemnation of Israel’s actions in Palestine, local arms companies continue to send weapons to Israel’s allies and its major arms suppliers.

Ruto’s Kenya

Since June’s anti-finance bill protests, dozens of people remain unaccounted for—a stark reminder of the Kenyan state’s long history of abductions and assassinations.

Between Harlem and home

African postcolonial cinema serves as a mirror, revealing the limits of escape—whether through migration or personal defiance—and exposing the tensions between dreams and reality.

The real Rwanda

The world is slowly opening its eyes to how Paul Kagame’s regime abuses human rights, suppresses dissent, and exploits neighboring countries.

In the shadow of Mondlane

After a historic election and on the eve of celebrating fifty years of independence, Mozambicans need to ask whether the values, symbols, and institutions created to give shape to “national unity” are still legitimate today.

À sombra de Mondlane

Depois de uma eleição histórica e em vésperas de celebrar os 50 anos de independência, os moçambicanos precisam de perguntar se os valores, símbolos e instituições criados para dar forma à “unidade nacional” ainda são legítimos hoje.