Summertime Vibes

Hipsters Don't Dance "Top World Carnival Tunes" for February 2015.

Sherise, via Unsplash.

One week after the World Carnival holiday, we are back with our first chart of 2015. Enjoy this round of tunes, and remember to visit the HDD blog for all the great up-to-the-time-ness out of London. Also, see the archives of posts.

Gino Brown x MercyO

South African house guy Gino Brown teams up with Nigerian MC Pinky Jay, the groove on this is great and Gino really has something going by putting these two styles together. House may have an affinity to powerful divas but now it’s time for Sh@t talking women.

Martel B x Badda Dan Dem Remix (Feat. Bigz, Frisco & Young Spray)

Martel B’s hit is bubbling up and this year has seen two remixes appear. This is the better one with UK legends Frisco and Bigz hopping on it. Also like Kanye at the Brits, you can peep Skepta in the back.The Naija remix deserves a listen as well.

Moelogo x Sweetie

His first release on a major label is a cover/interpolation of Bunny Mack’s classic Let Me Love You. Every family function should have played this, now the kids can now pretend it’s their own.

Yanga X Awuth’Yam REMIX (Feat. KiD & AKA)

This month’s chart is slightly skewed towards South Africa because we just came back from an incredible trip to the country. Effectively the same combo that came up with Run Jozi are back with this jam. Summertime flows and vibes.

Cassper Nyovest x Ghetto (Feat. DJ Drama & Anatii)

First of all shout out fellow Africa Is a Country contributors writers Dylan and Antoinette (as well as Leila) for putting us on in South Africa. One of the things we were recommended was Cassper. Lo and Behold a week or so later here he is teaming up with DJ Drama for Ghetto.

Further Reading

On Safari

On our year-end publishing break, we reflect on how 2024’s contradictions reveal a fractured world grappling with inequality, digital activism, and the blurred lines between action and spectacle.

Rebuilding Algeria’s oceans

Grassroots activists and marine scientists in Algeria are building artificial reefs to restore biodiversity and sustain fishing communities, but scaling up requires more than passion—it needs institutional support and political will.

Ibaaku’s space race

Through Afro-futurist soundscapes blending tradition and innovation, Ibaaku’s new album, ‘Joola Jazz,’ reshapes Dakar’s cultural rhythm and challenges the legacy of Négritude.

An allegiance to abusers

This weekend, Chris Brown will perform two sold-out concerts in South Africa. His relationship to the country reveals the twisted dynamic between a black American artist with a track record of violence and a country happy to receive him.

Shell’s exit scam

Shell’s so-called divestment from Nigeria’s Niger Delta is a calculated move to evade accountability, leaving behind both environmental and economic devastation.

Africa’s sibling rivalry

Nigeria and South Africa have a fraught relationship marked by xenophobia, economic competition, and cultural exchange. The Nigerian Scam are joined by Khanya Mtshali to discuss the dynamics shaping these tensions on the AIAC podcast.

The price of power

Ghana’s election has brought another handover between the country’s two main parties. Yet behind the scenes lies a flawed system where wealth can buy political office.

Beats of defiance

From the streets of Khartoum to exile abroad, Sudanese hip-hop artists have turned music into a powerful tool for protest, resilience, and the preservation of collective memory.