Weekend Music Break No.75

Wanlov the Kubolor

Here’s your weekend selection for May 23rd, 2015. To kick things off, just stop what you’re doing, watch and listen to this by Wanlov…

A message from Sierra Leone to South Africa (to the World) — relevant to many of the posts going up on this site as of late — Kao Denero asks, “Why?”…

A song is so good, it kind of hurts… Nneka channels the spirit of Bob Marley in “Book of Job”…

Also in the “conscious” vein, a sax-backed message from Togo’s Elom 20ce…

Continuing the rap section of today’s selection, Pappy Kojo teams up with Sarkodie on “Ay3 Late”…

South African rap duo Gods on Drugs sent us this video for their track “Garage Dragon”…

Switching gears a bit, Djeff turns in a high-energy video for his mind-blowing “Ser Kazukuta” track!

Wunmi shows us how to keep a “Fit Body”…

Going through the Africa is a Country email archives we ran into this from Boston based Kina Zoré…

And finally, an interesting artifact from the Okayplayer family, Questlove goes to Cuba…

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.