Africa Is a Country

Bigger and bigger

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Bigger and bigger

By
Hipsters Don't Dance

Every month, Hipsters Don't Dance send us their "Top World Carnival Tunes." This is September 2015's chart.

Marc St, via Unsplash.

It’s been a while since we last did a chart; In news from our part of the world, Carnival passed (great as per usual), various African nations had their annual picnic in the park events in London (bigger and better each year), and Skepta took over the world. Here’s our chart for September 2015:

J Hus x Friendly

The Gambian MC recently ran into some trouble which we won’t get into. He is one of the most exciting new MC’s in the UK at the moment. By combining afrobeats with dancehall and well, UK road rap, he has definitely found his lane. This can work for the traditional dreary road rap or lighter things such as this track.

Frenchie x #Cele (Featuring Naira Marley)

This combination of Congo and Nigeria popped out of nowhere and it’s frankly great. Naira Marley hasn’t been on this sort of happy vibe in a while, so it’s great to see him really get to strut his stuff.

Big Nuz x Phaqa

Rip R. Mashesha. Incwadi Yothando is a classic and one of the few songs to actually make Hootie Who cry and skank at the same time.

Just wanted to take some time to point out that carnival is the one time of year that Afro or Caribbean promoters decide to all put on some mega acts on the same weekend. So we saw a Mafizokolo show on the same night as a Living Drumz Show in London. Hopefully these types of bookings will spread out more over the year as the genre grows bigger and better.

Fay-Ann Lyons x Block the Road (Feat. Stonebwoy)

More Afro/Caribbean link ups, this time Ghana and Trinidad. It seems as if Stonebwoy is working with everyone at the moment. This is one of the first fruits of those collaborations.

Heavy K x Therapy (Feat. Burna Boy)

Heavy K’s double disc LP came out earlier this month and features a who’s who of South African house music. Also on there is Burna Boy handling this uptempo beat with no problem. The more we listen to Burna Boy the more we see a tinge of Craig David but this is all him here.

Further Reading

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.