Africa Is a Country

From Lisbon to Lagos

From Lisbon to Lagos

By
Hipsters Don't Dance

It's the end of the year, so Hipsters Dont Dance made a "Top World Carnival Collabs" of 2015.

Katia Mk, via Unsplash.

After doing a year of monthly roundups for the best in World Carnival sounds in 2015, we have noticed that Afropop in particular has had a stellar year. Perhaps most noticeably, it was Wizkid exploding onto the international stage that drew our collective attention, and we expect bigger things from him next year. Another noticeable trend was South African producers becoming the go-to guys for Afropop hits, helping shape the sound across the continent and diaspora. Additionally, so many other great inspiring African sounds from Lisbon to Lagos became staples in clubs across the world.

Much of the successes in 2015 for African artists have come from high profile collaborations. These became the go to strategy for artists trying and become the next break out artist in markets unfamiliar with them or their national sound. This trend has been the general order of the day for artists from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and beyond, landing music from the continent in markets as far removed from the sphere of daily continental influence as Colombia, Trinidad, the UK, and that great specter: USA.

Since so many artists from across Africa and the diaspora ended up working together to bring us some of the most exciting tunes of the year, here are our top ten world carnival collaborations of 2015. Here’s to 2016 being even bigger:

1. Wizkid feat Drake & Skepta x Ojuelegba Remix

2. Ayo Jay & Fetty Wap x Your Number

3. Kwamz & Flava feat R2Bees x Wo Onane No remix

4. Frenchie Feat Naira Marley x Cele

5. Boddhi Satva feat Nelson Freitas x May Heart

6. Edanos feat Timaya x Whine For Me

7. Rundown feat Wizkid x Bend Down Pause

8. Patoranking feat Wande Coal x My Woman My Everything

9. Leriq feat Wizkid x Say You Love Me

10. Frenchy Le Boss feat Giggs x Flexing

Further Reading

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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.

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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.