Africa Is a Country

The Delasi Edition

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

The Delasi Edition

By
Delasi

This selection of smooth Afropop illustrates Delasi's transnational vision for contemporary African art and music.

The art for Delasi's 2015 release, #ThoughtJourney

Highly recommended for your weekend mornings: It’s the second Weekend Music Break of the year (enter confetti and dancehall sirens) and I’m super delighted to present you this playlist.

(1) We kick off with the Afro bass duo Gato Preto’s “Take a Stand”, which features Kenyan singer Janice Iche. Sounds like an anthem for African pride everywhere in the world.

(2) On “Brujas,” the Bronx-based artist Princess Nokia explores her roots and origins acknowledging the Yoruba deity Orisha. Try not to get possessed as you enjoy the visuals.

(3) Senegalese producer Ibaaku takes you to his abstract world on the hypnotic tune “Monkey Boy” off his Alien Cartoon album.

(4) Next stop, practice your dance moves to Branko’s “Let Me Go” track feat. Nonku Phiri & Mr. Carmack. Shot in Joburg, enjoy nice Pantsula dance moves infused with zouk bass and Nonku’s chilled R&B flavor.

(5) Sudanese and Nubian inspired collective Alsarah & The Nubatones share melodic vocals in Arabic backed by oud drums on their quest to find home.

(6) Sampha’s “Blood On Me” is bordering around dark and desperately forebodes the demons that are out to get him. For the sake of delicious music, let’s hope they don’t find him.

(7) Jamaican singer-songwriter Chronixx pays tribute to all the queens, if you are not teary eyed at the beauty of black love celebration then you may probably have ideas of starting your own family.

(8) “How Far” by Red Red is a socially conscious and politically unapologetic tune that sees M3nsa playing different faces of the average Ghanaian, and asking the most pertinent questions on all of Ghanaians’ minds.

(9) UK based Ghanaian producer DJ Juls has steadily been releasing hits for a while now. Enjoy this video for “Give you Love” ft. L.A.X.

(10) What would the world do without the black woman? Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 celebrates and glorifies the strength and power of black women in the diaspora.

Further Reading

Kenya’s vibe shift

From aesthetic cool to political confusion, a new generation in Kenya is navigating broken promises, borrowed styles, and the blurred lines between irony and ideology.

Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.

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.