Feature

Explainers, analyses, and essays on government policies, and political trends and movements around the continent

“Starrgirl”: Ayra Starr Trades Becoming for Being

In Starrgirl, Ayra Starr does not ask you to reconsider Ayra Starr. She assumes you already know who she is and expects you to keep up. The title alone sends listeners a message before they press play. Her first two records were titled around age — 19 & Dangerous introduced a fearless, fast-talking teenager; The […]

Anjola Akinmade

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4 days ago

“Starrgirl”: Ayra Starr Trades Becoming for Being

Is Nigerian Music Embracing Violent Culture?

In a way, this unspoken creed of non-violence in rap is a testament to Hip-Hop’s enculturation into Nigeria, and a marker of the contextual differences between the genre as practiced here and its American origins. It is also a function of the demographic that major Nigerian rappers have been culled from—older, university-educated men often converted from the 9-5 workforce or with demonstrable businesses on the side.

Patrick Ezema

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2 years ago

Is Nigerian Music Embracing Violent Culture?

Beyond Yemi Alade’s Cultural Attire At the Grammys

In an NPR interview, Yemi Alade described herself as a vessel for culture, effortlessly connecting with languages—even those she doesn’t fully understand. Throughout her career, she has proudly represented Africa through both her music and fashion, and the 2025 Grammy Awards were no exception. Nominated for Best African Music Performance for her single Tomorrow, Alade […]

Shalom Tewobola

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2 years ago

Beyond Yemi Alade’s Cultural Attire At the Grammys

Diamond Platnumz Needs His Own Show

What haven’t you heard of Diamond Platnumz? Since the third installment of Young, Famous & African premiered, his name has lingered ceaselessly on the lips of fans of the show. He’s been doted on and disparaged in equal measure. To his detractors, he’s a duplicitous, morally abhorrent, philandering character. His fans see him differently. To […]

Chibuzo Emmanuel

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2 years ago

Diamond Platnumz Needs His Own Show

The Grammys Still Has a Narrow-Minded View of African Music

In 2020, in an attempt to broaden the awards’ scope, The Recording Academy elected to overhaul the Best World Music Album category. The overhaul involved, amongst other things, changing the category’s name to Best Global Album. The motivations were to some degree cosmetic; the World Music tag had become mired in connotations of colonialism and […]

Chibuzo Emmanuel

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2 years ago

The Grammys Still Has a Narrow-Minded View of African Music

Wase Taiwo on Art’s Power For Self-Expression

To be an artist like Wase Taiwo, a multi-hyphenate who has become a formidable presence within Lagos’ rapidly expanding art scene, is to simultaneously straddle multiple realities. As an artist he leads an understated existence, ever lingering in the shadows, to allow his work to bask in the spotlight. His Instagram page, an eclectic collage, […]

Chibuzo Emmanuel

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2 years ago

Wase Taiwo on Art’s Power For Self-Expression
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