By Lee DeVito | Detroit MetroTimes
An African music festival formerly known as “Afrochella” is coming to the U.S., and it’s making its American debut in the Motor City. Now called AfroFuture, the event bills itself as “a premier cultural platform dedicated to celebrating the beauty, creativity, and innovation of Africa and its diaspora.”
It first launched in Ghana in 2017.
Continue reading “AfroFuture festival to make U.S. debut in Detroit”
By AFP
Nigerian afrobeats star Tems has won her second Grammy with her hit “Love Me JeJe”, seeing off a line-up heavily dominated by Nigerian artists vying for “Best African Musical Performance”.
The song, which beat four others by star afrobeats performers, has notched up some 20 million views on YouTube.
In her acceptance speech at the 67th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles , Tems — whose real name is Temilade Openiyi — paid tribute to her mother.
Continue reading “Nigeria’s Tems Wins Grammy In Field Dominated By Afrobeats”
By Gabriel Myers Hansen | Music Africa
Nigerian singer CKay is leading the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart, which debuted on 29 March. The chart was launched through a partnership between Afrobeats festival brand Afro Nation and music and entertainment magazine Billboard. Afro Nation was also responsible for initiating the weekly Official Afrobeats Chart on BBC Radio 1Xtra in 2020.
The Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart, which was fuelled by the genre’s growing global demand, ranks the top 50 Afrobeats songs in the US based on official streaming data from leading audio and video music services, as well as download sales from top music retailers.
Continue reading “Nigerians dominate Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart”
By Matthew Allen | The Grio
African music icon Miriam Makeba’s life was defined by duality. She was a proud South African who embraced both her heritage and Black American culture but didn’t feel completely accepted in either place. Like so many people of the diaspora, she lived between two worlds while feeling alienated from both. Known best for “The Click Song” and “Pata Pata,” the woman dubbed Mama Africa left a rich musical legacy only eclipsed by her activism against apartheid and Jim Crow.
Like Makeba, Somi’s life follows a similar polarity. She’s the daughter of African immigrants but has called America home for most of her life.
Continue reading “Somi pays homage to African icon Miriam Makeba with stage play, album”
By Ebimo Amungo
With two covers of her song “Way Maker” hitting the Top 10 of the Christian songs category on Billboard, Nigerian gospel singer, Osinachi Okoro-Joseph, has topped the Christian songwriter category of Billboard.
Versions of “Way Maker” by Michael W. Smith and Madelyn Berry are concurrently in the Top 10, while two other versions are in the Top 40, making a total of four versions of the same song in the Billboard Top 50.
Continue reading “Sinach : Two versions of “Way Maker” on Billboard Top 10 propel Nigerian to summit of Christian songwriters chart”
Immerse yourself in the underground and emerging arts of the African diaspora via Bakanal de Afrique, a multi-genre festival taking place throughout November in Oakland and San Francisco presented by the Afro Urban Society and Dance Mission Theater. This according to DATEBOOK Continue reading “Bakanal de Afrique brings African diaspora performance to Oakland and SF”
Spotify recently launched its Afro Hub initiative as part of its Global Cultures Project. “It’s our mission to uncover every layer of this ancient, expressive and rhythmic musical culture which is an important component of today’s mainstream, modern music,” the popular music streaming service said. This report by Mazuba Kapambwe of IR Insider gives more details. Continue reading “Spotify Launches Afro Hub to Showcase African Music”
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