Tag: African musicians in America

Music

Minnesota singers welcome South African choir into their homes

By JENNA ROSS , STAR TRIBUNE

Back in August 2018, in a South African school, a pair of sopranos sang and swayed together. Maya Tester and Thulisile Ntetha were from different choirs, different continents. But minutes into their first rehearsal, they were chatting and laughing.

“We just clicked,” said Ntetha.

More than a year later, the pair giggled as they told the story in a very different setting: Tester’s south Minneapolis kitchen.

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Music

South African DJ Tira appears on Beats 1 Radio to push amapiano & gqom in America

BY MASEGO SEEMELA

DJ Tira is making major moves in the US, and it is all in the name of pushing SA music.

Makoya Bearings, as he refers to himself, made a guest appearance on Beats 1 Radio, hosted by Ebro Darden.

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Music

The Lijadu Sisters: the Nigerian twins who fought the elite with funk
  • The death of Kehinde Lijadu marks the end of a wonderfully idiosyncratic partnership, where warped pop met fierce politics

By Kate Hutchinson 

One joyful evening at the Barbican, London, in April 2014, identical Nigerian twins, then aged 65, appeared on stage in matching sparkly red dresses alongside musicians including Damon Albarn, Sinkane, Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip and Beastie Boys collaborator Money Mark. They were there to sing the music of William Onyeabor, an elusive synth-pop oddball whose music had been rediscovered by David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label and was being toured by this unlikely supergroup. But the twins were also making their return to the spotlight following their own lost years, having languished in obscurity for decades.

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Music

Brian Shimkovitz on his quest to find awesome African albums

By Bolaji Alonge

American music collector Brian Shimkovitz has a keen ear for music that could be easily lost in the bargain bin of history. Before realising his Awesome Tapes From Africa (ATFA) music blog and DJ project, Shimkovitz had gone to Ghana to study the hip hop scene in the country. He returned to the US with a host of audio cassettes that one could only find at African markets.

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Entertainment

Nigerian superstar, Davido to make Hollywood debut in Coming To America 2

Nigerian international music superstar, Davido, is set to make acting debut in Hollywood, with a performance role in the sequel of the 1988 romantic comedy classic, “Coming To America”.

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People

Classic man, Jidenna, reiterates that even though he is American, he was first African

“My first seven years [developmental years] were spent in Enugu, Nigeria before I moved to the United States so that means I learned all the primary things here first. It means I learned how to speak English here first, I learned to walk here, my facial expressions come from here, I gained wisdom from Aunties and Uncles here so by the time I got to the U.S everything I saw was from a Nigerian perspective or a wider African lens.” —Jidenna

The highly regarded musician was in Nigeria to promote his new album 85 to Africa He spoke to CHISOM NJOKU while there

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Music, People

Inspired by Fela, Nigeria’s Burna Boy blazes trail in the US

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON, ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK 

Burna Boy was only six years old when Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti passed away, but that was enough time for the future musician to be inspired.

“Everyone’s got their hero,” the 28-year-old Nigerian performer said. “For me, that’s my hero.”

Kuti — the Nigerian musical icon and political agitator whose life and legacy was portrayed in the wildly popular Broadway musical “Fela!” — was once managed by Burna Boy’s grandfather, someone else he calls a hero.

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Entertainment

With African Music On The Rise, Afro-Themed Dance Parties Get To Win, Too

by Amira Rasool

When walking up to the venue for New York City day party Everyday Afrique, the music greets you before you can even reach the door. Depending on the day or the DJ, you might be welcomed with a remix of Afrobeats star Mr. Eazi’s 2013 hit song “Bankulize” or embraced by Niniola’s 2017 Afrohouse single “Maradona.”

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Music, People

Afropop Queen Victoria Kimani Is Kenya’s Best Kept Secret

The “Wash It” singer tells the Recording Academy about her multinational background, growing up in L.A., Tulsa, Nigeria and Kenya and breaking out of what can sometimes be an isolating music scene

By RACHEL BRODSKY

Everyone has an origin story, and R&B/Afropop singer Victoria Kimani‘s is especially memorable. Born in Los Angeles to Kenyan parents, the 34-year-old moved all over the globe—specifically to Tulsa, Okla., Nigeria and finally Kenya—during her teen years.

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Music

How Afrobeats Is Influencing American Pop Music, According to Producer P2J

BY KEMET HIGH

Afrobeats has been steadily infiltrating the U.S. airwaves for the past few years. In fact, you may have heard Afro B’s “Drogba (Joanna)” thumping out of someone’s car speakers this summer, bringing the uplifting vibe you need when the sun is out.

The term afrobeats has been used to describe a collective campaign of different musical styles stemming from Africa, not to get mixed up with Afrobeat, which is a West African music genre blending fuji and highlife music with American jazz and funk, pioneered by Fela Kuti. Afrobeats is a word that’s used to bring awareness to African-influenced music from collectives like the Flight Club, artists like Davido, Burna Boy, and Wizkid, and producers like P2J.

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Music

African gospel music producers aim to break into Edmonton’s music scene

‘Sometimes in a world where maybe the favour is not in your lane you create your own favour’

By Thandiwe Konguavi · CBC News

A number of renowned African gospel music producers, who now call Edmonton home, are working non-stop to break African musicians into mainstream Christian radio stations. 

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Entertainment

Watch Burna Boy Perform ‘Anybody’ on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

By Rufaro Samanga

The devil works hard but Burna Boy certainly works harder. Last night, the indomitable Nigerian artist appeared on the late night American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! alongside Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie, who were promoting their new film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

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Entertainment

A Guide to All the African Artists Who Appear on Beyoncé’s Lion King Album

By Gabrielle Bruney

The “live-action” Lion King remake hews closely to the original film, even recreating some scenes with shot-for-shot precision. But Beyoncé’s album that accompanies the film, The Lion King: The Gift, takes an approach that’s more inspired than a simple retread of familiar songs. Though the 27-track release is liberally woven with at-times distracting spoken word excepts from the film, the songs themselves are only inspired by the story, and you don’t need to be a Lion King fan to get on board. 

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People

How Burna Boy Became Nigeria’s Surprise Success Story

by Nick Duerden

When Burna Boy arrives three hours late to an east London studio on a balmy July evening, he is laid-back to the point of comatose — and monosyllabic. He asks that the photo shoot happen quickly, and when he sits down to be interviewed, the first thing he does is stand up again. “No,” he says, suddenly definitive. “Need a smoke. Come.”

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Music

African stars Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy to feature in Beyoncés ‘Lion King: The Gift’ Album

The superstar’s new album will feature a number of African stars who rarely get exposure in the U.S.

By Elias Leight

Beyoncé has announced The Lion King: The Gift, an album that will accompany the remake of the famous Disney animated film will have a track list that includes stars from Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, artists who rarely get exposure in the American mainstream. 

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