ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Sep

2020

Burna Boy, Davido and Sho Madjozi to hit Afro Nation 2021

African Mirror Reporter SOME of Africa’s current biggest musicians have been listed to perform at the world’s biggest afro-beats festival, Afro Nation in Portugal, in 2021. South Africa’s Sho Madjozi and Busiswa, Nigeria’s Davido, Wizkid and Yemi Alade are some of the big African names listed on the festival poster which was posted on social media and their website. The stars are also set to perform alongside American musicians Rick Ross and Chris Brown. https://twitter.com/afronation/status/1301067444434481152?s=21 The Afro-centric festival will be headlined by hip-hop rapper French Montana, Davido and Burna Boy. More artists are to be added to the star-studded lineup. …

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Black Panther co-stars attend Chadwick Boseman’s memorial

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

African Mirror Reporter FAMILY and friends were in attendance for the American actor Chadwick Boseman’s memorial service, paying respects to the late ‘Black Panther’ star. Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o along with other Black Panther stars attended the outdoor memorial service with Boseman’s spouse, Taylor Simone Ledward, to say their final farewells. Photos published by The Sun showed the stars attending the memorial in Malibu, California, along with a photo of Boseman on display next to a floral arrangement. The memorial service also featured music being played from a hang drum. Chadwick Boseman passed away aged 43 in Los Angeles…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Shepherd-turned-singer mixes Lesotho folk music with techno, rap

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

EMILE BOSCH HE looks every bit the traditional Lesotho sheep herder, wrapped in a blanket to ward off the mountain kingdom's cold and swinging an ornate walking stick while he sings in the local Sesotho language. But since establishing himself in 2015, singer and rapper Teboho Mochaoa has gone beyond his home country's folk "Famo" music - with its trademark accordion and single drum - to produce an eclectic sound mixing electronic dance music, dub reggae and rap. That has enabled him to captivate audiences outside his native Lesotho, including in venues in Paris, Oslo, and Cape Town. He has…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Janet Jackson endorses #Jerusalema!

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER FRESH from an endorsement by Cristiano Ronaldo, the world best footballer, South African viral hit and dance sensation #Jerusalema has received the thumbs up from the queen of pop - Janet Jackson. Jackson posted a video of a South African girl dancing to #Jerusalema, the hit song and dance whose video has been watched over 100-million times on social media and has had doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers, monks and other celebrities around the world dancing. Jackson posted the video on Twitter and said: “Get it sis! #Goingin # BlackMagic @MasterKGsa.” The popular song was featured in…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Prince Harry and Meghan sign production deal with Netflix

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

BRITAIN's Prince Harry and his American-born wife Meghan have signed a multiyear contract with Netflix to produce programming ranging from children's shows to scripted series, the streaming platform has announced. The couple, who moved to Southern California with their infant son Archie earlier this year after stepping back from royal duties in the United Kingdom, will produce content on issues that resonate with them and that their nonprofit Archewell is focused on. "Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope," the couple said in a statement. "As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID crisis propels homeless Kenyan youth to rising R&B star

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AYENAT MERSIE FOR most of the past three years, up-and-coming Kenyan R&B artist Raymond Georges Ndungu Jane slept under a bridge at the edge of Nairobi's Uhuru Park. Since becoming homeless after a family tragedy at 12, it had been the best place the 22-year-old former choir boy had stayed: there was informal work, generous strangers abounded, and when both dried up there were the massive bald-headed marabou storks that were easy to hunt. Things were stable enough this year for Ndungu Jane, who goes by Ray Gee, to be in the mood to sing for his friends. And in…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

The beauty and brilliance of Baxsan, one of the most popular Somali singers of all time

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SEYNAB Haji Ali Siigaale, widely known as Baxsan, passed away on 19 October 2020 and was buried a day later in Sheikh Sufi Cemetery behind the Somali National Theatre building in the capital Mogadishu. Along with the likes of Halima Khalif Omar ‘Magool’, Baxsan was one of the most popular female Somali singers of all time. Almost 60 years after she embarked on her singing career, it remains impossible to find anyone in Somalia who doesn’t recognise her name. MOHAMED HAJI INGIRIIS, Doctoral candidate, University of Oxford Revered even by her adversaries, Baxsan was not buried in a way that…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Singer Simphiwe Dana comes out as gay and is getting married

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO AWARD-WINNING South African afro-pop singer Simphiwe Dana, has come out of the closet. Dana has disclosed that not only is she gay but that is also getting married. The afrofeminist made the announcement on social media, posting a few lines about her impending nuptials to her yet-to-be-identified partner. Dana posted a photograph of her fiancée but did not name her. Dana said: “I’m gay. I’ve been holding this in since forever. I’m gay”. https://twitter.com/simphiwedana/status/1324372335240118280 “I know coming out means Africa will block me. But, after a lot of thinking, I’m ok with it. I’m marrying a woman, and…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

How viral song Jerusalema joined the ranks of South Africa’s greatest hits

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AKHONA NDZUTA, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Fort Hare THERE'S something seemingly novel about a song from South Africa going viral to the extent that the 2019 house music song Jerusalema has done in 2020. The song is performed by musician and producer Master KG and vocalist Nomcebo Zikode. Apart from the song’s omnipresence on the sound systems of a cross-section of socio-economic neighbourhoods across South Africa, it has become a viral dance phenomenon, drawing in a diverse global audience. Internationally, politicians, sports stars, priests, nuns and monks, shop attendants, healthcare workers and infinite other global citizens have posted countless videos…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Why has protest music dried up in Nigeria?

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE failure of Nigeria’s current pop stars to identify with the country’s oppressed has inspired feelings of nostalgia about the late Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti. For much of his life, Kuti’s activism was the nemesis of the country’s military dictatorship and corrupt politicians. FLORENCE NWEKE, University of Lagos Famous for pairing his music with human rights activism Fela, who passed in 1997, stood against Nigeria’s military dictators, often at great personal cost to his family and band members. The apathy of Nigeria’s current crop of pop stars can be seen in the recent #EndSARS protests against police brutality led by…