ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Jun

08

2020

Uganda’s musicians are fighting COVID-19 – why government should work with them

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Dominic D.B. Makwa Ugandan pop musicians have released a raft of songs and music videos to educate and alert the public about COVID-19. Notable among them have been Bobi Wine and Nubian Li’s Corona Virus Alert and Bebe Cool’s Corona Distance. But there’s also the likes of Pastor Frank Kyeyune’s Katonda Yekka ku Corona (God Only On Corona), Dickens Ahabwe’s Coronavirus in Uganda and Corona by Ykee Benda, King Saha, Joanita Kawalya, B2C, Fefe Busu Dre Cali and Myci Ou. These are simple songs that assume a responsibility to help educate citizens. They are dense in information about COVID-19, about…

Jan

01

2021

By The African Mirror

2021 Cape Town International Jazz Festival cancelled

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO THE coronavirus pandemic continues to upturn the entertainment industry as many cultural and arts events get cancelled in an effort to decrease infections from events that may be classified as super-spreaders events. The Cape Town Jazz Festival is no exception. Producers espAfrika announced that the 2021 edition of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival would be cancelled, due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic that has seen an increase in infections in South Africa, where the jazz festival is hosted. This announcement was made amidst the country’s President Ramaphosa’s heartfelt plea for the country to be extra cautious with…

Jul

14

2022

By The African Mirror

Alphadi, top African fashion designers, creatives dazzle in London

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

PATRICK NELLE, BIRD BORN Sidahmed Seidnaly, the designer and creative best known as Alphadi has been leading the charge since the 1980s for the global recognition of African creatives, especially fashion designers. Having just attended the opening of an unprecedented African fashion exhibition at London’s Victoria&Albert museum in early July, bird story agency caught up with Alphadi en-route to his next event. “I am going to Morocco now for a ceremony, and then I will fly to Niger. This is my life as an activist who has committed his existence to defend African creatives and to struggle for their worldwide recognition,”…

Mar

04

2022

By The African Mirror

The legacy of iconic singer Miriam Makeba and her art of activism

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SOUTH AFRICA'S world famous singer and activist Miriam Makeba (1932-2008) would have turned 90 on 4 March 2022. Born Zenzile Miriam Makeba in Johannesburg’s Prospect township, she had a life of remarkable global impact. She contributed to black people’s struggle for liberation and defended the integrity of African identity and artistry while living in a land absent of her ancestry. Author NOMFUNDO XALUVA, Lecturer, South African College of Music, University of Cape Town Despite being banned from her home country for her outspokenness and resistance to apartheid, Makeba went on to build an illustrious international career, performing on some of…

Mar

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Keyboard as art and saving the world

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ANGE KUMASSI, BIRD STORY AGENCY ADMIRERS call him a "master in the art of electronic waste." Born in the city of Buyo, in the southwest of the Ivory Coast, Mounou Désiré Koffi has always had a passion for art. That passion - and his obvious skill, recognised throughout his school-going years and then through college - gave him what so many creatives on the continent dream of… professional training and then a career in visual art. "After my studies, I wanted to embark on a professional career; painting, trying to stand out, bringing creativity to my work," he told bird…

Dec

04

2021

By The African Mirror

More minority faces in film, TV, music as audiences demand diversity

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

RICHARD CHANG MORE minorities are showing up in mainstream U.S. entertainment, from films and TV to music, as audiences demand stories that reflect the world's diversity, showing that inclusion is good business, industry executives said. "Our industry has caught up with reality. The majority of the world is actually Asian," said Bing Chen, president of Gold House, a nonprofit collective that promotes Asian Pacific Islander voices, on a panel at  the  Reuters Next conference broadcast on Thursday.  "Audiences are craving things they've never seen, never heard of." "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," the first Marvel movie to…

Dec

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Oscar winners assemble for climate warning comedy ‘Don’t Look Up’

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ALICIA POWELL DIRECTOR Adam McKay has assembled an all-star cast brimming with Oscar winners to give a humorous warning about climate change in the new movie "Don't Look Up". In the Netflix film, Academy Award winners Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio play two astronomers who set out to warn the world of an approaching comet set to destroy the planet. But the message falls on deaf ears, starting with Meryl Streep's President Janie Orlean. "I think the big trick is we want you to laugh ... The great thing about test screening the movie was right, left-wing were all laughing,"…

Aug

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Ghana’s first openly trans musician fights homophobia with song

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NITA BHALLA GHANA'S first openly transgender musician has released a song to boost the morale of the West African nation's LGBT+ community as it faces a crackdown by authorities and a rise in homophobic persecution. Hiplife and Afropop artist Angel Maxine said she wrote "Wo Fie", meaning "Your Home" in the Twi language, to comfort LGBT+ Ghanaians who were not only facing threats from authorities, but also a surge in verbal and physical attacks from the public. "The situation for the queer community in Ghana is very tense at the moment," Maxine, 35, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from…

Aug

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria makes an international statement with its first feature-length animated movie

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD NEWSROOM AFRO-URBAN entertainment powerhouse, Trace, has begun distributing "Lady Buckit and the Motley Mopsters" – a Nigerian feature-length 3D animated film - after inking a deal with Hot Ticket Productions to distribute the film globally. In May this year, Trace's distribution arm inked a deal with Hot Ticket Productions to distribute Nigeria’s first feature-length 3D animated film, "Lady Buckit and the Motley Mopsters" worldwide - opening the door to a potential global audience for an animation that was originally conceived in the home of a Nigerian geologist. The wide success of the movie is not only a…

Jan

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Hip-hop artist MF DOOM dead at 49

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO AMERICAN-based rapper MF DOOM has died after a career spanning over two decades. View this post on Instagram A post shared by MF DOOM. ALL CAPS. (@mfdoom) The rapper’s wife Jasmine confirmed his death on his Instagram account. In a note addressed to the rapper, his wife paid tribute to "the greatest husband, father, teacher, student, business partner, lover and friend I could ever ask for". Tributes from the hip-hop fraternity have been pouring in for the innovative artist, including tributes from Tyler, The Creator, presenter Zane Lowe, A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip and Run The Jewels. The…