ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Jul

17

2021

Celebrating African Comedians

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IRENE WANJIRU THEY say 'laughter is the best medicine but if you laugh for no reason, then you need medicine!' Comedians in Africa have tickled millions with their jokes, building a niche for themselves, with some becoming overnight celebrity millionaires. Among them are a growing number of rib-cracking women... The face of comedy is changing in Africa. Populations in a majority of African countries are proud of their national comedians, whether they are on TV, radio or online. ore and more people are earning a living from it. Satirical puppet and cartoon shows have broken new ground and significantly, more…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Who’s hot: Santrinos Raphaël, “gem of Togolese RnB”

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AMET BAO THE darling of Togolese youth audiences may not be well known internationally but this artist is young enough that he can happily wait for that fame to come. Certainly, regional recognition has already come the way of the 21 years young West African. His name? Santrinos Raphaël. For Santrinos Raphaël, it all started with the 2018 hit, “Engagement” which allowed him to make a remarkable entry into the world of Togolese showbiz. With more than 905,000 views on YouTube, the song has been instrumental in the career of the young crooner. It won him a number of trophies…

Jul

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Set in Chad, Cannes film ‘Lingui’ explores abortion struggles

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE director behind "Lingui", a Cannes Film Festival entry about a teenager's battle in Chad to get an abortion, said he hoped the story would resonate well beyond the African country, including in places like the United States where there are vocal anti-abortion movements. Mahamet-Saleh Haroun said he was inspired to explore the issue after reading stories about babies abandoned or killed by their young mothers in Chad, where abortion is only allowed in specific cases where a woman's life is in danger. "Speaking to women, it turns out that these are struggles they have been going through for so…

Apr

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Banky W and Adesua Etomi heal from their twins’ loss

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO BANKY W and actress Adesua Etomi have gone through a long journey of healing and faith as a family. The Nigerian couple opened up about Adesua Etomi’s miscarriage, in a featured episode of The Waterbrook Series. "So we got pregnant and we got pregnant with twins. And we had gone for the scans, we had seen the heartbeats. At this point very few people knew what happened," Etomi said. Adesua Etomi explained in the web series that during a routine visit to a doctor with her husband, the doctor had noticed the lack of heartbeats and knew immediately…

Apr

07

2021

By The African Mirror

My name is Thandiwe Newton

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO BRITISH actress formerly known as Thandie Newton has announced that she now wishes to be (correctly) called Thandiwe Newton. Newton told British Vogue in an interview that her professional name had been misspelled in Hollywood after her name was incorrectly spelled in the 1991 film ‘Flirting’. Joining a growing list of other celebrities who have also told the public that their names were spelled or pronounced incorrectly, like Anne Hathaway and Saoirse Ronan, Newton said that she is now on a mission to reclaim the correct spelling of her name. "That’s my name. It’s always been my name.…

Apr

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigerian icon Fela is long overdue for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SCROLLING through the comments made on YouTube on Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s music, one comes across remarks such as: “The greatest unknown musician who ever lived”, “Why isn’t Fela’s music more widely known?”, “His music beats everything I’ve ever heard before” and “Why am I so late to this?” SANYA OSHA, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town The truth is that during Fela’s extraordinary lifetime, the Nigerian’s notoriety as an engaged citizen fighting for social justice was what usually attracted attention – and not his music. His public persona as a cultural renegade, an incorrigible iconoclast…

Jul

06

2021

By The African Mirror

DJ cop shows South Africa the other side of that blue uniform

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

JAMAINE KRIGE “I see them as twins and I love them both,” Constable Lucky Matome laughs as he describes juggling his two lives; one, a kwaito music artist, the other that of a policeman in the South African Police Service. “When you have twins you cannot say one is more beautiful than the other, because they are different but identical, and they are both your children. Like twins, I must treat them equally and give them equal attention, so that one does not suffer because of the other,” he said. His police work is important and it allows him to…

Apr

12

2021

By The African Mirror

See LeBron James in ‘Space Jam 2’

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER SPACE Jam is back twenty-five years later, this time with a new NBA superstar. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James shared the official trailer of the sequel on Twitter, which he is starring in as the main character. James will be joined by Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang in his first major starring role for ‘Space Jam 2: A New Legacy’. In the sequel, LeBron James plays a heightened version of himself who struggles to form a close bond with his son named Don, who dreams of being a videogame developer. Joining…

Apr

19

2021

By The African Mirror

Oscars show reinvented as a movie — with masks, longer speeches

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

JILL SERJEANT THE Oscars ceremony next week will have the look and feel of a movie, giving winners more time for speeches, while coronavirus masks will play a major role, producers of the show said on Saturday. The coronavirus pandemic and a trio of new producers have led to a reinvention of the traditional show where the world's highest movie honours are handed out before a seated theatre audience of more than 4,000 A-list stars and industry executives. Much of the April 25 ceremony will instead be held at the Art Deco Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, where a…

Jun

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Lil Nas X’s onstage kiss earns massive praise

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO US rapper Lil Nas X made fans’ jaws drop with his onstage performance where he kissed a male dancer. In a Michael Jackson ‘Remember The Time’-inspired performance for his homoerotic hit “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” at the 2021 edition of the Black Entertainment Awards (BET), ending it by passionately kissing one of his male backup dancers. https://twitter.com/BET/status/1409337682392752132?s=20 Instead of the expected mass scorn on social media, Nas’ performance was met with major praise, with big names in the hip-hop industry like Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs expressing said support on Twitter. Combs tweeted: “Lil Nas X did that!!…