LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Oct

31

2020

The Angolan dancers who helped South African anthem Jerusalema go global

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ANANYA JAHANARA KABIR, Professor of English Literature, King's College London IN February the Angolan dance troupe Phenomenos do Semba created the viral #JerusalemaDanceChallenge video that showed off their dance moves to the South African hit song Jerusalema. Their video is set in a backyard in Luanda, where they break into a group dance, all the while eating lunch from plates in their hands. In the age of coronavirus, the #JerusalemaDanceChallenge video generated a counter-contagion. Almost overnight everyone from police departments in Africa to priests in Europe were posting their own Jerusalema dance videos that repeated the choreography. The challenge videos…

Oct

30

2020

By The African Mirror

Netflix shines light on Nigerian sex trafficking

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NELLIE PEYTON SET in the shady underworld of Lagos brothels, Nigerian thriller Òlòtūré gives viewers an inside look at the sex trafficking schemes that ensnare thousands of Nigerian women each year. The film is fictional but aims for a realistic and gritty picture to raise awareness of what is a persistent and little-discussed problem, said 36-year-old director Kenneth Gyang. For decades, scores of Nigerian women and girls have been lured to Europe with promises of work, then trapped in debt bondage and forced to sell sex. The United Nations migration agency estimates that 80% of Nigerian women arriving in Italy…

Oct

28

2020

By The African Mirror

JAY-Z joins the cannabis business with brand ‘Monogram’

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO AMERICAN rapper and businessman JAY-Z has officially joined the cannabis business in the United States with the launch of his new cannabis line. The hip-hop Grammy winner announced that his first cannabis line, Monogram, would be a partnership with California-based company Caliva, which the rapper joined forces with as Chief Brand Strategist in July 2019. Monogram, according to a press release and website, is a company that prides itself on its “careful strain selection, meticulous cultivation practices and uncompromising quality, while seeking to redefine what cannabis means to consumers today”. The brand unveiled its social media channels and…

Oct

27

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenyan doccie ‘Softie’ lands on Oscar 2021 Best Documentaries shortlist

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO KENYAN documentary ‘Softie’ has achieved recognition since its premiere in October by being shortlisted on the Oscars’ 2021 list for ‘Best Documentary Feature’, a list that features over 40 documentaries from across the world. Kenyan director Sam Soko’s debut documentary follows the story of Kenyan photographer and political activist Boniface Mwangi, and his journey as Kenya’s most vocal agent provocateur for social and political change over seven years. The film chronicles Mwangi’s journey with chaos-filled protests, which leads to campaigning on the streets for a political seat in his old neighbourhood of Starehe and risking his family’s safety…

Oct

25

2020

By The African Mirror

Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty partners with Black breast cancer survivors for awareness month

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO POPULAR lingerie brand Savage X Fenty has made headlines after announcing their breast cancer awareness campaign, featuring black breast cancer survivors. The brand made the announcement of their campaign through their social media pages, on which stories of the breast cancer survivors, with images of them wearing a capsule collection that will benefit a charity founded by the Clara Lionel foundation - an organisation that Rihanna founded in 2012. According to a press statement, Savage X Fenty will donate up to $250 000 to help fund research and support Black people diagnosed with breast cancer. “The Savage X…

Nov

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Bolu Babalola’s love is in the details

LITERATURE

DANIELLE BOWLER REVIEWING Steve McQueen’s Small Axe, a collection of films, for The New Yorker, the masterful cultural critic Doreen St Félix writes: “One way to measure a filmmaker’s commitment to his subject is to look at the not so minor details, such as costumes, wigs, and food. If the paraphernalia of a people doesn’t feel forged but, rather, appears to have been lifted unmolested from observation or memory, or both, then the effect is immersion – the melding of reality with the world of the screen. Black folks haven’t often felt that rush.” She finds in McQueen’s work “a kind of revolutionary…

Nov

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Burna Boy and Wizkid receive nominations for 2021 Grammy Awards

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO NIGERIA is leading the ranks for Africa with two major nominations in the Grammy Awards, with Burna Boy receiving a nomination for a second year in a row for his album ‘Twice As Tall’. Announced by The Recording Academy, Burna Boy is up against artists Antibalas, Bebel Gilberto, Anoushka Shankar and Tuareg desert rock group Tinariwen in the Best Global Music Album category. The Grammy nominee lost out to Benin singer Angelique Kidjo in the 2019 Grammy Awards, where he was nominated in the same category for his album. The other Nigerian nominee is Wizkid, who received his…

Nov

27

2020

By The African Mirror

The Kenyan film director taking on the world — with positive stories of black life

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IN a 2017 TED Talk, the Kenyan film director Wanuri Kahiu shared her mission to make what she called “Afrobubblegum” art. The aim is to contribute to a world where African audiences see themselves reflected in ways that capture a full range of human experiences. To go beyond agenda-driven single stories of war, famine and HIV that have characterised much storytelling about Africa. LYN JOHNSTONE, Research fellow, Royal Holloway Put simply, to tell stories where Africans are “loving and thriving and living … beautiful, vibrant lives” with the aim of creating among audiences a feeling that African lives are “worthy…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Dorah Sitole: 1953 to 2021

LITERATURE

IT has been 40 years since Dorah Sitole walked into Canned Food Advisory Service, the marketing division of a container and packaging company called Metal Box, to interview for the position of cooking demonstrator. Her husband told her about the job opening, saying, “I don’t know anyone who cooks better than you.” That moment would launch her groundbreaking career in food and Sitole’s new book is a reflection on this long career that has shaped the path of South African food culture. “It’s 40 years of my professional career,” says Mam’ D, as Dorah Sitole is affectionately known, a week…

Dec

06

2020

By The African Mirror

The seismic impact of Machesa and Eric Ramco

LITERATURE

In the chaos of Mahikeng’s biggest taxi rank, the distinct voice of a woman announcing the availability of Botswana’s pula stands out. Mmamoreki, as she’s known, sits behind a counter of old fruit boxes. The counter also serves as a front to what is effectively a foreign exchange office that has come to be just as important as a cultural office. On top of the counter is a variety of products, from sweets to home-wrapped chips. But it is a stack of CDs that draws the most attention. On top of these is Botswana’s legendary traditional music group Machesa’s critically…