LIFESTYLE - 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…

Apr

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Beyoncé is a double denim queen

BEAUTY AND FASHION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER BEYONCÉ is enjoying her time off from being a supreme performer, taking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic by push her role as a fashion queen. The R&B singer’s social media presence has been a lot more visible since the USA went into its varied stages of lockdown with the promotion of her Ivy Park x Adidas collection being her most active presence. While off-duty as a performer, Beyoncé was captured by paparazzi leaving the popular Nobu restaurant in Los Angeles, where she had a mother-daughter lunch with her oldest child Blue-Ivy Carter. While dining at the Malibu…

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

15

2021

By The African Mirror

The book fair giving Egypt’s writers hope

LITERATURE

ONE of Africa's biggest book fairs has come not a moment too soon for authors like Noha Mahmud. The up-and-coming Egyptian author is one of many who struggled to earn a living during the COVID-19 pandemic which devastated Egypt's publishing and book sales industry. As difficult periods go for writers, the last one-and-a-half years have been as tough as they come, for Noha Mahmud, an Egyptian writer in her late 30's. "Publishers stopped buying the literary production of almost all writers," Mahmud said in an interview. "The publishing industry as a whole came to a standstill and with it the…

Apr

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Missy Elliott is longevity defined

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO IF longevity had a name, it would be Missy 'Misdemeanor’ Elliott. The American rapper has returned to the spotlight in recent years with appearances with the surprise release of her first EP after more than a decade, Iconology, which featured five songs that told fans that Misdeanour is still the rap fiend that dominated the music charts from the 90s until the late 2000s. Making a rare appearance, Elliott featured on the cover of Bottega Veneta’s (BV) first digital quarterly magazine as their muse for the upcoming season. In the issue she dons two of the brand's signature…

Apr

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Fashion group Tod’s puts Instagram star Chiara Ferragni on its board

BEAUTY AND FASHION

CLAUDIA CRISTOFERI ITALIAN fashion group Tod's said on Friday it appointed Instagram star and influencer Chiara Ferragni as a board member, stepping up its efforts to win over the younger shoppers fuelling the sector's growth. Shares in the luxury leather goods maker jumped more than 5% after the announcement about Ferragni, a 33-year-old Italian digital entrepreneur with over 23 million followers on her Instagram account where she shares fashion and style advice, as well as raising awareness on social issues. "We are sure that Chiara's knowledge of the world of young people, combined with the experience of the other board…

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…

Jul

09

2021

By The African Mirror

New Kiswahili science fiction award charts a path for African languages

LITERATURE

THE 6th edition of The Mabati Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature, suspended last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is back. Founded in 2014, the prize recognises writing in African languages and encourages translation from, between and into African languages. Kiswahili is widely spoken across the east coast of Africa. This year’s prize also offers a special award designed to promote and popularise a Kiswahili vocabulary for technology and digital rights. We spoke to the prize founders – literary academic Lizzy Attree, also of Short Story Day Africa, and literature professor and celebrated author Mukoma Wa Ngugi – on…

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.…