musicians - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

How to keep your music career going: 3 tips from a Ghanaian star

GHANAIAN parents have historically discouraged their children from becoming musicians or marrying musicians. A music career is still not seen as one that can provide a steady income to support a family, and the behaviour of musicians is seen by some as deviant. These attitudes stand in the way of musicians wanting to make a career out of their art. I am a professional musician, music scholar and environmental activist who’s interested in the global challenges that musicians face. In a recent paper, I examined the strategies adopted by Okyeame Kwame (OK), one of the pioneers of hiplife music in…

Sep

2023

By EL TAYEB SIDDIG

Forced to flee war, Sudanese band spreads musical message

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ON a dusty plot in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, General Kidi and Ganja Farmer perform tracks and rap with hand-held mics as people in the audience clap, dance and ululate. The founders of the "Nuba Mountain Sound" band come from South Kordofan, a southern state long in rebellion against the government, and moved to the capital, Khartoum when former president Omar al-Bashir was overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019. Four years later the musicians, part of a cultural scene that opened up after Bashir was ousted, found themselves on the move again after war erupted in…

Jul

2023

By ANGE KUMASSI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Musicians on mission to save Africa’s forests

NEWS

AS the sun rises over Tiassalé, located in the southern part of Côte d'Ivoire, buses carrying hundreds of volunteers and a convoy of artists and influencers converge on a 25-hectare forest reserve near the town. Stepping off the bus at an empty field which is totally lacking in trees and full of weeds, everyone starts chanting, "The forest is our heritage. We must protect it". This "musical caravan" has come to revive the forest by planting trees. They have dug thousands of holes and are carrying tree seedlings to different planting sites. Everyone is eager to contribute. "Planting fewer than…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia’s musicians fled the country after the 1974 revolution – how their culture lives on

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE overthrow of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 led to violent conflict that had a particularly heavy impact on musicians. Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the Making of the Ethiopian American Diaspora is the first study of the forced migration of musicians out of the Horn of Africa dating from the revolution. The book traces their struggles and what happened to their rich and diverse music traditions when they settled in the US. Ethnomusicologist Kay Kaufman Shelemay talks about her book. Author KAY KAUFMAN SHELEMAY, G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music and Professor of African and African…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Musicians launch drive for more funding for arts in Africa

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

PERFORMERS from Ghana, Ethiopia and Tanzania have helped launch a five-year project to try to secure more funding for arts and culture, aiming to persuade African governments to allocate at least 1% of their budgets. The project, called Connect for Culture Africa (CfCA) has been started by the African Union in collaboration with Selam Ethiopia, a non-governmental organisation that uses film, music and circus performances to address issues such as women's rights. "We want to empower artists. A lot of artists want to participate in these discussions about good governance, human rights but they are scared of the consequences," Lucy…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Music streaming in South Africa – new survey reveals musicians get a raw deal

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MUSICIANS worldwide have been placing their tracks with global streaming platforms such as Spotify for many years. South African musicians, however, have reported only sparse earnings from streaming music online. When our 2020 survey revealed this, we wondered if part of the reason was inexperience. At the time, COVID lockdowns had made live performances impossible, driving many South African musicians to try what looked like an alternative revenue stream. In 2022 we broadened and deepened that research. And we discovered that earnings from music streaming remained poor. Further, major international studies were also now demonstrating the same earnings trend everywhere.…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Musicians from every country form Earth Orchestra to record unique song

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MINDY BURROWS FOR the first time in music history, 197 musicians – one from each country – have formed an orchestra, hoping to exemplify how people can transcend physical and cultural borders to come together. The Earth Orchestra's song "Together is Beautiful" - recorded in different locations then mixed together - and a documentary telling the stories of some of the musicians were released on Friday. Earth Orchestra member Olgha Nk, from Cameroon, said she saw the project, which was three years in the making, as "the whole world holding hands". Other musicians were also struck by the unifying element…