diaspoRAW

Jain calls herself a songwriter, singer, beatmaker and she sure does does have rhythm. The French artist also has an affinity for the artist most knew as Mama Africa, that is the late South African singer and civil rights activist Miriam Makeba. With the song “Makeba” Jain is paying tribute to one of the voices […]

Gad Elmaleh is the most famous comedian you’ve never heard of. The Moroccan-born Frenchman has recently stepped away from a very successful career as one of France’s foremost stand-ups to start anew in the United States — performing in a language that he is still learning. Elmaleh recently mentioned on the radio (he’s on something […]

The Romans felt disdain for Amazigh (or Berber) culture, while Muammar Gadhafi denied their very existence. But the ancient culture is flourishing once more in its native lands. At the beginning of the month, the Fes Festival of Amazigh Culture was held in Morocco (the people are better known by their Roman nickname, Berber). This […]

Stringbean-skinny, androgynous, and biracial, Paul Van Haver is one of Europe’s biggest music sensations. Known as Stromae, the Belgian-Rwandan artist’s hip-hop-infused dance album Racine Carrée (Square Root) has sold nearly 3 million copies since it was released last year. The explosive lead single “Papaoutai,” about absent fathers (Van Haver’s was killed in the 1994 Rwandan […]

CokeStudio Africa (www.cokestudioafrica.com) is a music television series produced by the Coca-Cola Company featuring live studio-recorded music performances by well-established African artists. It brings together artists from different genres, eras and regions to create a modern and authentic sound through musical fusion. The purpose of Coke Studio is to reinvent the way music can capture the spirit of a […]

LOS ANGELES — South African traditional choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo and flamenco fusionists the Gipsy Kings, both long-time favourites at the Grammys, on Sunday shared the award for best world music album. The Gipsy Kings were nominated for a record sixth time for the Grammy for best world music album but won the award for […]

As the internet opens up Africa, Kenyan collective Just a Band uses its new-found freedom of expression to reach a global audience. Nairobi: They built their reputation with wild music videos featuring a flying animated turtle and a campy urban hero often considered Kenya’s first internet sensation. But when it came time to choose the subject for their video of […]

Senegalese music star Youssou N’Dour returned to the Paris music scene after a two-year break on Saturday to play a concert sponsored by RFI. It was his first stage appearance in the French capital after stints as Senegal’s minister of culture and then minister of tourism. N’Dour, a master of the Mbalax music style, gave […]

Senegalese mbalax king -Youssou Ndour and his Super Etoile Band are gearing up for what could be described as N’Dour’s music comeback at a grand concerts slated for October 12th 2013, at the Palais Omnisports De Paris Bercy, France. According to reports reaching What’s On, this concert will be N’Dour’s first after leaving office as […]

It seems the Ghana-Naija energy isn’t cooling off. The energy is being derived from recent and frequent high profile musical collaborations between Ghanaian and Nigerian artists. One such collaboration was announced by none other than the ambassador himself, New York residing Ghanaian rapper, Blitz. It appears he will be teaming up with Nigerian-German songstress Nneka […]

Malian/French singer Fatoumata Diawara spoke to the host of African Voices on CNN about being born to Malian parents in Ivory Coast and being immersed with Malian culture from birth. She spoke about moving to live with her actress aunt in Mali at age 9 and ending up an actress herself. Fatou described how she […]

Ace Ghanaian actor Prince David Osei returned home last weekend after attending this year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival in France. He attended the ceremony with other known Ghanaian faces as 4×4’s Captain Planet and Ghana movie award’s boss Fred Nuamah. Unlike the previous years, not many Ghanaian celebrities attended this year’s ceremony. The […]