Museke, an online portal for African music, started the Museke Online Africa Music Awards (MOAMAs) in 2010 and, in 2011, they have worked to improve the reach, size and administration of these awards as part of the journey to become the pre-eminent Africa music awards.
M3nsa is a UK-based Ghanaian artist/producer M3nsa has, after years of working in the industry producing for the likes of hiplife godfather Reggie Rockstone and performing with artists like Nneka, The Roots and The Gorillaz, finally released a solo project No. 1 Mango Street. Coming off the back of his film and album – Coz Ov Moni – with Wanlov, childhood friend and other half of the group Fokn Bois, M3nsa’s album wonderfully marries his influences, whether it is hip hop, Twi and Pidgen English and Ghana, and is a sign of what happens when African artists are able to create balance.
This last Sunday (April 4th, 2010) I took a drive to OST in Newtown to experience Red Bull’s Afro Picks, a live show that is recorded and made available on Red Bull Music Academy Radio. Initially recorded at the Red Bull Music Studios in Cape Town with telephonic interviews and music, this was the second instalment of the live experience and the second show in Joburg. Hosted by the legendary DJ Kenzhero and Lee Kasumba, each Afro Picks show focuses on artists from a different country on the African continent and last weekend’s show featured Kenyan artist Liz Ogumbo. The five Cape Town shows,...
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg has a number of different experiential programmes that are designed to change and expand perspective. I have been fortunate to interact with the space quite a bit and, for the last four years, have spoken at the opening session of their programme for high schools students called Spirit of Youth. The first session is always on Race and Identity. Recently, I was invited to come share my story at their Nexus programme for session on Identity. Essentially, they had a number of guests and we were each assigned a seat with a couple of...
A product of the conventional music business model, I have not always explored beyond what the ‘system’ pushes out. I am not proud of that and I have attempted to make up for it by submerging myself in the crevices of the Internet, where so much beautiful music resides. I visit music blogs & sites and interact with those in the know in spaces like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. These recent forays have unearthed – for me – some amazing gems, one of which Nigerian-German artist Nneka. I regrettably haven’t had the opportunity to hear her debut EP, The Uncomfortable Truth, or her album...