The Media Decides? (CP)

Mar 12, 2011 |

The influence of the media and entertainment on society is unquantifiable even as those sectors endeavour to reflect society. They guide the discussions through what they put out. In Africa, we have often talked of how it is the West that determines the perception of us. This is not totally the case. The power bases on the continent – like South Africa and Nigeria – do so as well through the programming created on and for channels like MTV Base and Channel O. Because these spaces, based in SA, determine what is put out as being representative of Africa, can we comfortably say, this is the full picture?

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Kobi Onyame’s Inner City Lights

Oct 11, 2010 |

Ghanaian / UK-based hip hop producer and artist Kobi Onyame was the first artist I profiled (He Said, She Said - June 2009) when I started my Wordpress blog. Part of what I wanted to do with this space was to share some of the music I came across, whether mainstream or not, and Kobi led the way. It has been over a year. He has continued to build, and so have I. In the time since I profiled him, he has, amongst other things, recorded a He Said, She Said remix with Sway (Sway Dcyphas Life - April 2010), performed at Glastonbury Festival, shared a bill with artists like De La Soul, Kanye West,...

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Sway Dcyphas Life

Apr 26, 2010 |

UK / Ghanaian rapper and producer Derek Safo - Sway - is an artist who has lingered on the edge of immense success for too long. Starting out as a teenager, he eventually created Dcypha Productions when others wouldn't give him the opportunity or didn't recognise the potential that he has. He launched his company with a couple of independent mixtapes before releasing his first album This Is My Demo in 2006. He followed this up with an EP One For The Journey and two more mixtapes. Sway also signed, in 2007, with Akon's Konvict Muzik. I had heard a couple of his songs because of family in the...

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