South Africa: South African Rapper AKA’s Murder Video Went Viral – It Shouldn’t Have
[The Conversation Africa] In the days after the killing of rapper Kiernan Jarryd Forbe, known as AKA, and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motoane, the murders kept playing out on social media. Again and again, leaked CCTV footage of the two being gunned down…
South Africa: Murdered South African Rapper’s Posthumous Album Is a Mixed Bag
[The Conversation Africa] Just weeks before being gunned down in what appeared to be a hit, the South African rapper AKA (Kiernan Forbes) had announced he was ready to release his new album, Mass Country. After his death, his family decided to go ahead…
South Africa: Pretty Yende, a South African Opera Star With a Voice That Shatters Glass Ceilings
[The Conversation Africa] It’s been announced that South African opera star Pretty Yende will sing at King Charles III’s coronation on 6 May in Westminster Abbey, London. The 37-year-old soprano was elated.
Africa: Rock Art As African History – What Religious Images Say About Identity, Survival and Change
[The Conversation Africa] To “read” the history of times before writing, scholars have traditionally used excavated evidence. Remains like dwellings, burials and pots can reveal a lot about how people lived long ago. In southern Africa, there is anothe…
Africa: Leo Frobenius Made African Rock Art Famous, but Is Tainted By Racism and a Lack of Understanding
[The Conversation Africa] Leo Frobenius was a largely self-taught German ethnologist (someone who studies societies and cultures) who undertook numerous expeditions. One of them, from 1928 to 1930, was to southern Africa, where he recorded the rock art…
Africa: Invisible Trillions Book Review – Global Capitalism Operates Beyond Rule of Law, Threatens Democracy
[The Conversation Africa] Secrecy has become as important for corporations as transparent and taxable profits used to be, according to Raymond W. Baker in his new book Invisible Trillions. Global capitalism, he argues, operates beyond the rule of law. …
Cameroon: Jean-Paul Zé Bella – the Cunning Cameroonian Soldier Who Became a Global Music Legend
[The Conversation Africa] One of Cameroon’s most influential music stars – Jean-Paul Zé Bella – passed away on 15 January at the age of 71 after a battle against cancer. The singer and drummer was a founding member of the band Zangalewa and performed w…
Africa: What Is Mondiacult? 6 Take-Aways From the World’s Biggest Cultural Policy Gathering
[The Conversation Africa] Culture’s status in global society got a major boost in 2022 when it was recommended to become its own sustainable development goal. This happened at the Unesco World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development…
South Africa: AKA – Slain Rapper Was a Once-in-a-Generation Pop Culture Sensation
[The Conversation Africa] AKA, South Africa’s most recognisable name in hip-hop, was gunned down – with his friend, celebrity chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane – outside a restaurant along Durban’s popular night spot Florida Road on 10 February.
South Africa: Radio in South Africa Turns 100 – and Collides With Podcasting and Streaming
[The Conversation Africa] This year marks 100 years since radio was introduced in South Africa, through “the first experimental broadcast at the Railway Headquarters in Johannesburg” on 18 December 1923.