Music

One of Europe’s most enduring African cultural events is marking a major milestone. The African Music Festival, held annually in the picturesque town of Emmendingen in southwest Germany usually in the first weekend of August, is celebrating its 25th anniversary — a remarkable achievement that highlights its legacy of music, multiculturalism and community engagement. From its modest beginnings in 2000, …

Berlin’s image as a progressive, multicultural city is under scrutiny once again. In this article, Amal Abbass confronts the distortion of Black history through a recent exhibition at Alexanderplatz that misrepresented the origins of blues music. She writes about what she describes as a broader pattern of how Germany’s public memory suppresses uncomfortable truths and how the Black community must …

Sona Jobarteh performed to a packed hall of music lovers at the Berlin Philharmonic on Thursday — and she did not disappoint. The queen of kora delivered an electrifying performance that transformed the evening into a celebration of African music. The audience was fully engaged, singing along, echoing her choruses and many abandoning their seats to dance for most of …

Acclaimed Gambian-British artist Sona Jobarteh is set to captivate audiences in Berlin and Bremen with her soul-stirring music on 29 May and 31 May, respectively. A master of the kora, a 21-string West African harp, Jobarteh is not only a virtuoso instrumentalist but also a singer, composer and passionate advocate for African cultural identity. Sona Jobarteh hails from one of …

Afro-Pop stars to perform at Berlin’s international music festival Pop-Kultur Berlin’s Pop-Kultur Festival, holding from 28-30 August, is set to dazzle attendees with an electrifying lineup of performances, featuring some of Africa’s brightest stars. Among the headliners is Yemi Alade, the Nigerian Afro-pop sensation whose energetic performances have captivated audiences worldwide. Known for her vibrant stage presence, Alade will bring …

By Nefeli-Anna Tatsi Munich-based music producer and musician TonyB Gaskyani started the summer season by releasing his first personal EP “New Age”. The title is his fresh start into the German music industry. His EP marks the beginning of a transformation from successful beat maker and music-producer to solo musician and a performer. As a Nigerian born and raised artist, …

ANNOUNCEMENT After some anxiety about the future of the African Music Festival, we are now all the more pleased to be able to present this year’s wonderful programme (1-4 August) under the motto “We are one”! Thanks to the great support of many people who donated, contributed to the crowd-funding campaign and took part in the benefit concerts, we were …

In a new study, conducted by the QR Code Generator, a collaboration between Lady Gaga and Adele would be the most popular artist collaboration for fans.  Using data sourced from Music Metrics Vault and SongStats, the study identifies the artist collaborations that would cause the most frenzy amongst respective fans.   The monthly listeners, followers, total streams and playlist reach for …

Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Young Jonn will perform live in Germany’s captial city of Berlin on Saturday, 8 June 2024. The Afro-pop producer, performer and composer, whose real name is John Saviours Udomboso, is one of the most recognisable names in the Nigerian musical scene. Young Jonn gained popularity with classic songs like “Mafo” by Naira Marley, “ShakitiBobo” and “Story for …

Two new Mokoomba remixes by Jacknife Lee were released on 29 March 2024 by Outhere Records Since the release of Mokoomba‘s record ‘Tusona: tracings in the sand‘ last fall a lot has happend for Zimbabwe’s most successful musical export. The album’s first single ‘Nzara hapana‘ won them a golden record at home for song of the year at ZBC (Zimbabwean …

Our Editor-in-Chief, Femi Awoniyi, was at the live concert of the Afro-Brazilian legend Mateus Aleluia last week and he narrates what he describes as an unforgettable experience Mateus Aleluia gave a live concert during the week in Berlin. Accompanied by a percussionist, the Afro-Brazilian musician appeared with his daughter Fabiana on piano. It was such a lean lineup, but the …

Austrian-Nigerian singer, songwriter, and recording artist Rose May Alaba has expressed her interest to collaborate with the Ghanaian recording artist King Promise. During an interview with Hitz 103.9 FM in Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday she said: “I love King Promise. He has a very sweet voice. I love his voice. I am looking forward to that. I am still looking …

Five years after the release of ‘Luyando’, Zimbabwe’s most celebrated musical export have returned with their long-awaited follow-up album ‘Tusona: Tracings in the Sand’, released on 7 July by Munich-based Outhere records. Like anywhere in the world Africa’s musical output has become more and more producer based. Mokoomba, however, are the living proof that Africa’s great guitar band heritage is …

Vienna-born artist Rose May Alaba is set to make waves in the African music scene with her latest single set to drop on 28 April. The talented singer, who is the younger sister of football sensation David Alaba, grew up in Austria, surrounded by different genres of music, but it was her Nigerian roots that eventually caught her attention. She …

Multiple award-winner Angélique Kidjo has added another title to her laurels. The African singer won the 2023 Polar Music Prize, often called the Nobel Prize of Music, on Tuesday. She was honoured with the award alongside Britain’s Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, and Estonian composer Arvo Part. The Polar Music Prize is an annual Swedish international award founded in …

The accompanying single cover, by award-winning Ghanaian satirical artist Bright Tetteh Ackwerh–depicting the main presidential candidates (of the recently concluded presidential elections) wining and dining together, while the struggling masses gather around them begging for alms BANTU, a band based in Lagos, Nigeria, has dropped a new music “Wayo And Division” to warn citizens of Africa’s most populous country against …

Our contributing editor, Frank Stenner, pays tribute to one of Nigeria’s musical giants, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, fifteen years after his demise —–      “In my life and my creations,       I have tried to follow my destiny       which is my music.       That is my journey.       I live with the gift of God.”       [from Osita Osadebe: “Ana Masi Ife Uwa” (“Sound Time” 2001)] Chief …

If you are looking for an additional reason to spend the Christmas-New Year season in Ghana, here is one: Accra will host the biggest names and future stars in Afrobeats on 29-30 December. Afro Nation, which dubs itself as the world’s biggest Afrobeats festival, will move its giant stages from Portugal to the Black Star Square in Accra, where Ghana’s …

Our contributing editor, Tina Adomako, narrates her impressions of a prestigious concert featuring multiple award-winner Angélique Kidjo when she performed, accompanied by a full symphony orchestra, to a sold-out house in the western German city of Dortmund on Wednesday — I rush through the busy Brückstraße, where Dortmund shows itself in all its diversity, and arrive just in time at …

Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today (7 June) announced the launch of Virgin Music Label & Artist Services in Africa, a new dedicated distribution service for independent African artists and labels across the continent. The label services division launches with more than 15000 titles, 50 label partners and 100+ artists from more than 25 African …