CULTURE & SOCIETY

A monument will be erected in honour of Bob Marley in Harare, Zimbabwe. In 1980, the world-renowned reggae icon performed during the Independence Day celebrations of the country. On 17 April 1980, Marley took to the stage and launched the young country of Zimbabwe into revolutionary reggae songs. For many Zimbabweans, it’s a night they still reflect on with much …

A Black themed carpet was laid out for the star at the European premiere of “Black Panther” in London on Friday. British Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya was in attendance, saying the film turns Western colonialism on its head. The film is reported to have already broken records – with more pre-sales of tickets than any other Marvel movie. The cast …

The popular dancehall singer Priscilla Opoku-Kwarteng, popularly known as Ebony Reigns, died after her car collided with a bus. She would have been 21 in a week’s time. According to police, the 20-year-old singer and two military officers were on board a Jeep from Sunyani heading towards Kumasi when it collided head-on with a VIP bus heading towards Sunyani from …

The 68th Berlin International Film Festival – Berlinale – kicks off on 15 February in the German capital city. The Berlinale is one of the biggest international film festivals alongside the Cannes and Toronto film festivals. Up to 400 films are shown every year, mostly international or European premieres, and the festival, the world’s second largest audiovisual event, sells more …

South Africa’s male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo won a Grammy award at Sunday’s ceremony. Their album “Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration” won in the Best World Music Album category. The album is a tribute to the group’s founder, Joseph Shabalala. With their soulful voices and traditional Zulu dance moves, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has sold millions of albums worldwide …

South African jazz legend and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Masekela has died, aged 78. Masekela “passed peacefully” in the country’s commercial capital, Johannesburg “after a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer,” his family said in a statement on Tuesday. “It is with profound sorrow that the family of Ramapolo Hugh Masekela announce his passing. After a protracted and courageous battle …

The second edition of Queen of Nollywood Awards Germany took place recently. The event, which honoured practitioners of the Nigerian home-grown movie industry, was attended by hundreds of fans of the African movie industry, including a sister of former President Barack Obama. The presence of Dr Auma Obama, from Kenya, in the south-western German city of Ludwigshafen on 2 December …

In a bold initiative, a group has started a school in Germany to teach an African language to children of African origin in the Diaspora. Saturday (20 January) witnessed the official opening of the Igbo Language School in Frankfurt. Igbo is the language of the Igbo people, one of Nigeria’s three biggest ethno-national groups. Attended by members of the Nigerian …

Deutsche Welle’s new series “African Roots” uses online comics and radio broadcasts to highlight 25 important African personalities. The project, funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, is aimed at young audiences. Vera Tellmann reports. The portraits cover a long period of time, ranging from Dinknesh, the “Mother of Mankind” in present-day Ethiopia, to legendary rulers of the Middle Ages such …

In a bid to promote African languages in the diaspora, an organisation will open a school where children can learn Igbo in the German city of Frankfurt. Igbo is the language of the Igbo people, one of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Founded by the Christian Igbo Professionals Network (CIPN), the official opening ceremony of the Igbo Language …

A great year deserves a brilliant ending! If you want to celebrate New Year's Eve in a cosy atmosphere and want to dance to great African and Caribbean music with great drinks and delicious food........

Superstition, defined as “irrational belief usually founded on ignorance or fear and characterized by obsessive reverence for omens, charms, etc”, is a phenomenon that is as old as humanity and it occurs in all cultures. Normal natural phenomena such as thunders and heavy rains used to be interpreted as the result of the actions of gods. With the increasing influence …

Nothing in life was given to her. Instead, Nneka Egbuna had to fight for it — a struggle which her gripping songs reflect. The German-Nigerian musician granted the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) a glimpse into how her life and music span continents. “Wake up Africa, wake up and stop blaming / Open your eyes, eyes, stand up and …

The BBC World Service has appointed Rachel Akidi Okwir and Toyosi Ogunseye as heads of language services for East and West Africa respectively.  The appointments are part of the BBC World Service’s continuing expansion in Africa. Rachel Akidi Okwir, Head of East Africa Languages, is based in Nairobi, Kenya and oversees services in Afaan Oromo, Amharic, Somali, Swahili and Tigrinya. …

Last week, YouTube released its annual Rewind lists. These lists are separated by country and showcase the moments that captured the attention of YouTube users around the globe this year. The Nigerian section of these list made for some interesting viewing by giving an insight into what Nigerians like to watch on YouTube. The top 10 videos (excluding from major …

Cameroon-born, Berlin-based scholar Julien Enoka Ayemba traces the history of the African film industry from the 1960s and its decline as a result of reduced European financial support to the emergence of the locally financed Nigerian video films in the early 1990s. Nollywood “symbolises the hope for independence” of African film, he concludes. Since its existence, the African film production, …

Bic Leu* on how the Nigerian film industry is creating new distribution channels to circumvent the pirates, who deny practitioners of the revenue legally due to them. The domestic and international media have been buzzing about the emergence of a New Nollywood. A wave of recent features – including Kunle Afolayan’s The Figurine and Chineze Anyaene’s Ijé – flout traditional Nollywood …

The Masters of Nollywood are those powerful creative hands behind the scene who make it possible for the stars to shine. They are top-rated producers and directors whose works are celebrated around the globe. —————————————— TUNDE KELANI Interview with Tunde Kelani / Courtesy of NdaniTV The internationally acclaimed director Tunde Kelani is the standard setter in Nollywood. His production company …

While it is true that there is much to celebrate in Nollywood’s first 25 years, Aderinsola Ajao, a Lagos-based art critic and keen follower of the Nigerian movie industry, argues that the time has come to think more about the fate that awaits the industry in the years ahead. For the past two decades, almost everything about Nollywood has evolved …

The Nigerian film industry has been described as a phenomenon, an original African invention that has taken the world by storm. How did it all begin? Sunny Okim, one of the first set of Nigerian journalists to focus on Nollywood, traces the history of the movie industry.   Living in Bondage Some 25 years ago, a young Nigerian university graduate …