Events

Afropunk Announces Fire Line-up for Free Virtual Concert

Afropunk has released a fire line-up: Tiwa Savage, Moonchild Sanelly, Masego and more for free virtual concert.

Afropunk has announced that not only will it go online, but that this year's event will be entirely free.Tiwa Savage, Moonchild Sanelly, Masego, Ari Lennox and Petite Noir are just some of the amazing Black artists that have been announced on the line-up. The theme for this year is: Planet Afropunk: Past, Present and Future is Black.


Read: Master KG Scores MTV EMA Nomination for Best African Act

The festival is a celebration of all things Black and celebrates a positive prospective on Black creativity. Afropunk started in Brooklyn, and has gathered a rousing following over the years. Its breakthrough in South Africa came in 2017 and has been remarkable to date. Past events have featured international headlinersSolange and Miguel.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, festival goers this year will not be able to dress up for Afropunk's radical themes that celebrate freedom, creativity, and Blackness. Afropunk has reclaimed the online space for itself and stated that, like its live events, the virtual concert will be a "safe space".

See who else is on the line-up and register to attend on Planet Afropunk. The event will take place between 23 to 25 October 2020.

News Brief
Photo by Cindy Ord for Getty

Trevor Noah Wins Prestigious Erasmus Prize

Trevor Noah is the first comic to win the prestigious Erasmus Prize since Charlie Chaplin in 1965.

Famous South African comic Trevor Noah has won the prestigious Erasmus Prize from The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation. The award is named after Dutch philosopher Desiderius Erasmus' most famous piece of work.

According to a statement from The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, Noah was receiving the prize “for his inspired contribution to the theme ‘In Praise of Folly,’ named after Erasmus’s most famous book, which is filled with humor, social criticism, and political satire.” (Desiderius Erasmus was an influential Dutch philosopher from the northern Renaissance era.)

Noah is the first comic since 1965 who has been awarded the honor. The last comic to win the prize was Charlie Chaplin, who received the recognition in 1965. Since 1958, The Erasmus Prize has been awarded to recipients recognized for many achievements, including literature, music, philosophy, and social activism. Some notable recipients who have received the award in the past include Jorge Luis Borges, Isaiah Berlin, Ingmar Bergman, and Amartya Sen.

The panel that selects awardees for the prize includes a committee of scholars and cultural experts who review nominations and recommend to the board of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation after weighing in on the strength of each candidate. After the recommendation, it is up to the board to make the final decision on the award recipient. The prize is typically awarded in the fall during a ceremony in the Dutch royal palace in Amsterdam.

Beyond his work as a comic, the former Daily Show host has been vocal about his social justice advocacy and has been a strong advocate for human rights issues on a broad scale. While a host on The Daily Show, he consistently used his voice to highlight other prominent Africans. It is safe to say that the 39-year-old has indeed made South Africa proud.

Music
Photo by Ernest Ankomah/Getty Images

The Songs You Need to Hear This Week

New music from Tiwa Savage, Adekunle Gold, Joeboy, Tinariwen and more.

Every week, we highlight the top afrobeats and African music releases through our best music column, Songs You Need to Hear.

If you like these African music lists, you can also check out our Best Afrobeats and Best Amapiano of the month columns, plus our Best Songs of the Month columns following Nigerian, Ghanaian, East African and South African music.

Read ahead for our round-up of the best new African music tracks and music videos that came across our desks this week.

Adekunle Gold x Zinoleesky “Party No Dey Stop”

Adekunle Gold - Party No Dey Stop ft. Zinoleesky (Official Visualizer)youtu.be

Adekunle Gold shares “Party No Dey Stop,” his first release after signing with Def Jam Recordings. The vibrant single, which features fellow Nigerian Zinoleesky, is an up-tempo concoction reminiscent of the Agege neighborhood in Lagos, where Adekunle Gold and Zinoleesky grew up. In the record, both artists touch on themes of partying, grace, and having a good time.

Tiwa Savage x Ayra Starr x Young Jonn “Stamina”

Tiwa Savage, Ayra Starr, Young Jonn - Stamina (Official Visualizer)youtu.be

Tiwa Savage is back, ladies and gents! This time around the star assembled some of the faves to bring fans the new single "Stamina." The amapiano-inspired tune features fellow Nigerian superstar Ayra Starr and record producer-turned-singer Young Jonn. The Magicsticks produced single comes via Empire records as Savage's first release of this year.

Tinariwen “Tenere Den”

Tinariwen - Tenere Den (Official Video)www.youtube.com

Grammy-winning Tuareg band Tinariwen announced their new album, Amatssou, which isdue out out May 19 on Wedge, and a US tour. Alongside that announcement, the group shared Amatssou’s lead single, “Tenere Den.” A press release explains that the song “pays homage to the Tuareg revolution in the Kel Adagh region of Mali.” It’s accompanying watercolor-style animation video was directed by Alexis Jamet.

Joeboy “Body & Soul”

Joeboy - Body & Soul (Official Video)youtu.be

Joeboy, released the music video for “Body & Soul," one of the tracks that will feature on his upcoming album. In the Perliks-directed music video, Joeboy takes fans on a journey to a rough neighborhood in Lagos, where he tells a story of getting a girl pregnant, and stepping up as a responsible father at the end of the day. The video depicts the story of a young couple navigating their way through the emotions of conceiving a baby, and highlights themes of love, loyalty and endurance.

MiD3 “Under G”

MiD3 (pronounced mee-day) is an emerging alternative singer and songwriter based in Lagos, Nigeria. He recently dropped the standout single “Under G,” a fusion of drill and afrobeats that sees the budding talent express his desire to rise from the underground to the top of the game.

News Brief
Photo by Nipah Dennis.

VP Kamala Harris Signals US Should Invest in Africa

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has embarked on a three-country tour to reset economic relations between the United States and West Africa.

The United States’ Vice President Kamala Harris has embarked on a weeklong, three-country tour to Ghana, Tanzania and Gambia. The purpose of the trip is to reset the relationship between the U.S. and the three countries. The Biden administration would like to encourage American businesses to invest in African nations to compete with China’s and Russia’s growing economic footholds on the continent.

On Monday, Harris visited Ghana’s presidential palace, also known as the Jubilee House. She promised $100 million in U.S. aid to support Ghana and four other West African countries in curbing instability brought on by insurgencies in West Africa and the Sahel region.

"To help address the threats of violent extremism and instability, today I am pleased to announce $100 million in support of Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo," Harris said at the news conference with Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo.

This amount is in addition to the $139 million in bilateral support that the U.S. intends to provide to Ghana in 2024, according to Harris’ office and reported by Reuters.

Also involved in West Africa is the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group. The mercenary group with Russian state ties provides security assistance to African nations struggling with insurgencies like the ones Harris pledged assistance to combat. In exchange, Wagner secures agreements for Russia's African interests in natural resources, commercial contracts, and access to strategic locations, such as airbases or ports.

With regard to Wagner’s presence in West Africa, Akufo-Addo said, "It raises the very real possibility ... that once again our continent is going to become the playground for great power conflict.”

China has been heavily involved in Africa’s economy over the last two decades — investing in resources like mining, timber, and fishing, and building infrastructure. The Biden administration is aiming to encourage American competition by strengthening ties with African nations and promoting socio-economic development on the continent. The trip is also intended to fulfill the commitment that the administration made to African countries in the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December of last year.

Politico reported that Harris’ visit carries high stakes and heavy scrutiny because her primary task will be to convince African leaders that the U.S. wants to invest in their economies earnestly.

The decades-long public perception has been that the African continent has become a playground for handouts and charity from western governments, a political and economic oversight the Biden administration has been attempting to rectify. Harris’ arrival in Africa marks the administration’s most recent efforts to achieve that.

Earlier this year, U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited the continent, First Lady Jill Biden visited in February, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the trip earlier this month. President Biden plans to visit later this year.
Film
Photo: DSTV

How ‘Big Brother Naija’ Stans Redefined Stan Culture

Hardcore fans of the Nigerian version of the reality show are showing a positive side to fandom that may have been overshadowed in recent years.

A few years ago, just after calls for auditions to appear in the Lockdown season of Big Brother Naija were made, a Twitter user posted a provocative tweet: "Why does Big Brother only seem to appeal to the most rabid and debased people?"The question caused an uproar among many fans of the show, who leapt to defend themselves against the label and unfair generalization. But a lot of the comments that followed did little to disprove the statement made in the initial tweet.

The tweet didn’t come out of nowhere. Since the show's reboot in 2017, Big Brother Naija fans had earned a reputation for being vicious; they harassed anyone who was critical of their favorite housemate or passed a comment about them that wasn’t effusive praise. In fact, outside of social media, some ex-housemates had complained about being threatened by fans of a fellow housemate over misunderstandings during their season of the show.

The season that Levelled Up – BBNaija | Big Brother: Level Up | Africa Magicwww.youtube.com

The toxicity of Big Brother fans has remained a constant conversation during the reunion shows. Even when housemates address their fans and ask them to desist from online harassment and bullying, it only seems to fuel their passion even more. “Most BBNaija fans enjoy general banter or what we've come to term as ‘cooking’ when it comes to the show,” AfroVii, a longtime fan and commentator of the show, tells OkayAfrica. “There is however a very small minority that takes pride in being as abusive as they can legally get away with.”

AfroVii, who prefers we refer to her by her Twitter handle, also found the “rabid and debased” tweet dismissive of the show and the entire viewership experience, and set about reclaiming it, ironically, referring to herself as well as other BBNaija watchers as rabid and debased. It soon caught on and became a sort of inside joke with many from the BBNaija fandom community referring to themselves as the R&D, short for Rabid and Debased. “It's a case of, ‘That’s okay, we claim it, what else?’” she adds.

Becoming a Big Brother Naija stan

However, as we know, online harassment and bullying aren’t defining qualities of only BBNaija fans. Stans, as they’re called – after the Eminem track, “Stan,” in which a man details his dangerous obsession with the rapper — can be found across the entertainment board, from music to sport. Excessive fandom can lead to a zealous attachment to the public figure, in which stans take action against anyone who points out flaws or isn’t as adoring of their idol.

Spend enough time on Twitter and you’ll find many examples of fans going overboard to the point of threatening violence towards those critical of their favorites. The neurotic behavior of stans isn't peculiar to Big Brother Naija fans, and so to single them out for being “rabid and debased” is to frame a dishonest narrative. There are a growing number of Big Brother Naija fans who have gone on to use their fandom for good.

From bullying to community-building

An image of former Big Brother Naija contestant Erica smiling at the camera.Former ‘Big Brother Naija’ housemate Erica Nlewedim’s fans call themselves “Elites for Erica.” Photo: DSTV

When Big Brother Naija housemate Erica Nlewedim was disqualified from the game in 2020 over a drunken fit that led to her hurling abuse at fellow housemates, she apologized for her actions and accepted her disqualification in good faith. She had not expected to be embraced by a myriad of fans, who overlooked her hasty actions in the house. Prior to that, she was a fun housemate, the life of the party, and had developed an organic romantic relationship with a fellow housemate that endeared her to millions of viewers across Africa.

“I watched the show and got emotionally attached to Erica, and felt the two initial strikes before the disqualification [were] unfair,” Cynthia Adjes, a fan of Nlewedim’s and ardent viewer of the show, told OkayAfrica. “So when she got disqualified, I was sad and contributed to the GoFundMe.”

The GoFundMe Adjes refers to is a fundraising account that she and many others supported. Disappointed by Big Brother Naija's decision to disqualify Erica, one of her fans, Ehizode Irefo (whose Twitter account is now deactivated), set up a GoFundMe with a target of $100,000 – almost the dollar equivalent of the game's prize money of N30 million. The money was to help her pursue her acting and filmmaking dreams. The GoFundMe netted $66,000.

Today, Nlewedim is one of the biggest celebrities in Nigeria, with over 3 million followers on Instagram and a reality show on MTV Africa. Her fans, who go by the name “Elites for Erica,” have become a kind of social club, going on to help others beyond the BBNaija contestant they love so much. The “Elites for Erica” help share work and educational opportunities for fellow staunch fans, and raise money for projects like the construction of a borehole in an under-served area in Lagos.

A similar situation occurred with 2019 Big Brother Naija housemate Tacha Akide. Having already been issued two warning strikes, she was disqualified when she got into a scuffle with fellow housemate and eventual winner of the show, Mercy Eke. Her fans, the “Tacha Titans,” thought the disqualification was unfair and decided to start a GoFundMe to support her financially. But Akide quickly declined the offer when she learned of it. Her fans still sent money and gifts to her individually. For Akide’s birthday in December 2021, her fans decided to send in donations, some from as early as April of that year – that’s how committed they are.

Her fans would get hashtags to trend every Wednesday to raise awareness about the upcoming birthday. But the generosity continued even after Akide’s special day, and extended beyond her. “Tacha Titans” also began creating hashtags for different purposes.

“For instance, if someone’s had a sudden death in their family, they can use the hashtag to announce it and we will send our condolences,” Mide, a business analyst based in the U.K., who runs the stan account @hourlytacha and prefers not to use a last name, tells OkayAfrica. “And if we can help in any way, we help. Just something to keep the fanbase together, to let everyone know you are not alone in this. You need someone to talk to or if you need help in any way, you can always use the hashtag. You need a job, you never know who's watching and who will reach out.”

She adds, “We had Titans Skills Acquisition in 2020 where one thousand Titans learnt [one] skill or another to help them during the pandemic.”

Sharing the love

While the disqualifications of Nlewedim and Akide may have inspired the generosity of their fans, other ex-Big Brother Naija housemates have also experienced such generosity to various degrees with each new season. Because Big Brother Naija in itself is a competitive show, many times rival fan groups, who want to outdo each other, give or donate according to how much they want to see their favorite housemate succeed.

An image of former Big Brother Naija contestant Tacha smiling at the camera.Fans of former ‘Big Brother Naija’ housemate Tacha Akide have become known for helping others in need of support or encouragement.Photo: DSTV

This rivalry has helped build a community of philanthropy that lives on beyond whatever happens in the house. It’s a community that can have a delible impact. Last year ex-Big Brother housemate Rico Swavey was a victim of a ghastly motor accident that left him unconscious. A last-minute fundraiser was announced and the BBNaija community immediately rallied to send funds that would expedite his treatment when a Lagos hospital demanded an N4.2 million deposit before they could treat him. Swavey, unfortunately, died a few days after the accident.

And fans are capable of providing support to even someone who has zero ties to Big Brother itself, as seen in their charitable services to orphanages and educational sponsorships of those from less privileged backgrounds.

Acts of generosity by Big Brother stans do not, in any way, excuse the online harassment or bullying that many dole out. But there are fans of the reality series that show there’s another layer to this fandom that may get drowned out by online squabbles and Twitter wars.

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‘Hotel Rwanda’ Hero Paul Rusesabagina to Be Released From Prison

Paul Rusesabagina, who became renowned for his heroic portrayal in ‘Hotel Rwanda’, has received a presidential-ordered prison commute and will be released.

Davido Is Bringing ‘Timeless’ to These Cities

The Nigerian superstar has announced ‘A Timeless Night with Davido’ in Lagos, London and New York.

The Songs You Need to Hear This Week

Featuring new African music from Burna Boy, Amaarae, Major League Djz, Kwesi Arthur, Victony and more.

In her Debut Film, Angela Wamai Confronts Trauma and Seeks Healing

The Kenyan filmmaker chose to explore the heavy subject of sexual abuse for her first feature but that hasn’t stopped audiences from engaging with the film’s pressing themes.

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Ghanaian Rapper Kwesi Arthur Shares Visuals For ‘Pain Interlude’

Watch Kwesi Arthur’s inspiring new video for his latest single “Pain interlude.”