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Damola Durosomo
Jan. 30, 2018 01:04PM EST

Last Night's 'Black Panther' Premiere Was Glorious and Black AF

Black 👏🏿 Royalty 👏🏿.

Last night was the official "purple carpet" premiere of Black Panther and it was an exceptionally regal—and black AF—affair.

The dress code for the night was "royal attire requested," and the dazzling cast, crew and star guests did not disappoint in the slightest. The purple carpet was brimming with melanin, vibrant hues, colorful jewels, intricate patterns, and all around flyness.

You can watch the premiere here, in case you missed it.

Check out some of the phenomenal, jaw-dropping looks from last night's Black Panther premiere below.

Our hearts cannot stop racing after seeing these pictures of Chadwick Boseman looking like a proud Wakandan King.

Can we just take a second to revel in the goodness that is Lupita Nyong'o in this Fulani-inspired hairstyle for a moment? Wow.

Danai Gurira was awe-inspiring in this polished pink look. The queen of our hearts, truly.

Daniel Kaluuya kept it impeccably smooth and traditional in a Ugandan Kanzu. Dreamy.


There are actually no words that can adequately describe how astounding Angela Basset looks in this yellow, beaded ensemble. Black royalty don't crack.

Michael Bae Jordan—aka Erik Killmonger—living up to his name, as usual in this tailored, double breasted suit.

It gets no cuter than T'Challa's sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, in this sheer ballroom gown.

Director, Ryan Coogler rocking Ikiré Jones was absolutely everything. Cheers to supporting African designers!

While we're still grappling with extreme FOMO over the fact that we couldn't be there in the flesh, we certainly appreciate the regalia of last night's event. We remain incredibly excited about the release of this film—February 16 cannot get here soon enough.

See more pictures of the stars, including David Oyelowo, Issa Rae, Donald Glover, Yara Shahidi, Janelle Monae and more below.



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The 8 Songs You Need to Hear This Week

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Every week, we highlight the top releases through our best music of the week column.

Here's our round up of the best tracks and music videos that came across our desks, which you can also check out in our Songs You Need to Hear This Week playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.

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Wekafore Releases Fela Kuti Inspired Collab With Daily Paper

The one-of-a-kind 'The Spirit Don't Die' capsule collection celebrates African heritage and a hope for a brighter future.

Amsterdam-based African streetwear brand Daily Paper has joined Nigerian fashion brand Wekafore in creating a unique capsule collection of note. The 'The Spirit Don't Die' collection is inspired by fashion and Nigerian activism icon Fela Kuti, but celebrates the bountiful beauty, potential, and heritage of Africans.

Nigerian designer Wekaforé Maniu Jibril, owner, and designer of the Wekafore brand has been hot since his 2013 debut. The brand has gone on to become a great success within the realm of West African fashion. Wekaforé represents a newer, more fearless generation of African designers and their latest collaborative collection tells the tale.

Daily Paper x Wekaforé 'The Spirit Don't Die' collectionImage courtesy of Daily Paper


The two popular brands share a rich history and intention to further African fashion's reputation in the world, as well as as a shared desire for raw necessity, organic growth, and authentic community engagement, development and, support. The fashion brands are making it known that street and casual wear are more than we once thought - fashion can be inclusive and fun. The stars truly aligned to bring us this partnership guided by similar core values and the hunger to celebrate Africa and her diasporas through fashion.

The Fela Kuti-inspired collection is filled with distinctive and bold pieces, honoring Africa's past while paving the way towards the future. Wekafore is known for their clear integration of West Africa's 1970's cultural golden age, and this limited collection speaks to those themes, making it a no-brainer to dedicate the line to the legendary King of Afrobeat, whose style never disappointed. It's clear to see how Kuti's influence inspired the exciting and vibrant creative renaissance seen in the collection. On using Kuti as his muse, Wekaforé says, "Like Fela, the pieces are very punk, very psychedelic, and very African at the same time. And that represents me 100%. And I think being able to speak that way through a platform like Daily Paper is a testament to contemporary African consciousness."


Image courtesy of Daily Paper

Daily Paper x Wekafore 'The Spirit Don't Die' Collection

Check out more of Daily Paper x Wekafore's collection 'The Spirit Don't Die' collection here.
Music

6 Samples From 'Éthiopiques' in Hip-Hop

A brief history of Ethio-jazz cultural exchange featuring songs by Nas & Damian Marley, K'naan, Madlib and more.

This article was originally published on OkayAfrica in March, 2017. We're republishing it here for our Crossroads series.

It's 2000 something. I'm holed up in my bedroom searching for samples to chop up on Fruity Loops. While deep into the free-market jungle of Amazon's suggested music section, I stumble across a compilation of Ethiopian music with faded pictures of nine guys jamming in white suit jackets. I press play on the 30 second sample.

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The next day, I burn a CD and pop it into my dad's car. His eyes light up when the first notes ooze out of the speakers. “Where did you get this?" He asks puzzlingly. “The internet," I respond smiling.

In the 1970s my dad was one of thousands of high school students in Addis Ababa protesting the monarchy. The protests eventually created instability which lead to a coup d'état. The monarchy was overthrown and a Marxist styled military junta composed of low ranking officers called the Derg came to power. The new regime subsequently banned music they deemed to be counter revolutionary. When the Derg came into power, Amha Eshete, a pioneering record producer and founder of Ahma Records, fled to the US and the master recordings of his label's tracks somehow ended up in a warehouse in Greece.

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