music
News Brief
Damola Durosomo
Jul. 29, 2019 01:22PM EST
Image via Wikimedia

Little Simz, Dave, Nao & More Earn 2019 Mercury Prize Nominations

The annual prize is awarded to the best album released in the UK.

The 2019 nominations for the UK's coveted Mercury Prize—given to the best album released by a British or Irish artist annually—has been announced.

This year's shortlist is a close race that includes a diverse group of musicians across several genres, notably the British-Nigerian MC Little Simz, who was one of OkayAfrica's 100 Women honorees this year and is nominated for her album GREY Area, as well as fellow British-Nigerian rapper Dave, the buzzing rapper behind the hit "Location," featuring Burna Boy, who earned a nomination for his debut album Psychodrama. Both albums received critical acclaim upon their release.

Other standouts include Nao for her album Saturn, as well as the experimental rock band Black Midi. This year's judges also include several popular artists and industry insiders including Stormzy, Jorja Smith, Tshepo Mokoena, Annie Mac and more.

Past Mercury Prize winners include Skepta who snagged the award in 2016 for his album Konichiwa and Sampha for his album Process in 2018.

The winner of the 2019 Mercury Prize will be announced on September 19. Check out the full shortlist below.

Nominees:

Anna Calvi - Hunter
Black Midi - Schlagenheim
Cate Le Bon - Reward
Dave - Psychodrama
Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1
Fontaines D.C. - Dogrel
IDLES - Joy As An Act Of Resistance
Little Simz - GREY Area
NAO - Saturn
SEED Ensemble - Driftglass
Slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain
The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships


little simz dave nigeria black british african diaspora grime mercury prize uk music
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10 Essential South African Love Songs to Set the Mood This Valentine's Day

Here are 10 songs from Mthunzi, Kwesta, Ami Faku, Berita and several others that you need to add to your playlist this Valentine's Day.

It's Valentine's Day. No matter how and where you plan on celebrating the occasion, we've compiled a playlist of 10 essential South African love songs to help you make sure the mood is set just right.

From Mthunzi's serenading Zulu lyrics to Kwesta's real-life wedding tribute and Ayanda Jiya's glorious anthem, there's a song here for everyone. Whether you're looking for a nostalgic jam to remember love lost or a powerful number to help you navigate a budding romance, we've got you covered.

And, if by the end of this playlist you're still searching for just a few more gems to add that (hopefully) growing playlist, you can also check out our African Love Songs playlist on Apple Music.

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YoungstaCPT Shares Lovely Visuals for ‘For Coloured Girls’

Watch YoungstaCPT's music video for 'For Coloured Girls.'

In his latest music video, YoungstaCPT appreciates Coloured girls—the visuals showcase different Coloured women of varying ages, from different parts of Cape Town and other parts of South Africa. Some of the faces are familiar—you'll spot the writer Raisa Fisher, the dancer Tarryn Alberts and a few other familiar faces. A majority of them are just ordinary women and young girls that the emcee felt like shining the light on to appreciate brown women. A perfect visual to release on Valentine's Day.

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Courtesy of Universal Music Group.

In Conversation with Daniel Kaluuya and Melina Matsoukas: 'This isn't a Black Bonnie and Clyde film—our stories are singular, they're ours.'

'Queen and Slim' lands in South Africa.

Melina Matsoukas and Daniel Kaluuya are everything their surroundings at the opulent Saxon Hotel are not—down-to-earth and even comedic at times. Despite the harsh lights and cameras constantly in their faces, they joke around and make the space inviting. They're also eager to know and pronounce the names of everyone they meet correctly. "It's Rufaro with an 'R'? Is that how you say it?" Kaluuya asks me as he shakes my hand.

Matsoukas, a two-time Grammy award winning director and Kaluuya, an A-list actor who's starred in massive titles including Black Panther and Get Out, have every reason to be boastful about their achievements and yet instead, they're relatable.

The duo is in South Africa to promote their recent film Queen Slim which is hitting theaters today and follows the eventful lives of a Black couple on the run after killing a police officer. It's a film steeped in complexity and layered themes to do with racism, police brutality and of course Black love.

We caught up with both of them to talk about just what it took from each of them to bring the powerful story to the big screen.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Installation view of Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara © The Metropolitan Museum of Art 2020, photography by Anna-Marie Kellen.

The Met's New Exhibition Celebrates the Rich Artistic History of the Sahel Region

'Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara' is an enxtensive look into the artistic past of the West African region.

West Africa's Sahel region has a long and rich history of artistic expression. In fact, pieces from the area, which spans present-day Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, date all the way back to the first millennium. Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara, a new exhibition showing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, dives into this history to share an expansive introduction to those who might be unfamiliar with the Sahel's artistic traditions.

"The Western Sahel has always been a part of the history of African art that has been especially rich, and one of the things that I wanted to do with this exhibition, that hasn't done before, is show one of the works of visual art...and present them within the framework of the great states that historians have written about that developed in this region," curator Alisa LaGamma tells Okayafrica. She worked with an extensive team of researchers and curators from across the globe, including Yaëlle Biro, to bring the collection of over 200 pieces to one of New York City's most prestigious art institutions.

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