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Damola Durosomo
Aug. 21, 2018 02:35PM EST

Melania Trump Will Visit 'Several Countries In Africa' For First Solo Trip As First Lady

Oh dear.

Melania Trump will be traveling to Africa this October for her first solo trip since becoming first lady on that fateful day in 2016.

The first lady, will take the trip sans her husband Donald "Not My President" Trump, yes, the one who thinks African countries are shitholes. It will mark her first-ever trip to the continent and her most extensive trip as first lady.

She spoke vaguely of her agenda for the trip in a statement released on Monday.

"This will be my first time traveling to Africa and I am excited to educate myself on the issues facing children throughout the continent, while also learning about its rich culture and history," said the first lady. "We are a global society and I believe it is through open dialogue and the exchanging of ideas that we have a real opportunity to learn from one another."

READ: Chimamanda Adichie's New Short Story Articulates What We All Think About Melania Trump.

The specific countries she'll be visiting during her trip are yet to be announced. Though according to CNN Africa, she will visit "several."

While it looks like she's simply fulfilling first lady duties, we're almost positive she's taking this trip as a ploy to get a much-needed break from her husband—but that's none of our business.

Of course, folks are skeptical about her intentions, because let's be real, she doesn't really care, does she?







Some seem open to the idea of the first lady making a trip to the continent, though we have no idea why.


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Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Nomcebo Zikode, Zakes Bantwini & Wouter Kellerman Win Grammy Award For Best Global Music Performance

The South African artists won for their song "Bayethe" award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony.


South African artists Nomcebo Zikode, Zakes Bantwini, and Wouter Kellerman, and scored a win for their hit song "Bayethe" at this year's Grammy Awards ceremony.

The three SA artists won over Nigeria’s Burna Boy, Uganda’s Eddy Kenzo, USA’s Matt B, Ghana's Rocky Dawuni, and Pakistan's Arooj Aftab in theBest Global Music Performance category at the Grammy Awards.

The South African winning trio consists of Nomcebo Zikode, who is renowned as the singer in "Jerusalema," singer, record producer and singer Zakes Bantwini, and celebrated flutist, producer and composerWouter Kellerman.

According to ZALebs, during a prestigious Grammy's brunch dedicated to African nominees a day before the award show, both Zikode and Bantwini expressed excitement about the potential win. According to the publication Zikode had stated that she felt like she had already won the award.

“I’m hoping that South African people are going to be proud of me, we’re hoping to take this one but hey, if we don’t take it, it’s OK, I feel like I’m a winner already,” Zikode said at the time.

This is the first time Zikode and Bantwini win a Grammy. Kellerman won the award in 2015 for his album Winds of Samsara.

Previously, some controversy surrounded the song "Bayethe," with OkayAfrica reporting reporting that Zikode would be taking Open Mic Records to court after the singer alleged that the South African record label had told Spotify to take down the song over an intellectual property dispute. It is unclear where the lawsuit currently lies.

Several fans of the record took to social media to gleefully congratulate the South African artists for the accolade.

Watch the music video for the Grammy-winning "Bayethe" below.

“Nomcebo & Zakes just won a GRAMMY for Bayethe 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎 #Grammys2023 #Nomcebo #Zakes #Bayethe”

Watch the music video for the Grammy-Winning "Bayethe" below.

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Photo by Manny Carabel/Getty Images.

Tems Becomes the First Female Nigerian Artist to Win a Grammy Award

Nigerian star Temshas won her first Grammy Award—and it's only up from here for her.


Temsjust added "Grammy Award Winner" to her teeming list of accolades. During the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, the Nigerian singer, whose full name is Temilade Openiyi, earned her first Grammy for her contribution to Future's ‘Wait For U,' which also features Drake.

The musical bombshell won in the category of Best Melodic Rap Performance over artists like Latto (“Big Energy (Live)”, Jack Harlow (“First Class”), Kendrick Lamar (“Die Hard”), and DJ Khaled (“Beautiful”). With this win, the 27-year-old fan-favorite just made history as the first female Nigerian artist to win a Grammy.

Tems, who has made a big impression with her music over the past few years is also up for Album of the Year for her contribution to Beyoncé’s Renaissance. Earlier this year, the "Higher" Singer scored an Oscar nomination at the 2023 Oscars for co-writing "Lift Me Up’, one of the songs on 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."

"Wait For U" sampled Tems' song "Higher," which was a record off of her 2020 debut album For Broken Ears. "Wait For U'" was released on May 3, 2022, and was released as the second single from Future's ninth studio album, I Never Liked You.

Shortly after the record was released, Future took to social media to praise Tems' vocal ability. The rest of 2022 would involve Tems getting praise and international recognition for her artistry, and a fleet of projects, including notable collaborations with mega stars like Beyoncé and Rihanna.

Ever since news of the Tems' win broke, several fans took to social media to excitedly congratulate the Lagos-born mega star.

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Photo By Adedamola Odetara for OkayAfrica

Photo Series: Vic Mensa's Pilgrimage to Ghana

OkayAfrica traveled with Vic Mensa as he visited his father's childhood home, Koforidua. Here's a behind-the-scenes look about what happened.

Back in December, American rapper Vic Mensa went on a pilgrimage back home. The rapper was in Accra, Ghana for his historic Black Star Line Festival, which he was co-hosting with longtime friend and fellow rapper Chance the Rapper.

But, on a hot day before the festival, the rapper traveled two hours from Accra to Koforidua to visit his extended family. There is a lot of history in Koforidua. Highlife trailblazer Chief Kofi Sammy grew up there. Not only was he founder of the famous Okukuseku International Band but Sammy also had a long and fruitful relationship with Afrobeat legend Fula Kuti.

He also happens to be Vic Mensa's uncle. And part of the reason Vic took this trip is to convince Sammy to join him on stage at the Black Star Line Festival in Accra, in front of 50,000 fans. However, while there, Vic made sure he had time to connect with his extended family.

It was a special, intimate moment. One OkayAfrica was lucky enough to witness firsthand. Check out our photo gallery of Vic Mensa's pilgrimage below.

Photo By Adedamola Odetara for OkayAfrica

In December 2022, Vic Mensa took a trip to visit his uncle, legendary Highlife artist Chief Kofi Sammy. It’s about a two hour drive from Accra to Koforidua. A bit longer when you factor in Vic stopping for some of his favorite snacks.

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