The Nigerian Government is Evacuating its Citizens from South Africa
President Buhari has arranged free flights for Nigerians wanting to return home.
Amid the violent xenophobic attacks and looting of shops owned by African foreign nationals in South Africa over the past week, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has called for the "immediate voluntary evacuation" of Nigerian citizens. IOL reports that President Buhari called for the evacuation yesterday and that private Nigerian airline, Air Peace, has offered to provide free flights to Nigerians who would like to return home. The airline will be operating two Boeing 777 aircraft and will leave Lagos later today with the intention of returning back to Nigeria with evacuees tomorrow.
In the wake of South Africa's latest xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg, the Nigerian government sent a special envoy last week to meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa and talk about Nigeria's growing concerns over the treatment of Nigerian citizens residing in South Africa. According to the BBC, the Nigerian government stressed that the South African government needed to "take visible measures t stop violence against citizens of brotherly nations." While President Ramaphosa has condemned the xenophobic violence and called for calm, it has done little to quell the recurrent attacks in what has now become an international diplomatic crisis.
The head of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri, said that at least 600 Nigerians have signed up to return home. Dabiri added that Nigerians who are directly affected by the xenophobic attacks and are currently in harm's way will be able to return home. She also called for the South African government to compensate those who have been victims of the violence.
Back in Nigeria, the South African embassy as well as businesses including MTN, Pep, MutiChoice and Shoprite, temporarily closed shop amid attacks by angry Nigerian citizens who were responding to the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
We spent time with Nigerian superstar Ckay moments before he hit the stage at Afro Nation in Accra, Ghana.
Like many of the continent’s hitmakers, Nigerian superstar CKay has spent the past year booked and busy spreading the gospel of afrobeats. So when it came time for CKay to hit the stage at Afro Nation in Accra, Ghana the performance felt like a homecoming.
“It’s good to be back home,” says CKay. “I haven’t performed in Ghana in over a year. It’s definitely a different vibe in Africa because this is the source.”
After three years and iterations in Portugal and Puerto Rico, Live Nation’s Africa-focused festival made its return to the Ghanaian capital last month. The two-day event played host to performers from the Africa and the diaspora with a lineup spanning P-Square to Meek Mill, offering fans a chance to reconnect with the artists putting their culture on the map.
CKay moments before he hit the stage. Photo Credit: Carlos Idun-Tawiah
“It’s crazy to see [African music] exploding right now,” says CKay. “Because this music is our culture, it used to be an in-house thing at one point but now it’s a global thing. Everyone is interested in afrobeats and what we’re creating over here.” Lounging on the sofa in his greenroom you’d never tell that he’s just minutes removed from an electrifying set that had thousands swooning and singing along word-for-word. If anything, CKay seems energized by the crowd. "It’s a joyful thing to perform here. Great energy, great vibes," says CKay. "When you go out there and see the crowd, you see lots of Africans not only Ghanaians, non-Africans too that flew all the way here just to experience vibes and I think that’s amazing.”
Every December, Accra has the world at its doorstep. Longtime residents are familiar with the seasonal cycle of tourists and celebrities making the annual pilgrimage to bask in the local nightlife. Party and concert posters litter the city with the repetitive promise of making “this December one to remember.” It’s a tall order in this climate to deliver on the goal of being memorable, but a look around Black Star Square reveals that Afro Nation had achieved its objective. The crowd’s energy rarely wavered. Kamo Mphela and her troupe of dancer’s tapped into Accra’s love affair with amapiano, while Black Sherif’s ghetto gospel and Stonebwoy’s undeniable dancehall had the dreamers screaming lyrics at the top of their lungs. Then there were moments like Meek Mill’s inaugural Ghanaian performance and P-Square’s long-overdue reunion that were truly unforgettable.
“I think we should keep innovating the genre, keep transforming the sound, turning it into something new every time,” says Ckay. Photo Credit: Carlos Idun-Tawiah
For CKay, the Afro Nation stage was an important reminder that African music is not a monolith and isn’t done evolving. “I think we should keep innovating the genre, keep transforming the sound, turning it into something new every time,” he says. In his own performance, the singer combined his romantic brand of afrobeats with amapiano and R&B-indebted tracks. And in a uniquely candid moment on stage he revealed the story behind his viral hit “Love Nwantiti”—about how a failed love turned him into a worldwide sensation. The two days were brimming with moments like this that spoke to the familiarity between the artists and their fans at home.
So, where does the music go from here? “The mission is to take African music to the world,” says CKay. “We’ve already done that, but it’s still a work in progress, still doing, working, adding more building blocks everyday, trying to expand our reach. I feel African music is too amazing to keep to ourselves, I think we should spread it and hold on to it at the same time.”
“The mission is to take African music to the world,” says CKay. “We’ve already done that, but it’s still a work in progress..."Photo Credit: Carlos Idun-Tawiah
The buzzed-about return of Africa’s top reality show brings in housemates from Nigeria and South Africa.
Another year is here, and true to form, so is another African iteration of the widely-watched reality TV show, Big Brother. Titled Big Brother Titans, it’s a calculated mashup of South Africa and Nigerian versions of the franchise. With a 24-hour live feed broadcast from Johannesburg, the show will see 20 hopefuls from both nations go head-to-head for the ultimate prize of $100,000, and the opportunity to become the latest star to emerge from the much-loved television show.
Selecting contestants from these countries is no surprise. South Africa and Nigeria are cultural powerhouses, translating as strongholds for Big Brother since its inception, with a legion of viewers cultivated along the way. In the franchise’s history, it’s a never-seen-before set up. But it’s nostalgia inducing, harkening back to incarnations of the show in the early 2000s, with contestants from all over the continent.
The show's premiere gave fans a first look at the contestants, and who to possibly cheer on as their favorite to win in 10 weeks’ time. In light of this, we are introducing the housemates of this bigger edition. So get familiar with them, as they are set to be a fixture on our TV screens and social media timelines for a while to come.
The first Big Brother Titans housemate introduced, Khosi Twala is a 25-year-old journalist, broadcaster, and self-confessed adventurer from South Africa. Originally from KwaZulu-Natal, she lives in Johannesburg presently and holds academic degrees from the University of The Free State, Bloemfontein, and the University of Johannesburg. Khosi has competed in beauty pageants in the past, from Miss Free State SA in 2017, to the Biogen Face of Fitness in 2020, and Miss Regal International South Africa in 2021. Khosi is also a fitness aficionado, regularly sharing pictures and videos of herself working out across her social media platforms. Khosi says she is single but open to romantic relationships while on the show.
Yemi Cragx is a creative multi-hyphenate from Lagos with origins in Ekiti State. He's also worked as a model in the past, and tried his hand at various entertainment-related gigs, ranging from acting to event hosting and digital content creation. Of all these, he admits being most comfortable as a fashion designer and intends to bring some of his unorthodox fashion ideas to the Big Brother Titans show. The 30-year-old also anticipates that he’ll be involved in a love triangle during his stay in the house, and has already shown an affinity for fellow housemates, Yaya and Khosi.
24-year-old Juicy Jay (born Siyamthanda Jwacu) is a semi-professional rugby player from the Eastern Cape, South Africa. While not much is known about his personal life and family, he is a big fan of music and Xhosa culture, sharing pictures of attending weddings and functions at home with family members. Jay’s love for rugby saw him undergo surgery for a playing-related injury on his left knee last September. But he’s determined to focus on the positives and bring his energy and humor to the Big Brother Titans show, using the reality contest as a pedestal to launch a professional rugby career.
Olivia is a 23-year-old actress from Imo state in the southeast of Nigeria. She describes herself as a fierce competitor who isn’t scared to return whatever energy is directed her way. Prior to coming into the Big Brother house, Olivia worked in the entertainment space as an actress, brand influencer, model, and content creator but she’s always been focused on her dream of being a star since her time studying at the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede in Owerri State where she was a popular figure on campus. She’s single, but not necessarily looking for a romantic relationship in the house.
Born in Durban and raised in Cape Town, 25-year-old Nelisa entered the Big Brother Titans show because she thinks she is interesting to watch, and her pre-show life as a socialite and free-spirited party host give credence to this. Nelisa just wrapped up a course in digital marketing and music before the Big Brother Titans show started, and she describes herself as an alcoholic whose relationship status is a bit chaotic, depending on how she feels at any given moment.
Blaqboi, born Victor Panwal, is a Nigerian storyteller from the Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau in Nigeria’s middle belt. He graduated with a degree in Theater and Films Art from the University of Jos, and has worked as a visual content creator, director, and filmmaker before becoming a contestant on Big Brother Titans. The 26-year-old is also a popular TikToker, regularly sharing memes and parodies with his audience of over 1.4 million people on the platform. He's also said he's not dating anyone presently.
Mmeli Khumalo is from Hillbrow, one of Joburg's most notorious suburbs. The 25-year-old model is a big fan of fashion and has followed the Big Brother brand all his life, with an eye to making an appearance on the show. Mmeli describes himself as a seasonal conspirator who's keen not to get drawn into the spicy plotlines and drama that make the Big Brother shows an intriguing watch. But he says he came to the house to have some time away from the regular flow of life, and to have a good time. Mmeli won the inaugural head-of-house challenge.
22-year-old Nana is an entrepreneur and student hailing from Kaduna State in Northern Nigeria. She studied Mass Communication at Kaduna State University for a while, and is currently studying Tourism and Hotel Management in Cyprus. She owns a business called Nana’s Empire, dealing mostly in fashion wear and accessories, as well as aphrodisiac products. Nana is a self-confessed lover of body art, tattoos, and piercings. She has also been open about the troubled nature of her relationship with her father growing up, and sees winning the Big Brother Titans show as an opportunity to achieve financial stability. When it comes to the potential for starting a relationship while in the house, she says she's open to that.
Ipeleng Selepe is a calm, confident housemate hoping to make her mark on the Big Brother Titans show, and willing to creating bonds while in the Big Brother house. Ipeleng was born and raised in the North-West of South Africa but is currently based in Gauteng. The 25-year-old describes herself as an introvert, and suffered from social anxiety while growing up but is overcoming that by putting herself in front of more opportunities as she grows older. Presently, Ipeleng is a law student, content creator, and YouTuber who makes video explainers and reviews revolving around skincare and lifestyle.
Marvin Achi is a reality TV star and chemical engineer who has taken part in reality TV shows like America's Got Talent and The Circle USA. Born and raised in Port Harcourt, he currently resides in Houston, Texas. The 29-year-old gained a degree in chemical engineering from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and has since risen to fame as a serial reality TV star and body transformation expert. Marvin is also an entrepreneur, and owns the fitness brands, Zindu Transform and Zindu Nutrition, as well as a sportswear store called Elephant Sport. He has said he's single but hasn't specified if he's looking to get involved in any romance while in the house.
Thabang is a single 21-year-old South African who joined the Big Brother Titans house on the recommendation of his mother. He hails from Soweto, and has tried his hand at a number of businesses, working on promotions for events and dealing in sneakers, at different times. Presently, Thabang works as a sports analyst and hopes to use some of the exposure he gains from Big Brother Titans to pursue more of his business interests. Thabang used to play the violin growing up, and is a big fan of amapiano music, naming “Tobesta” by Ftears, Myztro, and ShaunMusiQ as his favourite song.
Jaypee is a Nigerian professional nurse who doubles as the life of the party. The 25-year-old has worked as a model, party host, and actress since her tertiary education days. Jaypee has also stated that she’s not in a serious relationship outside the Big Brother Titan house, as she was seeing a number of people before she came onto the reality TV show. Jaypee’s biggest dream is to become a renowned actor and work on blockbuster Nollywood productions.
31-year-old housemate Yaya is a make-up artist, body positivity activist, aspiring actress, and model living in East London. Born Yamkela Mwanda in the Eastern Cape, she is single, and interested in changing the narrative around conventional beauty. Yaya has been modeling since 2014, and has worked with publications like Drum Magazine, Essentials Magazine, Essays of Africa, True Love and Bona Magazine, as well as acted on shows like The Queen and Scandal.
Ebubu is a 28-year-old Nigerian model and creative based in Lagos. He attended Lagos State University, and graduated with a degree in Theater Arts. He has worked as a vixen on a number of afropop music videos, and describes himself as a creative enthusiast with an interest in music, painting, and acting. Ebubu says his hidden talent is mimicking accents from across the world, and is a big Wizkid fan who hopes to use the Big Brother Titans platform to launch his creative career to the next level. During his intro, the creative said that he's single and definitely looking to mingle.
Lukay is a 31-year-old South African sales executive from KwaZulu-Natal who is fiercely proud of his Zulu heritage. He moved back to KwaZulu-Natal to reconnect with his parents, and is in the Big Brother Titans house to compete for the prize money after missing out on being selected last year. Lukay is confident of his chances of winning, despite social media chatter about his age and suitability for the show. He has kept his relationship status under wraps.
Born and raised in Chicago, Jenni O traces her origins to Imo, Nigeria and has a master’s degree in public health from the University of Georgia. The 25-year-old, born Jennifer Okoro, is single and worked for an American pharmaceutical corporation before moving to Lagos in October 2022. Jenni O is an ardent listener of afropop and reviews the music she listens to on her podcast, JenniSpeakz. She is a keen beauty enthusiast and has a serious phobia of snakes.
Tsatsii is one of the South African housemates in the Big Brother Titans house. She is a student from Pretoria studying engineering, biotechnology, and microbiology, who describes herself as expressive and fun to hang out with. She has been an avid follower of Big Brother over the years, and her darkest secret is that she has cheated on three exams in the past without being caught. Born Motsatsi Wendy Madiba, the 24-year-old is single and a big fan of electronic music but loves to listen to afropop when she’s in the mood to dance.
Kanaga Jr. is an actor, stylist, and model based in Lagos state with origins in Abia state. The 23-year-old takes style inspiration from his late dad, wearing an ensemble from his dad’s wardrobe for his introduction to the Big Brother Titans audience. Kanaga Jr has made appearances on Netflix Nigeria’s first original series, Far From Home, and hopes to establish his fashion brand post-Big Brother.
Justin Peters is a 21-year-old South African contestant. He’s on Big Brother Titans to provide representation for the Maui people after years of following the entertainment industry without seeing people that look like him on TV screens. Justin is from East London, South Africa, and works as a photographer and content creator. He also hopes to win the grand prize in order to assist his parents in paying off their debts. He's currently single and wants to travel across the world, and document diverse cultures.
Yvonne is a 27-year-old Nigerian model, video vixen, and entrepreneur. She hails from Akwa Ibom state, and hopes to use the Big Brother house as a launchpad to establish herself in the entertainment industry. Yvonne was the muse for Nigerian musician Phyno’s music video for “Never,” directed by TG Omori in 2020. She is insistent on avoiding any relationships in the Big Brother Titans house to ensure that her brand remains solely hers after the show ends.
The South African filmmaker's documentary feature, which is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, is a deeply personal film that touches on her life growing up in the Transkei, before it was incorporated into post-apartheid South Africa.
When the credits roll on Milisuthando Bongela’s documentary feature, Milisuthando, among those listed, along with the lighting director and song composers, are the names of her ancestors. For the South African director, it was important that her first film was indeed made in communion with those who came before her.
“They were always consulted,” she tells OkayAfrica. “I would talk to my ancestors about my ideas. I would say, ‘Okay, this is the direction we want to go in.’ Even in terms of the fundraising aspect of the film, we involved them. This is what was fun and groundbreaking about making a film as a South African in 2021 [when she finished shooting it], is that our knowledge systems have said that you involve your ancestors in absolutely everything that you do. And we did”
And so it is that Milisuthando makes its debut into the world at the Sundance Film Festival, having been selected for its World Documentary Competition section. The film, which Bongela started eight years ago when she was a fashion blogger, consultant and columnist, began life as an exploration of hair and identity. But over the years, she dug deeper to come up with a deeply personal visual essay into how apartheid shaped the way she sees herself.
Milisuthando traces Bongela’s childhood, through her relationship with her grandmother, in the so-called independent homeland of the Transkei, which was dissolved into South Africa when apartheid ended, to her family’s move to Joburg, and the interracial friendships she’s developed over the years. All of which, to probe the constructs she grew up within, and how those have impacted her sense of self.
But the doc is more than just a strikingly honest and exquisitely crafted look into parts of one person’s life; it’s the chance for other South Africans – and indeed other human beings born into the various unequal systems that operate in this world – to be in dialogue with where we come from and who we come from, and how an honest contemplation of this is necessary to inform a future that is truly more inclusive and loving and kind.
'Milisuthando' is the debut documentary feature from Milisuthando Bongela that's premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Photo: The Sundance Institute
Bongela uses elements like archival footage of South Africans in notable moments of recent history, for example news footage of the first Black children to go to a previously whites-only school (known back then as Model C) and incorporates interviews with her own friends, in this case, about their experiences at these schools. In doing so, she uncovers aspects of post-apartheid that aren’t talked about enough, through an acute, emotive lens.
Poetic words and carefully-placed melodies convey the complicated nuances that filled the Mandela era. Bongela’s tapestry is rich, her colors vivid, and her touch ever so gently guided by those she calls into her space to inform and nurture her and her work. It’s a documentary that holds the promise of a filmmaker to follow and champion as she continues on her path.
Bongela, who was an inaugural fellow of the 2020 Adobe Women at Sundance Fellowship, spoke to OkayAfrica about the long road towards making the film.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You ground the film in your childhood memories, of growing up in a so-called independent homeland, the Transkei -- this is a part of South Africa's history that we don’t often see talked about. Why was this important to you?
The disjunction was always that I didn't see my own history represented. So when I switched on the TV, it was always people who grew up in eKasi (in the township) – Soweto, Khayelitsha – those were the stories that were represented. And at some point, as a child, I also thought I grew up eKasi. But I remember in 2013, at Nelson Mandela's house, before the funeral, my friends and I went there and we were all kind of singing with the group the song, My mother was a kitchen girl, My father was a garden boy. And I remember singing the song but in my heart, I was like, that is not true of me, and, do I have a right to have a right to sing the song? Because my history is different. My mother wasn't a kitchen girl, my father wasn't a garden boy. What were they? And why is it that my father had a desk job and typed on a computer and he had a briefcase, and why is it that my mother wore high heels and perfume? I grew up around people who were doctors and accountants and lawyers, and these were just our family, friends, you know?
And so the idea of the Transkei -- and we have not explored the homeland histories at all, in South Africa -- me exploring that was a way of validating my own experience to say, in South Africa's narrative of apartheid and transition to democracy, where do I fit in? Where did the homelands fit in? Why is it that when I was growing up as a child, when we wrote our nationality on forms, we were Transkein? And I was like, what happened to that?
I studied journalism but I've never been interested in the square facts. The facts don’t help us understand why things are the way that they are. And so I was trying to make sense of where I came from. When did I leave this place? And why did we leave this place? And when did whiteness become a reality in my life? And that was in 1992, when we left and moved into a white neighborhood. It's not an autobiographical story, but it borrows a lot from the trajectory of my own life.
Meet the Artist 2023: Milisuthando Bongela on “Milisuthando”
It took 8 years to make, what was your process as you worked?
It took a very long time because, having never studied film, but being a huge fan, I was always like, I should follow the traditional structure, I should respect the form and respect the known structure, especially if I'm coming from the outside. But every time we tried to push the story in that direction of having like a three-act structure and me narrate everything and explain everything to the audience, it just never felt right. So the process involved a lot of faith in myself. For my editor, for my cinematographer, for my producer, we are unashamed about how much faith we've had to have in trusting the direction we wanted to go in the film. The nonlinear kind of jumping between time and not using my voice in that way that tells the audience but invites the audience into a world where they can also discover. So the process was quite sacred.
It mirrored a lot of my own personal practices, in terms of the way I grew up, and again, that was a huge leap cinematically because I've never really seen that on screen, and I don't know but I just I knew we had something special on our hands and that it took a long time to explore and invalidate that. But in the end, I think we were like, Yeah, this film is unique regarding where it comes from, but most importantly, what it has to say about the subjects. I feel like South Africans are qualified to talk about race and to explore race because of our history. There's a lot to be heard from that part of the world that I want to share with the rest of the world.
So the structure also had to kind of break with traditional form. And just lastly, I am interested in the question of what is South African cinema in the 21st century? Being newbies at it, as Black people making films, as Black women making films, as women making films. We haven't been allowed to touch this technology, we haven't been allowed to engage cameras for a long time, and so now that we're here, how is it going to change?
In 'Milisuthando,' director Milisuthando Bongela explores her childhood and what it meant to move from the Transkei to Johannesburg in post-apartheid South Africa.
Photo: The Sundance Institute
There’s an incredibly vulnerable and honest conversation about whiteness with your producer Marion Isaacs in the film - one of the most powerful in the film. What was behind your decision to include that?
Because it was happening, because it was real, because that's exactly what we were going through. And in our pitching forums and stuff when we were still fundraising for the film, we realized early on that we have to be honest about our own relationship. Historically, the producers in South Africa are usually always white women and the directors are always, not always but sometimes, Black. And I'm always interested in the power dynamics between these roles, and because Marion and I are friends, and our friendship is built very much on long conversations, thorough conversations, vulnerable conversations about everything, and obviously, this is a documentary that's based on real life, it would have been dishonest not to include what was going on behind the scenes.
It was about my own relationship as a Black person to my racialization, and how a lot of the times as Black people, especially when we get together, we're always in this position of struggling against, and fighting, and we're always strong, and we're always with our amandla [power] fists up, and I didn't find a lot of space -- I haven't found a lot of public space, even in public discourse -- that represents the other side of that. Which is like, a residual fear, and a trauma, where you're like, Actually, there's a part of me that is afraid of white people. There's a part of me that is afraid of what might happen if I upset a white person. I'm not the only one that carries that. Our parents, as much as they were fighting, as much as they were strong, as much as they were always bold in the face of any kind of atrocity or discrimination, there was also this cowering that I noticed from the people I grew up around whenever our white person appeared. And so, for me, I was like, in my Black consciousness, in my ways of fighting against being racialized in public, what's the shadow side to that? What's the other side? What's the more quiet side and how do I carry my fear? How do I carry these things?
That scene is based on real life. That bathroom scene really genuinely did happen. And we didn't film as it was happening but immediately afterwards. I told Marion to take camera and just record what's happening to me right now because I'm freaking out about the fact that, as close as we are, as much as we talk about these things, and we call ourselves equals, like, are we really equal, actually? I was always interested in the fact that we can't be the only ones carrying pain and trauma. What is white pain? What does white pain look like? That's a real thing. The proverbial oppressor is holding the other end of the stick, and I was very interested in, if we are going to have a friendship -- or can we have a friendship? -- and what are the terms and conditions if so?
Given that you’ve been on this path for a good few years, what kind of advice would you offer to other budding filmmakers, having gotten your film into one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world?
I feel so privileged to be where I am today, to have taken the journey and the course, and the support that we've had from our funders from this festival, from other festivals. It's been absolutely incredible. The advice I have is you really have to serve your story and your voice. That's the most important thing. I know it's really hard, especially in this image-aggressive era that we're in where you see so much stuff on Instagram, so much stuff on Twitter, so much stuff on Netflix, and how stories are being told in very particular ways. And I can see in South Africa, we’re going into a very particularly glossy direction of telling stories.
For me, the thing is, what is the sound of your own voice? What is the shape of your own hand? If you draw, you don't want to mimic another artist. If I’m drawing a still life, what is my hand going to do to this apple? So the most important thing is to be at pains to discover what the sound of your own voice is. Because racism is a thing that's been spoken about since it existed by everybody and anybody who is an artist or who's an African artist or Black artist. So what is it that I'm going to say that can only come from me? When you have that perspective, it then tells you what your lighting is going to look like, it tells you what your set is going to look like, it tells you who exactly. And have the audacity and the gumption to take your idea seriously and to and to fail and have bad ideas. There were many bad ideas. I don't want to call them bad but 'lesser good ideas,' as William Kentridge says. Before we got to the ones that we were finally happy with.
And it's just tenacity, really. Because a lot of people can take cameras and point them to things. A lot of people can write poetry. Other people can edit beautiful, sexy samples of stuff. But the thing that you really need to discover, after your own voice, is the tenacity to continue. And to claim this thing of being an artist. It took me a very long time to say I'm an artist and now I'm like, Yes, I'm an artist.
The Cameroonian-American's breakout single and accompanying video has us right in our feels.
Rising star and former contestant on the US version ofThe Voice, Libianca, has released the visuals to her viral hit "People (Check on Me)." The 22-year-old singer and songwriter's 5K Records/Sony Music Entertainment UK/RCA Records produced breakout hit has quickly become a global fan favorite, both for her sultry vocals, and the emotional relatability it offers.
Libianca's emotional music video comes via director and content creator CEOJAY and shows the singer struggling through isolation and depressive moods. Forcing herself to get up and go, the somber video depicts a low-down Libianca preparing to entertain friends who disappoint her at the eleventh hour. At the video's conclusion, the singer shares a heartfelt message saying, "Check in on your people. What they may be dealing with internally could be much more than meets the eye. Your sense of kindness can break the wall of isolation and the feeling that no one cares."
The Afro-Soul banger only came out last month and has already garnered over 50 million streams across platforms around the world. Currently sitting at #2 on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs Chart, amongst others. Already ready to share her talents and vulnerability with the world, on writing the single the singer said, “I was going through a lot during Thanksgiving week and felt so unseen - nobody noticed what was going on. I remembered thinking, I have to stay consistent with my content on social media, so I can’t afford to sit around in my emotions right now. So I walked past my room to the studio, found a beat, and recorded it.”
Check out Libianca's music video for viral hit 'People (Check On Me)' here. And then phone a friend.
CKay moments before he hit the stage. Photo Credit: Carlos Idun-Tawiah
“I think we should keep innovating the genre, keep transforming the sound, turning it into something new every time,” says Ckay. Photo Credit: Carlos Idun-Tawiah
“The mission is to take African music to the world,” says CKay. “We’ve already done that, but it’s still a work in progress..."Photo Credit: Carlos Idun-Tawiah
'Milisuthando' is the debut documentary feature from Milisuthando Bongela that's premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Photo: The Sundance Institute
