Popular
Photo credit should read Jacoline Prinsloo/AFP via Getty Images.

Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA: Tanzania's President Benjamin Mkapa reviews a guard of honour at the Union Building before a bilateral meeting with South African President Thabo Mbeki, 22 September 2005 in Pretoria.

Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa Has Died

The 81-year-old former statesman passed away this morning while receiving treatment at a hospital in Dar es Salaam.

Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapapassed away earlier this morning, according to Aljazeera. Mkapa was reportedly receiving treatment at a hospital in Dar es Salaam at the time of his death. It is not yet been disclosed as to why he was receiving treatment. The former statesman was aged 81.

In a brief televised speech, current President John Magufuli said, "I'm saddened by the death of the third president of Tanzania and that is a big loss for us as a country." President Magafuli went on to add that, "I will remember him for his great love for the nation, his piety, hard work and performance in building the economy."

A 7-day mourning period has now been declared in Tanzania and flags will reportedly be flown at half mast to honour the late Mkapa.

Mkapa was the third president of Tanzania following independence from Britain in 1961. he took office from 1995 to 2005 before eventually handing over to Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. Prior to the presidency, Mkapa had served as Foreign Minister, Minister for Information, Editor of the government newspapers and Ambassador to Canada.

My Life, My Purpose is a memoir that was released by Mkapa last year which documents the highs and lows of his decade-long tenure and some of the events that defined his legacy.

Popular
(YouTube)

The Best Afrobeats Songs Right Now

Featuring tracks from Joeboy, Amaarae, Odumodublvck, Wande Coal, Wizkid, Ckay, and more.

Afrobeats is one of the biggest cultural movements in the world. Influencing everything from fashion to sports, the music acts as the adhesive, catching on to listeners of all demographics and shaping the scene in Africa with great potential. With the growing number of new Afrobeats releases every month, it becomes necessary to round up the best of the bunch. From singles to new music videos, the continent’s vast expanse will be covered in our "Best Afrobeats Songs Out Right Now" column. Get started below.

Keep reading...Show less
Events
Photo by Mohau Mannathoko for Unsplash

Fun Places in Accra, Ghana to Visit This Weekend

From Karaoke at The Woods to Outmosphere Festival, Accra is packed with places to have fun.

Gather your squad for some midweek karaoke, go Kizomba dancing at Afrikiko, or drive down to Prampram for Outmosphere Festival.

Whatever your choice of fun is, here is a list of places to visit this weekend in Accra, Ghana.

Karaoke at The Woods

The Woods is a bar and lounge located at Osu that features a cozy and charming space for events perfect for an intimate night out with your partner or a hangout with friends. On Thursday, The Woods will be hosting their Karaoke Night, and it’s the perfect excuse to sing covers of your favorite hits, while enjoying good food and drinks from The Woods’ delectable menu.

Date: Thursday, 1st June, 9pm

Venue: The Woods, Osu

Cost: Free

Kizomba Night at Afrikiko

Afrikiko is one of those must-visit places while in Accra. It’s a restaurant and bar well known for their midweek events—the most notable being their popular Kizomba dancing event hosted by Kizomba Ghana. Participate, learn, or just watch others dance the night away, led by an experienced Kizoma dance tutor.

Date: Thursday, 1st June, 7pm

Venue: Afrikiko

Cost: Free

Movies at Silverbird Cinemas

Silverbird Cinemas is West Africa's biggest cinema chain, with two locations in the premier malls of Accra. You can catch your favorite actors from Hollywood, Nollywood, and even Bollywood on the big screen, or watch local Ghanaian productions from top movie houses in the country. Box office hits like Fast X,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and The Little Mermaid are currently screening as well, so if you haven’t seen them yet Silverbird is the place.

Date: Friday 2nd June - Sunday 4th June, 10am – 9pm

Venue: Accra Mall, West Hills Mall

Cost: Tickets starting from GHS50

Grand Opening of Mad Club

If you’re looking for a club event to go to this weekend, Mad Club Accra will be having its grand opening this Friday. On the bill to provide sounds is renowned Nigerian disk jockey and afrobeats hitmaker DJ Neptune, among others. Accra is a city that takes its nightlife seriously, so you can trust that Mad Club’s event will be an epic affair.

Date: Friday 2nd June, 12am

Venue: Mad Club, East Legon

Rooftop Sip & Paint

Sip & Paint Ghana will be hosting an event this Saturday, 3rd June. Participate in a fun painting class while enjoying complimentary wine, finger foods, and art supplies.

Date: Saturday, 3rd June, 8pm

Venue: Arrital Ghana, Airport Residential

Cost: GHS200

Pickup Soccer at Lizzy’s Sports Complex

Lizzy Sports Complex is an all-in-one sports facility comprising four top quality grass and astro turf soccer pitches, and other facilities including a swimming pool, a spacious lounge, a sports bar and grill. It was founded by renowned Ghanaian born French soccer player Marcel Desailly, and it’s the go-to location for friends who are looking to play a few quick games of five-aside pick up soccer.

Date: Saturday, 3rd June - Sunday 4th June, 9am-9pm

Venue: Lizzy Sports Complex, East Legon

Cost: Call to book

Wine Tasting at Vinakoper Wine Festival

For the wine lover, Vinakoper will be hosting the Vinakoper Wine Festival this weekend. Try out 15 different wines from Slovenia and participate in a wine tasting and pairing workshop, for an affordable flat rate.

Date: Saturday, 3rd June - Sunday, 4th June, 10am-11pm

Venue: Accra Polo Court

Cost: Tickets for GHS50

Outmosphere Festival

Outmosphere is an eco-friendly festival designed to empower and connect a generation of hybrid thinkers, self-starters and innovators with shared culture and passion for community driven agenda and creativity. The event is held at a different location each time, and this time around it’s taking place at Prampram, a coastal town 45 minutes away from Accra, known for its beautiful beaches and rich cultural heritage.

Date: Saturday, 3rd June - Sunday 4th June, 1pm-3am

Venue: Prampram, exact venue TBA

Cost: Tickets for GHS100-250



Music
(YouTube)

The Best South African Songs Right Now

Featuring new South African music from Inkabi Zezwe, Nomfundo Moh, Tyla, K.O, A-Reece and more.

Here are the South African songs and music videos that caught our attention this month.

Keep reading...Show less
Style
Photo courtesy Rukky Ladoja.

Rukky Ladoja on Building a Socially Responsible Nigerian Fashion Brand

The Nigerian designer behind Dye Lab has established a popular design brand based on the principle of little to no waste.

Rukky Ladoja is having what she describes as a typical Monday. She’s been called into her workshop for an emergency because her suppliers brought in the wrong materials. Rather than panic and wonder what to do, she immediately starts figuring out how to use the materials she’s been given in new pieces. ‘‘One thing I am big on is no waste,’ she tells OkayAfrica, when she shares the kind of day-to-day issues that come up for her as the designer behind Dye Lab. Ladoja founded the design brand during the COVID-19 pandemic and, guided by a zero-waste policy, it’s now become one of the most popular fashion brands in Nigeria today.

While Dye Lab has been branded a sustainable brand by many, Ladoja notes she is more comfortable calling herself “socially responsible,” as she didn’t set out to create a sustainable brand; she wanted to create a practical one. A brand that, instead of sourcing materials from international markets or using practices foreign to her environment, adapts local resources, styles, and skills across the entire design process. The result is practical kimono pieces that require little to no adjustment per customer, created in a way that ensures every part of the design process takes advantage of the resources — human and physical — around her with very little to no waste allowed.

The response to this? Phenomenal. Today, Dye Lab is fast turning into a household name in Lagos where it has inspired several copycats as the brand has turned into one of the best sellers of Industrie Africa — an e-commerce website with a focus on African designers. Days before Ladoja and I talk, Dye Lab had just finished a six-week pop-up store at the Anya Hindmarch store in the United Kingdom, and their year is just getting started.

An image of the designer sitting on a chair that\u2019s placed on a checkered floor and there\u2019s a vibrant art piece behind her.Designer Rukky Ladoja is all about running a socially responsible fashion brand.Photo courtesy Stephen Tayo.

‘‘The response has been great,” says Ladoja. “It's been an onslaught of demand, from clients, from friends, from international orders.” The brand recently started stocking on Industrie Africa, and Ladoja was told to expect 10 to 12 orders a month — that's kind of what their highest sellers get. “They just sent us a report that we had gotten over 60 orders in a month,” she says. “It's always like a surprise, every time we get those numbers.” It’s the same feeling she gets when a brand like Anya Hindmarch approaches the label. “Before they approached us, we had been talking about what kind of brands we wanted to emulate globally and they were put at the top of that list. And so to get a call saying, ‘Hey, I would love to collaborate,’ it was sort of surreal to us.’’

From a young age, Ladoja has always been interested in fashion, design, and the process of design in particular. ‘‘I was more interested in putting things together, not necessarily the style element of it, but the construction, the process of it.’’ Her favorite designers — the likes of Miuccia Prada, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, and Alexander McQueen — are all designers who focus on intelligent fashion, and the purpose behind every design choice they make. These influences are what interested Ladoja in fashion when she was in university.

She started a brand in the late 2000s, observing how many of her peers shopped, noting that at the time, online shopping wasn’t as readily available as it is today and that many Nigerians didn’t trust the few online stores that did exist mostly. For many, shopping meant sellers had to come into their places of work or buyers had to rush to stores after work. ‘‘I recognised how people were shopping,’’ Ladoja says. ‘‘And it was always someone bringing a suitcase into the office and everyone going through it, or running down to the market to see what they could buy.” It made Ladoja think: people should be able to shop in nicer environments than this. That was the start of Grey Projects, a high-end retail brand in the vein of Zara that stocked ready-to-wear fashion pieces created with Africans in mind.

But in 2019, a decade after launching the brand, Ladoja had to shut down Grey Projects. Sourcing supplies in Nigeria was difficult and even when she would get the supplies, finished products would often sit in warehouses, going to waste. She learned that working with local tailors to recreate her designs, which were often foreign to them, was a Herculean task that only led to more surplus items. Closing the business left her not wanting to be involved in fashion ever again. ‘‘I just felt like I had just been scarred too much,” she says, “and there was too much trauma there.’’

Instead, Ladoja turned her focus to consulting, working behind the scenes for brands like Lagos Fashion Week. Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened and the world stopped for a second; as did Ladoja’s consulting work. She needed to find another source of income. ‘‘The resources I had were my tailors, access to fabric, fabric markets, and suppliers,’ she says.’

Yet Ladoja was resistant to the idea of launching a brand. Instead, she searched for a retailer to house and sell what she had created, agbada kaftans that took inspiration from traditional Yoruba styles and dyeing processes. ‘‘Unfortunately, at that point, none of the retailers wanted to buy it, which was a shame,’ she says. Ladoja then took to teasing the product herself, wearing it on Zoom meetings and around friends, who started saying, ‘Oh, I want to buy it.’

The interest grew organically, so much so that Dye Lab soon had a strong enough customer base and a distinct enough style for Ladoja to launch the brand. Armed with the lessons from Grey Projects, she took the leap. This time around, Ladoja sought to do everything differently. She rearranged the structure of her brand, and focused on making sure everything in the production process was accessible and easy. ‘‘I broke down everything that I didn't like about Grey [Projects], and used that to create Dye Lab,” she says. “The garments we made with Grey were my designs, but they were very complicated for my tailors. So I decided 'm not going to do that. I'm going to create styles and use styles that are familiar to my tailors. That way everybody can feel comfortable.’’

Taking the lessons learnt from Grey Projects to Dye Lab seeped into every part of Ladoja’s new brand, right down to the approach to fashion week. For the 2022 Lagos Fashion Week, where other brands were showcasing their designs on the runway, Dye Lab chose to invite select guests and press for a special exhibition where they got to see the garment-making process of the brand, educating them on the history of the fabric, techniques and the people behind it all. ‘‘With Grey Projects, I was importing Westernized ideas of fashion into a space that just did not connect with,’’ Ladoja says. ‘‘With Dye Lab, I said, let me go back; let me work with what is here; let me respond to what the people around me want, what works.’’

Now, Ladoja is focusing on expanding the world of Dye Lab. She reminds me that Dye Lab is first a ‘design brand’ and not just a fashion brand, which means there are limitless options when it comes to expanding. “I'm quite impatient to innovate and do more, or bring out all the ideas in my head,” says Ladoja. “However, just the garment production has taken such a toll, especially as we are trying to keep up with the demand.” Ladoja’s vision is to take the ideology and the conceptualization process from fashion to lifestyle products, furniture, stationery and everyday objects.

get okayafrica in your inbox

news.

Burna Boy Shares New Single ‘Sittin' On Top Of The World’

The African Giant samples Brandy and Ma$e in his new summertime-ready single.

Places in Lagos to Have Fun this Weekend

From Plantain People’s Party by Dodo Gang to Sunday Drunch at 355 Ikeja, here’s where to spend the weekend in Lagos.

The Best Ghanaian Songs Right Now

Featuring King Promise, Efya, Kwesi Arthur, Amaarae, Mr Drew and more.

7 Essential Facts About Nonso Amadi's Debut Album

Nonso Amadi explores his musical journey and tells us 7 Essential Facts about his new album, When It Blooms.

popular.

Ayobami Oladapo On Winning AMVCA Design For The Stars Runway Competition

The Nigerian designer aims to use the prize money to create her first collection.