sarkodie
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Damola Durosomo
Oct. 07, 2019 12:55PM EST
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 5: Sarkodie speaks onstage at the BET Hip Hop Awards 2019 at Cobb Energy Center on October 5, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Sarkodie Won 'Best International Flow' at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards

The Ghanaian rapper is the first-ever winner of the newly created category.

Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie had a memorable night at the BET Hip Hop Awards this past weekend, which saw some of the biggest names in rap music gather in Atlanta for a jam-packed show.

The rapper beat out the likes of Falz the Bahd Guy, Ghetts and Little Simz, Nasty C and Tory Lanez to take home the award for the newly created 'Best International Flow' category.

The artist dedicated the award to his daughter, Titi and used his acceptance speech to urge audience members to take a trip to Ghana during the year of return. "I think Africa has always had it and it is about that time. This year is the Year of Return and I would urge each and every one of you here to take a trip back home," said the artist. He was presented the award by Ugandan Get Out star, Daniel Kaluuya.

Several artists, including Wizkid, Stonebwoy, Joey B, actor Van Vicker and more took to social media to congratulate Sarkodie on his big win.

From what we can tell. The night was packed with several memorable appearances and performances. One of our favorite moments (that's been making the rounds on social media) is whatever is happening in these pictures of hip hop "it girl" Megan the Stallion (who won Best Mixtape for Fever) and Daniel Kaluuya. Just look at them:

It looks like there will be several more highlights to come when the full show airs on BET on Tuesday, October 8, so stay tuned.

bet bet hip hop awards african diaspora ghana rap afrobeats african music hip hop daniel kaluuya awards shows ghana music ghana hip-hop sarkodie
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Watch the First Episode of Flame’s Documentary Series ‘Welcome To My Life’

Flame takes fans behind the scenes in his new documentary series.

From interviews to smoking sessions, performances, studio sessions and a visit to the hair salon, Flame gives fans a glimpse into his life and adventures.

The South African hip-hop artist and producer shared the first episode of an ongoing documentary series titled Welcome To My Life. The first episode, which he shared today, shows Flame and his affiliates—the likes of Ecco, Mellow and others—going about their business.

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YoungstaCPT. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.

Things Take Time In The Empire of Sheep

An in-depth look at two hip-hop albums that capture the state of affairs in South Africa: YoungstaCPT's 3T and Stogie T's The Empire of Sheep.

This piece is part of Sabelo Mkhabela's South African hip-hop column.

At this very moment, it's clear to everyone who lives in it that South Africa is headed towards becoming a failed state. A power crisis, high crime rate, political incompetence, corruption and other atrocities plague one of the most prominent and powerful countries on the continent and in the world. A few days into the year, the country had already experienced power cuts. 2020 is already looking like it will be a continuation of 2019.

Two 2019chip-hop releases captured the country's dysfunction and reflected it back to South Africa's citizens—YoungstaCPT's 3T, which recently won Album of the Year at the South African Hip Hop Awards and Stogie T's recently-released The Empire of Sheep. While projects such as JimmyWiz' Accordin' to Jim and Touchline's 19 Flow have songs that touch on the country and society's current state, Stogie T and YoungstaCPT's projects make that focus overt.

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Photo courtesy of CSA Global.

In Conversation with Congolese NBA Player Emmanuel Mudiay: 'I want more African players in the NBA.'

The Utah Jazz player talks about being African in the NBA, supporting basketball in the DRC and how 'everybody knows about Burna Boy'.

Inspired by his basketball-playing older brothers, by second grade, Emmanuel Mudiay already knew that he wanted to play in the American National Basketball Association. Then in 2001 his family, fleeing the war in Democratic Republic of Congo, sought asylum in the United States.

In America, Mudiay saw basketball as a way for him to improve his situation. After impressive high school and college careers, he moved to China to play pro ball. Picked 7th overall in the 2015 NBA draft, the now 23-year-old guard has made a name for himself this season coming off the bench for the Utah Jazz.

Mudiay attests to the sport having changed not only his life but that of his siblings. Basketball gave them all a chance at a good education and the opportunity to dream without conditions. Now he wants to see other talented African players make it too.

We caught up with him to talk about his experience as an African player in the NBA, his hopes for basketball on the African continent and who he and his teammates jam out to in their locker rooms.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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University lecturer and activist Doctor Stella Nyanzi (L) reacts in court as she attends a trial to face charges for cyber-harassment and offensives communication, in Kampala, on April 10, 2017. (Photo by GAEL GRILHOT/AFP via Getty Images)

Jailed Ugandan Activist, Stella Nyanzi, Wins PEN Prize for Freedom of Expression

The outspoken activist, who is currently serving a prison sentence for a poem she wrote about the president's mother's vagina, won for her resistance "in front of a regime that is trying to suppress her."

Stella Nyanzi, the Ugandan academic, activist, and vocal critic of President Yoweri Museveni has been awarded the 2020 Oxfam Novib/PEN International award for freedom of expression, given to writers who "continue to work for freedom of expression in the face of persecution."

Nyanzi is currently serving a 15 month sentence for "cyber harassment" after she published a poem in which she wrote that she wished "the acidic pus flooding Esiteri's (the president's mother) vaginal canal had burn up your unborn fetus. Burn you up as badly as you have corroded all morality and professionalism out of our public institutions in Uganda."

According to the director of PEN International, Carles Torner, her unfiltered outspokenness around the issues facing her country is what earned her the award. "For her, writing is a permanent form of resistance in front of a regime that is trying to suppress her," said Torner at the award ceremony.

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