Audio
killakam
Mar. 11, 2016 11:18PM EST

14 African Artists You Need To See At SXSW

Here are the African artists you can't miss at SXSW 2016.

It’s that time of the year again when everyone in the music industry stops answering e-mails, throws on their best pair of shorts and prepares their souls for the marathon that is SXSW. The Austin-based music, film & interactive media festival has been ramping up their inclusion of African artists in their showcases—if you remember last year we helped host Davido, Ice Prince, Sarkodie, Just A Band, Ibeyi, and many others—and this year’s no different.

For the following list, we sorted through the official SXSW 2016 schedule to pick out the 12 African artists that you need to check out while down in Austin this year. Scroll through our selections ahead.

Next Page
Bombino davido dex kwasi DJ Cuppy e.l. eddy kenzo fuse odg iyanya k.o. Moonchild Noura Mint Seymali petite noir stone bwoy SXSW temi dollface
popular
Rema, image courtesy of the artist.

Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Rema, Teni & More Win Big at 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards

Check out the complete list of 2020 winners.

The Soundcity MVP Awards, the annual award show that recognizes the best and biggest in African music, took place over the weekend at the Eko Convention Centre in Lagos, Nigeria. Some of the biggest names in African entertainment took home awards.

The show was hosted by South African star Bonang Matheba and featured performances from Diamond Platnumz, Tekno, Tiwa Savage, Stonebwoy and more.

The big winner of the night was none other than Burna Boy, who took home the award for African Artiste of the Year for the second time, the first time being in 2018 in which his mother, Bose Ogulu gave us that memorable acceptance speech warning us "to expect more madness." He also won Song of the Year for "Killin Dem," as well as Best Male MVP.

Keep reading...
popular
'Cash (Remix)' cover art.

Lady Donli Drops the 'Cash (Remix)' Featuring Davido

The Nigerian artists link up for a remix of Lady Donli's infectious anthem.

Lady Donli shares the remix of her infectious song "Cash" featuring none other than Nigerian megastar Davido.

The remix stays true to the song's original form, with it's breezy jazz-like production and Donli's airy vocals still in place. Davido opens the remix with an energetic verse about his flashy lifestyle and shared love of cash. He also sprinkles the song with several animated ad-libs throughout.

READ: The 20 Best Nigerian Songs of 2019

Keep reading...
popular
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.

Keep reading...
popular

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.

Keep reading...

get okayafrica in your inbox

news.

popular.