popular

Watch Davido & Bombino Perform at Idris Elba's Wedding in Morocco

Elba personally requested performances from the Nigerian star and Tuareg desert rock guitarist.

Idris Elba tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Sabrina Dhowre, over the weekend in Marrakesh.

The couple exchanged vows on April 26 at the Ksar Char Bagh hotel. The celebrations were held over several days, as Vogue reports: "The celebrations have been spread out over three days. Friends and family attended a "colours of the Souk" themed dinner the night before the wedding at the Amanjena. On April 27, they... attend[ed] an all-white party at the Mandarin Oriental, which will emulate the atmosphere of a festival."

Other details have been coming out from the wedding, like the fact Sabrina Dhowre wore dresses by Vera Wang, while Elba wore a suit by British-Ghanaian designer Ozwald Boateng, and that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sent over a piece of art as a gift to the newlyweds.

One detail that hasn't quite made the rounds is about the music—and the fact that Elba & Dhowre's wedding featured performances from none-other-than Nigerian star Davido and Tuareg desert rock guitarist Bombino.

Keep reading...
popular

Bombino, the First Nigerien Artist to Be Nominated For a Grammy

The electrifying musician talks to OkayAfrica about wielding the Tuareg weapon of peace: a guitar.

Omara "Bombino" Moctar, 38, is the Nigerien guitarist who has recently been nominated for a grammy.

His electrifying, acoustic sound and Tamasheq lyrics that touch on his Tuareg heritage and connection with the desert have become a hit. His music is boundless. It is comprised of traditional Berber sounds, the blues, rock & roll and reggae. What is just as unique as the above is his story.

His people, the Tuareg, descendants of the Berbers of North Africa have long been nomads, traders and warriors within the Sahara Desert.

In his early years, Bombino grew up in an encampment in Agadez with his seventeen brothers and sisters and rebelliously refused to go to school. He would attend a French-Arabic school until the age of nine then leave and be taken in by his grandmother, who would instill in him Tuareg moral code.

Keep reading...

get okayafrica in your inbox

news.

popular.

The Best Songs of 2016

The songs we had on repeat this year, from Cameroonian bangers to hits from Solange, Wizkid, and Drake.