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Michael Kiwanuka Pays Homage to the Black Liberation Movements of the '60s In New Video 'Hero'

The artist's latest single references some of his personal heroes including Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, Tupac Shakur and more.

British-Ugandan soul singer Michael Kiwanuka drops another single ahead of the release of his forthcoming album, KIWANUKA.

In "Hero" the singer pays homage to the Black Power and Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and 70s. The music video, directed by CC Wade references several Black leaders and some of the artist's personal heroes including Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, Martin Luther King Jr., Sam Cooke, Tupac Shakur, Marvin Gaye and more. It also depicts the FBI's often illegal efforts to stop Black movements and other anti-establishment groups through its Counterintelligence Program, as noted in Rolling Stone.

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Listen to Bongeziwe Mabandla’s New Single ‘Jikeleza’

Bongeziwe Mabandla shares new optimistic single.

"Jikeleza" is South African folk musician Bongeziwe Mabandla's latest single. The song, which is sung in IsiXhosa like most of the man's work, speaks on love giving us life.

"It is about our universal need to connect," says Bongeziwe in a press release. "It is about the togetherness in people and about the things that bind us and make us the same."

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Photo: Kyle Weeks.

Watch Baloji's Debut Short Film 'Kaniama Show'

"A fictional satire about the collusion of State and media powers in an unidentified African country."

Baloji is a leading force in his space.

For years, the Congolese-Belgian artist has paired his unique blend of soukous, hip-hop and pop elements with sharp critiques about the power that governments, industries and technology have over societies—particularly across Africa.

Recently, Baloji release his latest album, 137 Kaniama, a 12-song record which offered potent commentary on, among other issues, how today's cellphone culture is making all of us zombies. That album is going to be re-released its originally-intended form of a one-track single as Kaniama: The Yellow Version tomorrow.

The new release is paired with a 22-minute short film that takes a satirical look at the shady ties between state and media with the backdrop of a '70s Soul Train-esque TV show.

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