Culture

The Role of Traditional Rulers in an Emerging Democratic Nigeria

The core issue, and central theme of our deliberations today I believe, is the allocation of constitutional roles to traditional rulers. A question therefore arises on whether these agitations are purely in the national interest (for country), in the interests of the subjects (the citizens) or just in the ‘selfish’ interest of His Highnesses (for Kingdom). Life teaches us that it is always advisable to give people the benefit of the doubt, in that sense I would want to think that the clamour and agitation by the traditional rulers for constitutional recognition is purely in the national interest (for country).

'You said what about my momma?'

The Atlantic slave trade brought Africans to Puerto Rico in the early 1500s. Some of the first slave rebellions took place on the island of Puerto Rico. Until 1846, Africanos on the island had to carry a libreta to move around the island, like the passbook system in apartheid South Africa. In Puerto Rico, you will find large communities of descendants of the Yoruba, Bambara, Wolof and Mandingo people. Puerto Rican culture is inherently African culture.

The Discovery of One of Many Africa's History

Across the courtyard, researchers sit in front of computers documenting the contents of each manuscript. Then, with the help of computer scanners, ancient knowledge is uploaded into the 21st century. "We are creating a virtual library," said Muhammad Diagayete, 37, a researcher who was busy documenting a 1670 text on astronomy written in blue, red and black ink. "We want people all over the world to be able to access these manuscripts online."

The Message Behind Fela Kuti's Music

Yeni, Fela's oldest child, is sitting upstairs, somewhere in the warren of rooms above the stage. "My father was a very charismatic person," she says. "For someone like me, it was easy to follow his ideology because, as a black person, he made me proud. Fela's father - my grandfather - was a pastor, but he was still a radical; he was very outspoken. And my great-grandfather was responsible for taking Christianity to Abeokuta [a city north of Lagos]. He used music to get people to believe, so in his way he was a radical as well. And my grandmother was an activist. So we come from a long line of revolutionaries.

Andi Osho Is a Gifted Comedian

Translating Osho's words to the page doesn't do her proper justice - as you'd expect from an actor, her work is visual, narrative and pivots on her perfect delivery. British-born, of Nigerian parentage, Osho bases much of her act on the idiosyncrasies of the UK's Nigerian community, opening with a sketch about the "free bus" (buses where passengers can jump on in the middle and fare dodge). "The only time the 25 bus is empty is when an inspector gets on," she comments, before racing into an acid parody of two Nigerian "princesses" arguing.

Bono’s Vanity: Showcasing Africa, or Promoting its Glamorous Patrons?

Vanity Fair is not a news magazine, and therefore usually avoids putting people it dislikes on its cover. Carter, in his editor’s note, reveals his differences with Bono about including Bush and Rice, but the rock star appears to believe Bush’s Africa policies may be the “silver lining” of the current U.S. administration. But if silver linings were the criteria, then Thabo Mbeki, probably the most recognizable African political leader for his promotion of democracy, good governance and economic development, ought to have been included — perhaps Editor Bono deems Mbeki’s strange politics on HIV/AIDS and his “quiet diplomacy” on the crises in Zimbabwe are somehow worse than the Iraq war.

Another Musical Invention from Africa: Luanda Gives Birth to Kuduro

Forget about baile funk, Angola’s Kuduro music is spearheading a new ghetto-born movement set to rip-up dancefloors across the world… Kuduro started life in Luanda in the late-‘80s, when young Angolan musicians began looking for new rhythms and techniques to mix with their own. A new generation started to emulate the European and American electronic music that had begun to appear at the city’s legendary Roque Santeiro market, the largest open-air market in Africa. Abusing every instrument to hand like it was a drum machine, young producers began to expand on the sounds they‘d grown up with. “What we call Kuduro nowadays started with simple techno beats,” says Kalaf. “Producers started adding heavy African percussion. The result was what they used to call Batida. In the early-‘90s, all the Angolan discos were playing it and the youngsters started to invent some new dance moves to follow what the DJs were dropping. When a guy called Sebem started toasting over the beats things got massive.

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