M.I Abaga | Ashes (Aluu4)

#Video | #HipHop | #Nigeria

The Aluu 4 was a necklace lynching that involved four young men, Ugonna Obuzor, Toku Lloyd, Chiadika Biringa, and Tekena Elkanah, all students of the University of Port Harcourt. They were all lynched after they were falsely accused of theft in Aluu, a community in Ikwerre local government area, Rivers State, Nigeria on 5 October 2012. M.I. Abaga wrote Ashes in response to this tragedy.

Africa’s unique opportunity for post-pandemic rejuvenation

#Africa | #SouthAfrica

It has taken a tiny organism, SARS-CoV-2, to get even the most conservative traditionalists to accept that state institutions are essential to mobilizing national resources to protect and promote the common good. The fragilities of neoliberal economics have been laid bare.

Woman to Woman | Winnie Madikizela Mandela

#SouthAfrica | Winnie Mandela | Suthukazi Arosi

Thoughts on Winnie Mandela by Suthukazi Arosi Through the window we all looked and have decided without knowing the exact truth. 

Winnie Nomzamo Zanyiwe Madikizela Mandela

Destiny finds me in my beloved, my soul mate, my husband the father of my children in flesh. Yes, we were separated but in spirit we are one and united at last, when all was decided by mankind to break our ties. 

Through the window they controlled my destiny. 

I never give up as I know my destiny. I strongly believed in my fearlessness and the power of my words. 

Hugh Masekela | Stimela (Coal Train)

#SouthAfrica | #Jazz | Hugh Masekela

Hugh Masekela who passed on Jan 23, 2018 is an integral part of South African modern history, being part of the resistance against 'apartheid' oppression, the social issues he addressed in his music, as well as being a larger-than-life figure. 'Stimela' is the track that Hugh Masekela will probably be best remembered for as it encompasses all of his work both lyrically and musically. Such is the significance of 'Stimela' as it addresses the theme of hope against a backdrop of social injustice, central to South African modern history, a history still marked by decades of 'apartheid'.

'Stimela' was first released in 1974 on the album "I am not afraid" while Bra Hugh was still in exile following the political unrest surrounding the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre. Masekela studied at London's Guildhall School, then later on at the Manhattan School of Music. In New York he befriended Harry Belafonte, who helped him to settle in the United States as a student.

Mandela | The Legacy

Nelson Mandela

As with most larger-than-life figures Pres. Nelson Mandela was controversial. We know of his achievements and follies. But what is his legacy? What will he be best remembered for? Was he shrewd politician, a visionary or both?

Nelson Mandela had a brief membership in the South African Communist Party and a long-term alliance thereafter with the Communist Party. He was at varying times a black nationalist and a non-racialist, an opponent of armed struggle and an advocate of violence, a hothead and the calmest man in the room, a consumer of Marxist tracts and an admirer of Western democracy, a close partner of Communists and, in his presidency, a close partner of South Africa’s powerful capitalists.

Ray Phiri: The Highland Drifter

Ray Phiri | #Stimela

Commemorative article by King Vusi Mavuthela on Ray Phiri (1947-2017) who passed on July 12, 2017. 

Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri (March 23, 1947 – July 12, 2017) was a South African Jazz, Fusion and Mbaqanga musician born in Mpumalanga to a Malawian immigrant worker and a South African guitarist nicknamed "Just Now" Phiri. 

Career

Ray Phiri collaborated with Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo on Simon's Graceland album project in 1985. Before this collaboration Phiri already had had a long and outstanding musical career.