2008

Songs for Biko, and other stomps, screams and prayers

Pan African Space Station RADIO broadcasts cutting edge music from global Africa. PASS RADIO launched on September 12 2008 with “Songs for Biko, and other stomps, screams and prayers:” where DJs, musicians, soundists, poets, generally noise people presented music and sound inspired by Steve Biko’s work; and read from his words in I Write What I Like.

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Kenya’s democracy on trial

by Mukoma Wa Ngugi

On Thursday December 27th 2007, shortly after polling stations were closed, Kenya was hailed as having fulfilled an African dream – to have a free and fair closely contested democratic election. But less than 48 hours later it was clear that the dream of democracy could become a nightmare of ethnic violence. Most of the casualties so far have been the poor and the marginalized – and if things continue as they are, a bitter civil war fought along ethnic lines is certain. To say that what is at stake is the very future of Kenya is not an overstatement.
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Animal Planet

by Pius Adesanmi

It has become well nigh impossible to mention some strange specimen called “Africa” in North American academe these days without entering all sorts of caveats and precautionary notes. Time it was when the imperative of a coordinated response to the daunting challenges of Euromodernity provided the inflatus for the production of the transcendental, stabilized Africa we encountered in narratives such as pan-Africanism, nationalism, Négritude, and decolonization.
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Angola at Peace

by Didier Péclard

On April 4 2002, a cease fire signed between the Angolan government, controlled by the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) put an end to one of Africa’s longest-running civil wars ever (1975-2002).
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Pule Lechesa with Omoseye Bolaji

In the Free State, local black literature is thriving as never before, with many popular writers emerging from the grassroots with startling regularity. Although the process started about ten years ago over fifty poplar books penned by local authors have been published with thousands of copies distributed in the many libraries that throng the Free State . The process has been referred to as the “renaissance of FS Black Writing”. The most important and pivotal figure in this literature has been OMOSEYE BOLAJI who apart from publishing over fifteen popular books, has also helped to encourage, nurture, and discover other budding authors in the Province.

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Mr Fat, A Brother with Perfect Timing

This is how British journalist Patrick Neate describes his introduction to Mr Fat, one half of the nucleus of Brasse vannie Kaap in his book, the hip hop travelogue Where You’re At: Notes from the Frontline of a Hip Hop Planet :

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Faut-Il Oublier Joe La Conscience?

par Patrice Nganang

Jamais les arts n’ont été aussi annonciateurs de l’avenir au Cameroun ; mais jamais aussi les artistes n’ont été aussi seuls ! Si à Douala, en ce février c’était avec le courage d’un peintre, Mboua Massock, que les feux de la colère se sont soudain saisis de la poudrière que notre réalité est, à Yaoundé, les menottes qui retiennent les poignets du musicien de reggae Joe la Conscience, à Kondengui, sont celles qui avec le changement de l’article 6.2. de la Constitution de notre pays, veulent enchainer notre futur.
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Quand Aimé Césaire disparut

Par Henri-Michel Yéré 

Pour Salma Kojok

Quand Aimé Césaire disparut, les morceaux de roc étalés au sol regardaient ébahis le dos de leur briseur qui prit son envol, pris de lumière, et que l’on fût à Dakar, à Paris, au Cap ou à Fort-de-France, tous virent la même étoile allumer les horizons sans fin du possible ;

Aimé Césaire: Le volcan s’est éteint

par Achille Mbembe

Le glas ayant sonné, Césaire est donc parti. Désormais allongé, étendu seul, il est là, ici, partout et nulle part, fiché horizontalement, à la manière de ce qui plus jamais ne se relèvera.
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Upon hearing of Eskia’s passing

by Uhuru waga Phalafala

Astonishing
Morwa wa Bapedi
How you have tread up North
Taking giant literary leaps
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