Manana captured the ears and hearts of many with his soul-stirring and sentimental song, “Distance”. That song, and others that he has subsequently released have solidified him as part of a class of young artists revitalising and moulding the new era of R&B in South Africa. The 26-year-old singer has officially released his first EP,…
Coming off the massive success of her debut album, This is Me, which featured her 2017 summer smash hit single, “Maradona”, Niniola has catapulted to international stardom. The song would later be interpolated by Beyonce on the Grammy-nominated song, “Find Your Way”, that was part of the Lion King: The Gift soundtrack. Now, Niniola returns…
Gqom has undergone a massive transformation in the last ten years. The genre has swept dance floors across the country and made its mark on the international stage — and Griffit Vigo has been around to witness it all. As one of the standing pioneers, he was present when the sound was still burgeoning and…
Picós [have] served as communal entertainment for Colombians in coastal areas, where a majority of the country’s black population lives. The culture of the sound systems have always embraced and promoted African music and, as FACT Mag points out, ‘played a vital role in building a collective diasporan identity for many Afro-Colombians living in a…
Up-and-coming rapper Costa Titch is a polarising musician to say the least. He has been at the centre of a cultural appropriation debate on the Twitter hemisphere, as many have accused him of using Black South African culture and aesthetics to further his career. It doesn’t help his case that he has admitted on his…
Black history is as rich and vibrant as its subjects are. Much of its richness and vibrancy, can be drawn back to the knowledge that Africans are not a monolithic people. With enslaved African people kidnapped from various groupings of people from the Biafara, to the Mende and the Jola. As a result of these…
“Thor Rixon injects a freshness into the world of dream/pop…” Acid Stag Born and raised in Cape Town but currently living, working and immersed in the heart of Berlin’s cultural creative scene for the past five years, Thor Rixon dropped another one of his groovy dance floor burners titled “Dark Side”. The track featuring Deep…
So much has changed for DJ Lag and for the sound of Gqom. The Clermont-born producer has been able to travel the world and collaborate with pop mainstream royalty thanks to the explosion of the genre. However, despite the changes happening in his professional circumference and within the music landscape, DJ Lag’s artistic integrity remains…
It starts with a feeling. And that feeling becomes a lighthouse for creating music. Langa Mavuso’s debut album, LANGA, is his attempt to translate those feelings into words. The 12-track LP is a deep dive into his heartbreak – the avoidance of it, the losing of identity in it, and the reckoning with it. “I’ve…
With the release of his debut album, Umthala, Orlando East based producer xSipping is introducing the sound he has dubbed nguni energy to the world. Having begun producing in 2008 when a friend gave him a copy of the production software Fruity Loops, his early efforts were experimental featuring indigenous sonic and hip hop elements….
Creating off the cuff – that was Angel-Ho’s approach to making music for her latest EP, Alla Prima. The title of the project is inspired by the Italian painting technique where artists apply wet on wet paint without letting the layers dry. The process has given Angel the ability to express herself and her creativity…
While Burna Boy is undoubtedly one of the most well known — if not the most well known — featured and globally recognised Nigerian musicians, the African Giant artist is by no means and in no way the only musician blessing us with sonic tapestries woven from this particular expression and genealogy of music. As…
