Politically conscious Black artists have always gone beyond the pursuit of fame and fortune to align themselves with the struggles of their people for liberation from imperialism. Renowned Congolese guitarist, composer and singer, Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalayi, popularly known as Doctor Nico, was a keen supporter of D.R. Congo’s first democratically elected leader and eminent African statesman Patrice Lumumba.

As a wealthy white westerner with power and aess to resources, Brennan philanthropic mission to help Malawian prisoner-musicians feels too close to the archetype of the great white savior who is also selling the story of ‘poor Africa’.

As a musician, Mama Africa enthralled millions from Cape Town to Nova Scotia. As a woman, her struggles to find love and selfhood speak to women worldwide. As an indigenous South African, she always used her voice as a weapon in the struggle against apartheid.

A chance meeting in a hotel and a missed opportunity… How one journalist, with nothing to talk about, had his love of music transformed by a guitar riff and a drum beat. Cameron Duodu shares his memories from four decades ago.

Beyonce and her dancers recently performed in pseudo-Panther gear, pretending that resistance to the state is a matter of fashionability. No. Real opposition to white supremacy is not cool, or sexy. Being a black revolutionary means the possibility of death. It is facing the naked power of the national security state.