This Is African... Music

Last night, I attended the event, This is Africa... How Music and Social Media are Re-defining a Continent (a part of Social Media Week). I was interested in learning exactly how social media was redefining Africa. I'm well aware that the people of Africa are "connected", but to what extent?




Turns out that I wasn't the only one interested in learning about this topic. The event was very well attended. It also turns out that the artists and their fans in Africa are very connected. Maybe even more so than we are in the US. Musicians on the continent rely on social media to get the word out about their latest releases, performances, feedback during their creative process and for social commentary.

The panel discussion was very informative and at the end, the moderator, Ngozi Odita, asked the panelists, Blitz the Ambassador, Delphine Fawundu-Buford, Larry Ossei-Mensah and Ben Herson, to name their Top 3 African musicians (in Africa or the diaspora).


Here are the names I was able to catch, in no particular order:

Baloji
Tabi Bonney
Wanlov the Kubolor
Reggie Rockstone
Outspoken
Priss K
Tinie Tempah
Naeto C
Keur Gui


I'm adding to the list, Iyadede. She performed after the discussion and I thoroughly enjoyed her sound.

I'm going to date myself, but I'm familiar with Osayomore Joseph (my father as a member of Bini Club USA brought him to NY back in the day), Sunny Ade, Fela and recently, Papa Wemba. So this is going to be a lot of fun; being introduced to these artists (who are new to me). I love discovering good music. What African artists would you recommend?

I kept my commentary about the event itself to a minimum but if you attended last night, what were your thoughts?