Fonko: Contemporary Africa Through its Urban Music
The great music revolutions of our times have come from Africa, and the next one is brewing there right now. Afrobeats, Azonto, Kuduro and South African House are club music styles based on traditional rhythms, becoming a means of expressing the identity
Episode 1
Struggling to come to terms with the racist heritage from the apartheid era, South Africa is also one of the economic and cultural super powers of the continent and a musical powerhouse.
Episode 2
Nigeria is a country of extreme income gaps, deep corruption and violent religious conflicts. Here you find the most commercial music on the continent. But also the most fierce protest music.
Episode 3
Senegal, on the western tip of Africa, has been a cultural crossroads for ages. Today the capital Dakar is the unrivalled centre for the West African hip hop- scene.
Episode 4
Francophone West Africa is bound together by the french language and a common currency. In Burkina Faso the name and speeches of the iconic Thomas Sankara is used by musicians to protest against injustices and corruption.
Episode 5
Ghana is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and in midst of a musical revolution. The small and stable West african country has a long tradition of education and democracy.
Episode 6
Angola went through three decades of civil war, which still marks the country. Now it is a boom economy, and kuduro, the extravagant local techno, has grown out of the shanty towns to become the country's biggest cultural asset.
