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Coupé Decalé, Highlife, Afrobeat, Zouglou – only a tiny sample drawn from the world of African music. The radio programme Music around Africa is there to provide the big picture. By Gesa Husemann

“Every African who doesn’t take responsibility is either crazy or kidding himself.” The rapper Smockey is totally cool as he speaks his mind in an interview. Being critical is his daily attitude. His songs stir up emotions and don’t hesitate to voice accusations. While others were busy celebrating the 50th anniversary of African independence in 2010, he was singing about Africa’s continuing and constricting ties – in his song 50 ans 2 dépendance.



Smockey uses his music to assume responsibility, engage in political matters and draw attention to his country’s current situation. In the “Land of the Righteous,” as the name Burkina Faso may be translated, Smockey does not stand alone. Participation in politics and music go hand in hand here, as Abraham Yembuado Nano says of the musical scene in Burkina Faso. Nano has written and produced a one-hour radio programme in which he weighs in on urban and modern music in Burkina Faso. He is one of twelve connoisseurs who discuss the music of their countries in Music around Africa.

Click on the screenshot to access the twelve Music around Africa audio files.

By means of a selection of songs and spoken contributions, they provide a taste of the diverse and dynamic musical scenes south of the Sahara – both those currently trending and those that have yet to emerge into the mainstream. In association with the Deutsche Welle Akademie, two workshops have produced twelve radio programmes in varying styles, assessing the music of Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa. During production, the directors, journalists and musicians involved established connections and talked about the situations of their respective countries. The programmes are broadcast by the German Internet radio station Byte.fm, but are not solely aimed at German music enthusiasts: thanks to versions in English and French, African audiences can listen irrespective of national borders.

A musical journey to Nigeria with radio contributor Wana Udobang begins with pop-heavy sounds. “The way she dances, the way she moves...” – the first lines of the song Pakurumo by Afropop artist Wizkid, who was eagerly received by Nigerian partygoers. Pop music “made in Nigeria” is popular throughout Africa, says Udobang. Speaker of the Musicians Union of Ghana, Okyeame Kwame, is forced to concede: “Nigerian songs have great melodies and I think Nigerian artists work very hard to write good pop songs.” He admits that musicians in Ghana are somewhat jealous of the high production values of Nigerian pop songs and music videos.



In the courtyards of Kigali, however, no one is concerned with perfectionism or dance vibes. In his show, DJ Eric Soul from Rwanda presents the music of the Batwa people. By pure coincidence, he happened upon a performing group of musicians in a back courtyard and made a recording. Wind instruments made from cow horns, called amakonderas, emit hypnotic polyphonies that have a soothing effect, the DJ explains. Business on the streets of Côte d’Ivoire is less restrained. The musical styles Zouglou and Coupé Decalé that Papous Kader exhibits in his show have an challenging encouraging character. Zouglou is said to have been conceived mainly by students of the University of Abidjan, who were venting their frustration over inferior studying and living conditions. The songs are imbued with the wind of change.



Coupé Decalé is all about economic empowerment by working abroad. Get money in Paris and then return home – the approximate translation of the term according to Kader. Ivory Coast youths, many of whom temporarily lived in Paris to escape the upheavals in their home country, enjoy partying to this music.

From Zimbabwe to Kenya, from Nigeria to South Africa – sounds of yesterday, today and tomorrow are celebrated and danced to in musical Africa. To put it in the words of the Kenyan musician Camp Mulla: “The party don’t stop.”