On June 27, 2025, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement in Washington, D.C., aimed at ending decades of brutal conflict in eastern Congo. The peace deal was signed in the U.S. State Department’s Treaty Room and later celebrated by President Trump in the Oval Office. Both Congo’s Foreign […]
Read More… from Congo and Rwanda Reach U.S.-Mediated Peace Deal
Pioneer of the Soundgod movement, Runtown, re-enters the conversation with Soundgod Fest IV, his first full project since 2022’s Signs, signaling a highly anticipated return. Ayo Maff, after a steady run of singles and an EP that placed him firmly in the zeitgeist, arrives with his debut album Prince Of The Street. J Hus […]
Akinyemi Ayinoluwa is now getting due attention as one of the central players shaping Africa’s music economy from behind the scenes. His inclusion as the only Nigerian in Billboard’s 2025 Top Music Lawyers list ensured that, peeling back the layers of a 13-year career in advocacy and a commitment to building progressive legal frameworks across […]
In June 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered military strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites: Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow. These bombings were a major turning point in the Israel–Iran crisis, which had been escalating since Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel. That incident triggered Israel’s overwhelming retaliation on Gaza and set off a chain reaction: […]
Amaarae has never been afraid of the erotic. Truly, the Ghanaian-American artist has spent years cultivating a sound that is both radically specific and thrillingly omnivorous, a globe-trotting collage of alté, R&B, and electro-pop. But her persona is just as fluid: a sensual provocateur one moment, a heartbroken poet the next, all delivered with that […]
Read More… from The Pick: “S.M.O.” Is Amaarae’s Sexy New Club Bop
The suspension of major U.S. foreign aid programmes under President Donald Trump is triggering severe humanitarian consequences across Africa, particularly for refugees and vulnerable communities dependent on HIV prevention services. As aid flows dry up, refugee camps are descending into hunger crises, while decades of progress against HIV face a critical threat. One of […]
Read More… from USAID Cuts Are Hurting Africa’s Fight Against Hunger and HIV
Olamidé — and, given its self-titling, one clearly meant to be a definitive statement — is a legacy project by design and by committee: no fewer than nine producers are credited; features are meticulously drawn from across the globe, from homegrown titans like Wizkid to an American deity in Dr. Dre, a Jamaican star in […]
Read More… from Essentials: ‘Olamidé’ Finds Olamide Still in Motion
The term “power couple” may sound too contemporary and corny, but it has always existed across centuries and industries as a fixed dynamic: two romantically involved people who are extremely successful in their respective careers, command a level of influence, complement each other, and are of great value to society. In a society like […]
Read More… from 5 Leading Power Couples Across Sectors in Nigeria
This is a stacked week for hip-hop and Afropop, with major names returning and fresh collaborations landing across the board. After a nearly two-year wait, street-hop king Olamide finally drops his highly anticipated album, Olamidé, as lyricists A-Q and Blaqbonez go head-to-head on the new track, “Who’s Really Rapping.” Capping off a dominant run […]
Burna Boy is gearing up for a monumental run with the newly announced “No Sign of Weakness” tour. This North American trek is set to elevate his already stadium-sized presence, offering fans a 360-degree stage experience for most dates. The tour is a direct follow-up to his highly anticipated eighth studio album, also titled No […]
Read More… from Burna Boy Announces “No Sign of Weakness” Tour
One of Nigeria’s sharpest melody makers, Mayorkun spent much of the late 2010s building a catalogue of clean, sugar-rush Afropop bangers without ever really breaking a sweat. His meteoric rise — from 2016’s viral cover of Davido’s “The Money” to his 2018 debut The Mayor of Lagos (headed to platinum) — was punctuated by a […]
Read More… from The Pick: Mayorkun and Davido Toast Success on “Blessings on Blessings”
A gruesome massacre in Nigeria’s Benue State has left as many as 200 people dead. The attacks, which targeted the community of Yelewata in Guma Local Government Area between Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14, 2025, represent one of the deadliest episodes this year in the long-running conflict gripping Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Survivors and […]
Read More… from Benue Massacre Kills Over 200 as Nigeria’s Insecurity Crisis Worsens
