Sabelo Mkhabela
Oct. 14, 2019 11:52AM EST
Listen to Zoocci Coke Dope and Ami Faku's New Single 'Regrets'
Zoocci Coke Dope and Ami Faku connect on new single 'Regrets.'
As announced last week, "Regrets" arrived today. The idea of a collaboration between South African hip-hop artist Zoocci Coke Dope and Afro soul singer Ami Faku was intriguing because no one could predict what it would sound like.
"Regrets" is somber in mood, as it's built over a gloomy piano. Ami Faku's verse glides over the keys, before the drums kick in with Zoocci's verse.
The two artists sing about betrayal from different perspectives. Among other things, Ami Faku speaks about being let down by a lover, singing:
"I stay hoping you will change/ But I am a fool
Only time will tell/ Tell me how much I mean to you/ And all your friends are gone"
Zoocci speaks on the shadiness of the game, how people are easy to switch sides when your life changes. He sings:
"Ain't it crazy how your life can just change?/ Or how people wanna switch up for a chunk change/ I wanna feed the fam, y'all can have the fame/ And niggas taking shots, niggas take a name/ Bunch of lil niggas trynna make a name"
"Regrets" is one of many singles Zoocci will be releasing through the label Vth Season, which Ami Faku is also signed to.
"I've partnered with one of my favourite artists right now, Ami Faku," says Zoocci about "Regrets" in a press release. The song has been a year in the making, with Ami Faku expressing her gratitude towards Zoocci for working with her a year ago before she barely had a buzz.
Stream "Regrets" by Zoocci Coke Dope and Ami Faku below:
south african hip-hop south africa music hip-hop afro soul ami faku zoocci coke dope south african music
Jan. 17, 2020 01:05PM EST
Watch the First Episode of Flame's Documentary Series 'Welcome To My Life'
Flame takes fans behind the scenes in his new documentary series.
From interviews to smoking sessions, performances, studio sessions and a visit to the hair salon, Flame gives fans a glimpse into his life and adventures.
The South African hip-hop artist and producer shared the first episode of an ongoing documentary series titled Welcome To My Life. The first episode, which he shared today, shows Flame and his affiliates—the likes of Ecco, Mellow and others—going about their business.
Jan. 17, 2020 09:49AM EST
uSanele Releases a New Project 'uMvelase' Featuring ASAP Shembe, Windows 2000, Manelisi and Others
Listen to uSanele's new project 'uMvelase.'
South African hip-hop artist uSanele's recently released project is titled uMvelase. "This project," says the artist, "is in honor of my father and family, abakwa Mthembu; all my siblings, extended family and my roots in the heart of KZN, kwaNongoma. It is a calling—if you will—a completion of my journey and all things coming full circle."
Rufaro Samanga
Photo courtesy of CSA Global.
In Conversation with Congolese NBA Player Emmanuel Mudiay: 'I want more African players in the NBA.'
The Utah Jazz player talks about being African in the NBA, supporting basketball in the DRC and how 'everybody knows about Burna Boy'.
Inspired by his basketball-playing older brothers, by second grade, Emmanuel Mudiay already knew that he wanted to play in the American National Basketball Association. Then in 2001 his family, fleeing the war in Democratic Republic of Congo, sought asylum in the United States.
In America, Mudiay saw basketball as a way for him to improve his situation. After impressive high school and college careers, he moved to China to play pro ball. Picked 7th overall in the 2015 NBA draft, the now 23-year-old guard has made a name for himself this season coming off the bench for the Utah Jazz.
Mudiay attests to the sport having changed not only his life but that of his siblings. Basketball gave them all a chance at a good education and the opportunity to dream without conditions. Now he wants to see other talented African players make it too.
We caught up with him to talk about his experience as an African player in the NBA, his hopes for basketball on the African continent and who he and his teammates jam out to in their locker rooms.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Damola Durosomo
University lecturer and activist Doctor Stella Nyanzi (L) reacts in court as she attends a trial to face charges for cyber-harassment and offensives communication, in Kampala, on April 10, 2017. (Photo by GAEL GRILHOT/AFP via Getty Images)
Jailed Ugandan Activist, Stella Nyanzi, Wins PEN Prize for Freedom of Expression
The outspoken activist, who is currently serving a prison sentence for a poem she wrote about the president's mother's vagina, won for her resistance "in front of a regime that is trying to suppress her."
Stella Nyanzi, the Ugandan academic, activist, and vocal critic of President Yoweri Museveni has been awarded the 2020 Oxfam Novib/PEN International award for freedom of expression, given to writers who "continue to work for freedom of expression in the face of persecution."
Nyanzi is currently serving a 15 month sentence for "cyber harassment" after she published a poem in which she wrote that she wished "the acidic pus flooding Esiteri's (the president's mother) vaginal canal had burn up your unborn fetus. Burn you up as badly as you have corroded all morality and professionalism out of our public institutions in Uganda."
According to the director of PEN International, Carles Torner, her unfiltered outspokenness around the issues facing her country is what earned her the award. "For her, writing is a permanent form of resistance in front of a regime that is trying to suppress her," said Torner at the award ceremony.
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Watch Yilian Canizares & Paul Beaubrun's Beautiful Video For 'Noyé'
"Cuba and Haiti come together to share the love and heritage of our deep rooted culture and spirituality."
Kenyan Athlete Eliud Kipchoge Nominated for Sportsman of the Year Award
The record-breaking marathon runner has been nominated for the top prize in the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards alongside Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton and Rafael Nadal.
Thousands of Gambians Protest for Former President Yahya Jammeh's Return from Exile
Supporters of the former statesman want the current Gambian government to guarantee his right to return from self-exile in Equatorial Guinea.
'Journey With Me' Is a Window Into the Ups and Downs of Traveling by Train In South Africa
In his new photo series, South African artist Luxolo Witvoet, speaks to everyday people in Cape Town about their experiences commuting via the city's fragile, yet vital train system.
Things Take Time In The Empire of Sheep
An in-depth look at two hip-hop albums that capture the state of affairs in South Africa: YoungstaCPT's 3T and Stogie T's The Empire of Sheep.