Artists and Artisans
These artists and artisans range from entertainers to craftsmen of all disciplines, either going the traditional way, the contemporary or modern way or some fusion of both. All fields see artistic work: music, paint, sculpture, architecture, circus, cinematographic arts, graphic design, rock art, dance, and a lot more.
Coco Mbassi
Coco Mbassi: Artist Profile Coco Mbassi rightly describes her music as a « tree with deep African roots and branches that extend some towards classical music, some towards soul, gospel and jazz, and others towards Latin music and even pop music ». Now, discover this...
Le groupe Ndima, plus que de la musique
Le groupe Ndima, plus que de la musique ! Du 28 juin au 16 juillet 2016, le groupe Ndima, formé des musiciens Aka, un peuple autochtone du Congo-Brazzaville, a effectué une tournée en Europe. Pour cette nouvelle tournée, deux pays ont été visités : la France et...
Artists and Artisans
About African Artists and Artisans There have been and there will always be a plethora of contributors to African Arts. Through their skills and craft, they add to the beauty, the depth and the overall richness of a continent that has been blossoming through those...
Dina Bell
About Dina Bell Three decades of a distinctive voice and signature love songs as well as engaging Makossa rhythmic have made Dina Bell, aka Bazor, one of the pillars of Cameroonian music and one of his ambassadors across Africa and the world. There is method to the...
Franklin Boukaka, l’immortel !
Plus de quarante ans après sa tragique disparition, la voix de Franklin raisonne toujours. Les thèmes abordés dans ses chansons sont toujours d’actualité. Ce qui fait de lui un immortel au même titre que ceux qu’il citait dans son morceau ‘Les immortels’. Dans cette...
Glad Amog Lemra
Glad Amog Lemra is more than an artist, if that is ever possible. He is an artisan and a self-proclaimed one at that and rightfully too. He crafts the words around his tongue, his plume, the reel, so as never to compromise his spirit, his integrity. The emotional...
Sona Jobarteh (Gambia)
Sona Jobarteh is the first female Kora virtuoso to come from a prestigious West African Griot family. Breaking away from tradition, she is a modern day pioneer in an ancient, male-dominated hereditary tradition that has been exclusively handed down from father to son...
Dobet Gnahoré (Ivory C.)
At age 12, Dobet announced to her father that she wasn't going to return to school. "I want to stay in the village like you!" she asserted so forcefully that her father knew there was no talking her out of it. However, this was no ordinary "village." Dobet's father, a...
Kassav (Antilles)
According to Brenda Berrian, on Music and Culture in the French Caribbean, the Caribbean band Kassav’ not only and I quote 'invented the music zouk', "they said they wanted to invent a music that would capture not just the Caribbean, but the entire world. They wanted...
Angélique Kidjo (Benin)
Born in Benin (West Africa), Angelique Kidjo is a Grammy award-winning music recording artist deemed "Africa's premier diva" by Time Magazine. Kidjo's internationally acclaimed repertoire includes collaborations with various recording artists such as Carlos Santana,...
Eboa Lotin (Cameroon)
EBOA LOTIN was born on the 06th August 1942 in DOUALA CAMEROON, of a religious pastor father, Adolphe LOTIN SAME (renovator of the Cameroon Baptist Church), author of more than 400 hymns (interpreted by Francis BEBEY in his beginnings) and a busy housewife mother. He...
Pierre Akendengué (Gabon)
Pierre Akendengué is a singer-songwriter from Gabon who mixes his African upbringing and his European further education to find and never part from his true self. He is one of the great masters of contemporary African music and has been for now about 4 decades. He was...
Kanda Bongo Man (DR Congo)
Congolese Soukous Superstar, Kanda Bongo Man was a favourite of the late, great John Peel and was first introduced to UK audiences by Peter Gabriel at the inaugural WOMAD festival. He has headlined world music festivals throughout the world, and his performances...
Bob Marley (Jamaica)
Bob Marley - Artist Profile Bob Marley, the Jamaican singer-song-writing and music legend. Bob Marley, if he really needs to be introduced, was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers (1964–1974) and Bob Marley...
Manu Dibango
As it was , he was affected by musical grace in the very first years in the protestant temple. Little Manu on the road between Paris and Brussels, thanks to the masters he discovers (Armstrong, Ellington, Young, Parter...) wandering in places where jazz rips the...