Jamie Bartlett, the beloved
The actor, who will be remembered for his roles in Rhythm City and Isidingo, was an icon of stage and screen who moved through the world with immense heart.
Culture
Papers from the Left
Revolutionary Papers is a forward-thinking archive of anti-colonial zines, newspapers and flyers that taps into popular print culture to offer historical context and present-day relevance.
Zikhona Valela’s campaign against erasure
The historian’s debut book documents Black Consciousness leader Mapetla Mohapi’s remarkable life and death in detention, and his widow Nohle Mohapi-Mbetshu’s fight for justice.
A cop story, through the eyes of his son
Rofhiwa Maneta elegantly documents his father’s career as a police officer while interrogating violence in South Africa and exploring fatherhood, fear and faith.
Oumou Sangaré’s trans-Atlantic blues
The Malian superstar’s new album Timbuktu is a thrilling fusion of folk music from West Africa and the United States.
Deborah Fraser leaves a legacy of love and respect
Apart from a rich musical legacy, the beloved gospel singer will be remembered by a generation of artists to whom she was an inspiration, a caring mentor and a friend.
An African take on fictional futures
Afro-speculative fiction anthology Our Move Next imagines a different reality, bringing together storytellers, healers and activists in Africa to write into the future.
Giving power to Sudan’s Beja people through music
A rare album of music typical of this isolated and neglected community sheds light on their traditions and what they hold dear, and invites the world to get to know them.
The apocalypse after the apocalypse
Two new books, Anthem by Noah Hawley and It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way by Alistair MacKay, explore what comes after Covid-19.
Nakhane’s muscle memory
As the artist returns to the stage with their first live performance in two years, and an album on the way, they contemplate what this means through their look, approach and sound.
Sakhile: a singular band remembered 40 years on
Making music to respond to the times, the popular group left a huge legacy despite not fitting prescribed notions of what jazz at the time should sound like.
Saxophonist Shannon Mowday bridges the gender gulf
The multidisciplinary initiative Bridge Over Me Too works to confront the sexist prejudices of jazz classrooms and stages to create space for everyone.
Yes, we Can!
Siphiwo Mahala’s biography of Can Themba, the Drum-generation journalist and short-story writer, is a kind of resurrection, underlining how his work is both vital and enduring.
Kinshasa’s Fulu Miziki are sonic explorers
Fulu Miziki spent the Covid lockdown refining, isolating and recording their handcrafted instruments, resulting in their truly spectacular Ngbaka EP.
New Shane Cooper & Mabuta album gets into the groove
With the band’s second release, Finish the Sun, the bandleader finds inspiration anew in rediscovering his love of the guitar. As a result, he leans into funk and African groove.
The album the Stones pulled out of the basement
Recorded in debauchery at a French villa, Exile on Main Street has been trashed, dismissed, hailed and revered in the 50 years since its release in 1972.
A story like one’s own
In Text Messages this week, Arthur Miller’s classic play The Crucible reminds us of the imperishable value of conscience, integrity and keeping one’s good name.
Nomfundo Moh always believed she was a star
Prominence has come quickly for the 21-year-old Afro-pop artist, whose breakout single is one of the biggest hits in South Africa so far this year.
Horace Andy’s midnight music
The new album from the roots reggae veteran and Massive Attack collaborator brings listeners some nocturnal dub in what is sure to be an instant classic.
The struggle for art at a no-fee school
PJ Simelane Secondary is the last no-fee school in Soweto to offer visual arts up to matric. Artist Senzeni Marasela and the staff are fighting to hold on to the programme.
CA Davids, a quiet revolutionary
In both her novels, the South African author asks how people and nations can become accountable, mapping complex narrative threads that span the globe and probe the heart.