The Role of Language in African MusicBy Josplay | 9/11/2025 | GeneralIn Africa, music and language are inseparable. Every song is more than a melody—it is identity, history, and community expressed through words.
Josplay Announces Winner of the Inaugural Rise Fund: Rheed1By Josplay | 9/8/2025 | Company NewsJosplay announces Rheed1 as winner of its inaugural Rise Fund, granting $300 non-cash support for his project Solo, alongside visibility, playlists, and recognition for the Top 20 finalists.
Who is the Most Influential African Musician of All Time?By Josplay | 9/5/2025 | PeopleWhich African Music Icon gets to wear the Crown for the most influential African artist of all time?
Genre Spotlight: Amapiano in South AfricaBy Josplay | 9/2/2025 | GenresAmapiano is now more than just a genre; it is a symbol of African creativity and cultural pride that shows how a sound born in the townships can travel across borders and bring people together through rhythm, dance, and shared experience
Sudanese Funk: A Groove that Refuses to FadeBy Josplay | 9/1/2025 | GenresSudanese funk, often mislabeled as Sudanese jazz, is a rhythm born from the crossroads of tradition and rebellion, soul and survival. It is a fusion of the hypnotic pulse of American funk and rock with the pentatonic melodies, polyrhythms of Sudanese folk, and other African sounds.
How One World Cup Changed African Music Perception ForeverBy Josplay | 8/29/2025 | GeneralA decade plus of African music influence in World Cup themes represent just the beginning of a longer story. The 2010 tournament proved that through football biggest stage, African artists and traditions could claim their rightful place in the world of music.
Genre Spotlight: Amapiano In NigeriaBy Josplay | 8/27/2025 | GenresNigeria is among top 5 countries streaming Amapiano globally according to Spotify data.
Can Gospel Music in Africa Be Called a Genre?By Josplay | 8/25/2025 | GenresFrom Nigeria to South Africa, Ghana to Kenya, African gospel music presents a fascinating challenge to Western genre classification. This exploration examines how diverse sounds. From Afrobeats to palm wine music, reggae to fuji, these genres unite under the gospel message, suggesting that African gospel functions as a spiritual and philosophical framework rather than a traditional music genre.
Genre Spotlight: Highlife in LiberiaBy Josplay | 8/21/2025 | GenresThe Kru people, with their palm-wine music traditions and seafaring culture, played a critical role in spreading early Highlife styles across West African coasts, positioning Liberia as one of the lesser-discussed but significant contributors to the genre's development.
Beyond Sacred Boundaries: How Juju and Fuji Transcended Their Religious OriginsBy Josplay | 8/20/2025 | GenresFuji asked you to lose yourself in rhythm, while Juju asked you to compose yourself in melody; this way, the sound itself reinforced social divides.
The African Roots of Bomba y Plena in Puerto RicoBy Josplay | 8/19/2025 | GenresWhen Africans travel, their music goes with them - but there is one story you have not heard. Hidden in Puerto Rico rhythms lies a tale of survival, resistance, and cultural genius that colonial powers tried to erase. Meet Bomba y Plena - the twin genres born from tragedy but thriving through resilience.
African Instrument Spotlight: The OudBy Josplay | 8/16/2025 | InstrumentThe oud, a pear-shaped, fretless stringed instrument, has found a profound home along Africa s eastern shores and northern sands, becoming an integral voice in the musical conversations that define the Swahili coast from Somalia to Mozambique and the Saharan belt from Algeria to Egypt.
The Mali Empire and Its Lasting Influence on West African Music: A Historical OverviewBy Josplay | 8/14/2025 | GeneralThe Mali Empire emerged from the Kangaba kingdom in the upper Niger River region around 1230, extending to present day Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Niger, and parts of Burkina Faso and northern Ghana.
GENRE SPOTLIGHT: Benga In Zimbabwe - SunguraBy Josplay | 8/13/2025 | GenresFrom Kenyan Benga to Zimbabwean Sungura, this high-energy, guitar, and hi-hat-driven sound continues to evolve, blending contemporary styles with artists like Alick Macheso and Mark Ngwazi keep it alive in Zimbabwe’s modern music scene.
