Ethiopia: A Song Upends a Country

 Ethiopia Insight published on 16 May 2026 a commentary titled "Teddy Afro's Mourning Tent and Ethiopia's Fractured National Imagination" by Belete Addis Yemata, University of Melbourne.

Teddy Afro's new album Etorika and especially the opening song, Das Tal (loosely meaning "pitch the tent"), has drawn more than 140 million views on You Tube and ignited political arguments throughout the Ethiopian community.  Reactions to Das Tal exposed political loyalty, politico-religious alignment, competing ideas of Ethiopia, and different opinions about Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.  

China's Cultural Presence in Africa

 The Stuttgart-based Institut fur Auslandsbeziehungen published in 2023 a major study titled "China's Institutionalised Cultural Presence in Africa: Cultural Investments, Perceptions and Implications for China-Africa Cultural Relations" by Avril Joffe.

This study, which is available online, provides insight into Chinese international cultural policy.  There is a special focus on South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria.  There are sections on China's strategy in Africa, Chinese investments in cultural infrastructure, media, film, music, Confucius Institutes, libraries, studying in China, and perceptions of China in Africa.  

China's Cultural Presence in Africa

 The Institut fur Auslandsbeziehungen published in 2023 a lengthy study titled "China's Institutionalised Cultural Presence in Africa: Cultural Investments, Perceptions and Implications for China-Africa Cultural Relations" by Avril Joffe.

The author conducted interviews with 31 artists, cultural professionals, academics, government officials, media houses, and non-governmental organizations in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia.

The study's findings highlight the complexity of Chinese engagement in Africa and the various facets of its associated impacts.  The author suggests that African  actors should ensure that a more equitable engagement develops, where conditions are determined by local needs and culture, and more aggressively advocate for equality, needs, and respect for national sovereignty.  The presence of China in Africa is largely driven by China rather than African governments.  

Nipsey Hussle's Eritrean American Dream

The Atlantic published on 4 April 2019 an article titled "Nipsey Hussle's Eritrean American Dream" by Hannah Giorgis.

Ermias Asghedom, the Eritrean-American rapper known as Nipsey Hussle, who was killed in a shooting in Los Angeles on 31 March 2019, was a model of success and a chronicler of the struggles he overcame to obtain it. The author argues that Hussle was flawed but he was real.

Africans in Guangzhou, China

The Journal of Current Chinese Affairs has devoted its most recent issue to Africans living in Guangzhou, China.  The articles, which are available online, include the following:

--Africans in Guangzhou by Gordon Mathews.
--The Social Construction of Guangzhou as a Translocal Trading Place by Angelo Gilles.
--Healthcare-Seeking Practices of African and Rural-to-Urban Migrants in Guangzhou by Tabea Bork-Huffer.
--Landscapes of Aspiration in Guangzhou's African Music Scene: Beyond the Trading Narrative by Roberto Castillo.
--African Logistics Agents and Middlemen as Cultural Brokers in Guangzhou by Gordon Mathews. 

A Jihad against Somali Music Is Under Way

Pambazuka News published on 18 February 2015 a commentary titled "A Jihad against Somali Music is Under Way" by Bashir Goth.  The author notes that some powerful conservative Somali clerics are strong-arming famous musicians into ending and disowning their own musical careers on spurious claims that the music is prohibited in Islam.  The author suggests that the clerics are aligning themselves with Wahhabi, Salafi, and al-Shabaab influences. 

Ethiopia: Teddy Afro's "Tikur Sew"

The Africa Collective published on 8 June 2014 commentary titled "Teddy Afro's 'Tikur Sew'--Ethnic Politics and Historical Narrative" by Rachael Hill, a PhD candidate at Stanford University.  It is an analysis of Ethiopian singer Teddy Afro's 2012 album Tikur Sew (Black Man).  The title track is a tribute to late 19th and early 20th century Emperor Menilik II and the Ethiopian victory over the Italians at Adwa.

Ethiopia: Bibliography of Key Works

Oxford Bibliographies asked me last year to prepare a bibliography of key works about Ethiopia.  The bibliography titled "Ethiopia" has been published.  The first several pages are available without subscription.  To access the entire bibliography it is necessary to subscribe or access a university on-line subscription.  Oxford Bibliographies prepares bibliographies on most countries and many global issues.  If you are not familiar with this resource, I urge that you explore it through a university subscription.  All contributions to the series are extensively peer reviewed.  My final version of the Ethiopia bibliography looks considerably different than the first draft.  

Menelik II, Battle of Adwa, and Teddy Afro

I normally devote this blog to weighty academic issues. Thanks to Pambazuka News, I ran across a fascinating music video titled Tikur Sew by the well known Ethiopian musician Teddy Afro. Tikur Sew is a tribute to Emperor Menelik II and the 1986 Battle of Adwa where Ethiopia defeated Italian forces. It captures the mood in Ethiopia in 1896. The outstanding music and solid video presentation are worth watching. It runs for 10 minutes and contains some violence.

The video concludes that "there is no future without the past."

Click here to read the background piece by Pambazuka News and then click to watch the video.