This Is Africa

Under the TIA spotlight this episode are two fresh talents from Chad. Kadeux and Kaezy are both winning young fans by singing to them in Chadian Arabic as well as French, and talking in their songs about everyday experiences young Chadians can relate to. It all started when Kadeux used a popular Chadian Arabic expression – Ayéhan – in his song of the same name. Ayéhan means yes, or yeah, and it’s...

Illbliss - who is also known as the Oga Boss - is one of Nigeria’s most influential rappers. He first made a name for himself back in 2008 and pioneered the use of indigenous languages in hip-hop, which led to the birth of the so-called Eastern-Igbo Boy Movement. Illbliss has collaborated with global stars such as WizKid on Many Men, Odumodublvck on Full Chest, and Runtown on Alhaji (Can’t Hear yo...

DJ Edu is joined by two of Zambia’s most groundbreaking musicians, Sampa the Great and Emmanuel Jagari Chanda. Sampa the Great’s career took off in Australia, where she was a student. Heavily hip-hop influenced, her first body of work, The Great Mixtape, introduced a bold, distinctive, politically engaged voice, proudly feminist and proudly African, with a rich and inventive sound. Birds and the B...

Yilim is the younger sister of one of the biggest names in music in the Ivory Coast, Didi B. Following in the footsteps of a superstar can be a blessing or a curse, especially if you are trying to build your own career as an artist, but Yilim focuses on the many positive opportunities her brother’s success has brought her. They have collaborated on several popular songs, as well as performing toge...

There are thousands of girls with beautiful voices in Nigeria, and hundreds who sing covers of afrobeats hits and post them on social media. But there are not many who get spotted by Davido. As she tells DJ Edu, Morravey was dumbstruck when Davido reached out to her, having seen her cover of Bandana by Fireboy DML and Asake. It didn’t take long for her to abandon her studies, pack up her bags and...

Moliy is a superstar, thanks to her viral hit Shake It to the Max which charted in countries all around the world. She’s a bubbly, chatty, confident Ghanaian-American 24-year-old woman, happy to post about her life and twerk in unlikely places. But as she tells DJ Edu in this episode, she’s also a real girl who has had to overcome anxiety and the impact of body shaming. Moliy first started getting...

In the TIA house this week with DJ Edu the Afroboss is Ms Gideon, a rising star from Namibia. She was only 18 when she shared a New York City stage with afrobeats greats like Adekunle Gold and Patoranking, after winning the prestigious New Narrative Africa competition in 2024. Two years on, and she’s signed with Sony Music Africa, the first Namibian artist to join the global label. Ms Gideon tells...

Gemma Griffiths has become a much-loved star in her native Zimbabwe, and has collaborated with many of the country’s most successful artists, including reggae dancehall musician Winky D. She grabbed the attention of music fans with her soulful cover of his song Musarova, leading to their collaboration on Mu Garden, which broke Zimbabwean records by reaching 1 million views on YouTube in just 13 da...

Imagine working in a restaurant, then dropping a line on a song, and before you know it finding yourself performing in a stadium at an event watched by millions around the world. That is the story of Momo Hayek from the Ivory Coast. Momo, whose parents come from Lebanon, runs two restaurants in Abidjan. As he tells TIA in this episode, has always loved music, and began hanging out with musician fr...

Sarkodie is a giant on the Ghanaian music scene. Famous for rapping at mind-boggling speed, mostly in Twi, he has been on top for over 15 years, with a devoted fan base, the Sark Nation. His biggest hits include Adonai with Castro, Countryside with Black Sherif, and Painkiller with Runtown. He has dozens of collaborations - including with Burna Boy, Patoranking, Ruger, King Promise, Oxlade, Victon...

DJ Edu catches up with the biggest names in music from across Africa, and meets the stars of afrobeats, amapiano, afrohouse and more. Tyla and Black Coffee from South Africa, Davido, Burna Boy, Rema and Tems from Nigeria, Sarkodie from Ghana and Diamond Platnumz from Tanzania are now international superstars selling out at major venues around the world. One of the most respected club DJs from Afri...