African Music Mavericks

African Music Mavericks is united by Sonos and celebrates the forward-thinkers, boundary-breakers and hard workers of Africa’s diverse music landscape.  This year for the duration of Africa Month in May, TATC wanted to identify creatives who are doing things a little bit differently, and for our fourth episode I spoke to Kayode, the young singer-songwriter at the forefront of Nigeria’s Afro-Emo wave, and guitarist Kris Xen from Vulvodynia, arguably South Africa’s most prolific metal band.  Both of my guests shared how they’re building their bustling careers while simultaneously trying to figure out their way through this tumultuous industry, making them true African Music Mavericks.

African Music Mavericks is united by Sonos and celebrates the forward-thinkers, boundary-breakers and hard workers of Africa’s diverse music landscape.  This year for the duration of Africa Month in May, and clearly a little bit in June, we wanted to identify creatives who are doing things a little bit differently - and for our final episode in this season, I spoke to South African singer and actress Nandi Madida, a powerhouse personality who has just taken the reigns as host of Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio, with the first episode of the new season airing Friday 2 June.   I also shared my interview highlights from this first short season courtesy of Stonebwoy, Shannon Valstar and Mikaela Kleinsmith.

African Music Mavericks is united by Sonos and celebrates the forward-thinkers, boundary-breakers and hard workers of Africa’s diverse music landscape.  This year for the duration of Africa Month in May, TATC wanted to identify creatives who are doing things a little bit differently, and for our third episode I spoke to Stonebwoy, Africa’s undisputed prince “prince of dancehall”, and Mpumi Mcata, the figurehead & guitarist of one of Africa’s most prolific alternative fusion bands, BLK JKS. Both of my guests shared their journeys from humble beginnings in their hometowns, to working smart to grow their brands and make music that matters, making them true African Music Mavericks.

African Music Mavericks is united by Sonos and celebrates the forward-thinkers, boundary-breakers and hard workers of Africa’s diverse music landscape.  This year for the duration of Africa Month in May, TATC wanted to identify creatives who are doing things a little bit differently, and for our second episode I spoke to AfroFuture Festival’s co-founder Abdul Karim Abdullah, Rocking The Daisies’ Festival Director Shannon Valstar and the founder and mastermind behind MTN Bushfire Festival, Jiggs Thorne. All three of my guests shared invaluable tips and insight into what makes a festival work, making them true African Music Mavericks. 

African Music Mavericks is united by Sonos and celebrates the forward-thinkers, boundary-breakers and hard workers of Africa’s diverse music landscape. Texx and the City is a music platform run out of South Africa that has specialised in identifying the future trends, new waves, and the next generation of African talent for the last 15 years. This year for the duration of Africa Month in May, we wanted to identify creatives who are doing things a little bit differently, and we couldn’t think of anything more leftfield than being a country artist in Africa. Apple TV+’s inaugural competition, My Kind Of Country, brought to the forefront the talent that’s bubbling under, and for our first episode Texx and the City's founder and podcast host, Tecla Ciolfi, spoke to My Kind Of Country winner Micaela Kleinsmith, singer-songwriter Gareth James, and Congolese singer and guitarist Chris Bakalanga (Congo Cowboys).