Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Portugal won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time ever early Sunday with a melancholy ballad performed by a singer who suffers from a serious heart condition. The fado-tinged song “Amar Pelos Dois” was performed by 27-year-old Salvador Sobral, who is awaiting a heart …
Read More »Shakira plans new album this month
New York, United States | AFP | Shakira announced Thursday that she will release a new album later this month after the superstar sported a reggaeton sound on her first single. Shakira, one of the top-selling Latin artists of all time, told her nearly 45 million Twitter followers that her …
Read More »Ronald Mayinja: From political singer to politician?
Ronald Mayinja; the renowned kadongo kamu folk musician, is possibly most politically and socially-driven Uganda singer. Over the last ten years, he has been popularly known for message loaded songs like ‘Tuli ku Bunkenke’ (Situation is tense), ‘Tuwalana Nguzi’ (We are against corruption), ‘Africa! Ani agula ensi’ (Africa is up …
Read More »ARTS: Sexuality in Buganda
20 artists rekindle the debate in `EKifananyi Kya Muteesa’ Exhibit By Dominic Muwanguzi An ongoing archival exhibition of artworks by 20 artists at Makerere Art Gallery is renewing the debate on cultural conservation and preservation and how culture continues to play an important role in the social and economic aspect …
Read More »Health through song
The power of musical glue that binds friends and lovers across the ages By Amee Baird & Bill Thompson Many couples have a special song – “our song” – that reminds them of a significant event or time in their relationship, like when they first met, their wedding, or when …
Read More »RINGTONES: Mobile phones ring changes for Nigeria’s music industry
MTN, which has 60 million subscribers in Nigeria, says it is the largest distributor of music Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Phizbarz is only 23 but hopes to become the next Nigerian Afropop star to be famous across Africa — and to get himself known and earn a living, he’s using …
Read More »Elephants pay unexpected visit to Tanzania university
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | Four wild elephants from nearby forests paid an unexpected visit to a university in Tanzania’s capital on Tuesday, triggering more entertainment than panic before being chased away by rangers. “When we saw them in the morning, we were initially afraid and informed the …
Read More »Bill Clinton co-writes White House thriller
New York, United States | AFP | Bill Clinton might have hoped to spend this year back in the White House as America’s “first gentleman,” should his wife Hillary have won the 2016 election. Instead, the two-term Democratic president is moving into fiction, writing his first thriller about drama behind …
Read More »Jay Z returning to festival circuit with tease of new music
New York, United States | AFP | Rap mogul Jay Z was confirmed Monday to play several upcoming festivals, adding to hints of a return to music after years focusing on his business empire. The husband of pop superstar Beyonce — who canceled at last month’s Coachella festival in California …
Read More »Bobi Wine eyes Kyadondo East seat
It had long been talked about and now popular musician Robert Sentamu Kyagukanyi aka Bobi Wine has decided to join active politics after the Kyadondo East seat fell vacant. The Court of Appeal threw out FDC’s Apollo Kantinti over non-compliance with electoral laws by the Electoral Commission after a petition …
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