Artists

Rashid Amin Abdallah aka Rico Single was born in Kikuu village, on Pemba island. He started music at primary school, as part of the school’s traditional dance group.

In 2001 together with friends, Rico Single created Swahili Arts Group which had more than 40 young members, performing traditional dances, read more

Sampa The Great weaves lyrical mazes with her thought provoking verses, drawing listeners into a lush, imaginative world.

Her music bonds from spoken-word to rap, with stops at psychedelic and blues along the way; it’s the sound of an adventurous young mind pushing against all boundaries.

Sampa’s rise has been spectacular. After read more

Let Simba take you on a journey that is going to blow you away, with a mix of jazz, afro beats, rock, hiphop and funk. Through his music, he talks about living in Mozambique through sixteen years of peace and democracy, allowing young people to follow their dreams.

Simba, an intelligent read more

Simba's love of hiphop started in the early '90s, listening to artists like De La Soul, Common and A Tribe called Quest. The art that combines words with rhythm and breakbeats was beginning to impact on this boy's life, and he began rhyming at the age of 13. From read more

Born Jabulani Hadebe in Kwa Zulu Natal, South African singer Sjava is among the wave of artists creatively fusing hiphop and R&B with indigenous sounds.

His rise to fame began whilst acting since 2005, appearing in several films including uGugu no Andile and the drama series Zone 14, where he starred read more

Thaïs Diarra is a nu-soul singer with roots in Mali and Senegal. She was born in Switzerland, to a music-loving mother and a bass-playing father. Since Thaïs’ early years, music was a refuge, a moral recourse to the racial prejudgement and questions about her mixed race identity. In her read more