HOW MUSIC IS CHANGING AFRICA

Unlike other forms of contemporary art in Africa, music is historically ancient and diverse.The type of music you will listen to in Africa will leave you longing for another round of musical performance, it is free from what i would call musical distractions that play along in music genres from across the globe. From Morocco to South Africa music is changing how Africans look at themselves and the continent in its entirety.In short hand description, music is becoming Africa's industrial revolution,the face and drive of change in the continent.

In Nigeria arguably the big brother in African music,many artistes are using music as this powerful tool that tells the African experience to the world in a more relatable and creative way never seen in the continent.With its original and Afro-fresh tunes, Nigerian music is taking over the continent and indeed the entire world with a big storm.From London to Jakarta names like Wizkid,Eazzy, Davido and Burna boy are gradually taking over airwaves thanks to globalisation that is breaking communication barriers that pretty much made it harder for African music to be played outside motherland. Increasingly motivating is the fact that many people especially artistes in Europe and America are beginning to see the African story as an exciting and refreshing, and one which is worth to be told to the world.The number of musical collaborations done by Nigerian acts along with their American counterparts is something worth celebrating in Africa, it has helped many young African millennials embrace their identity and work towards building the brand Africa, to the world.


In Tanzania,a relatively quiet country in East Africa known for its unique genre of music,the bongo flava,which is currently enjoying popular ratings by artists both within and inside Africa going by the number of collaborations done by the country's top artist Diamond Platnumz and American acts,Music is playing a unique role never seen in modern democracies before ,Music is fast becoming a politically expressive tool, one that is now being used by most artistes to criticise the country's President John Magufuli,a fast rising authoritarian ruler in the making, The success of music as an effective political expression tool is seen in the president's slow reaction to dissents currently.Majority of Tanzanians now use music as an effective way of seeing and criticising the government for its role in narrowing the democratic space in the relatively peaceful East African nation.

In North Africa,a region mainly inhabited by Arabs and Berbers and in which Arabic is widely spoken, music is changing religious mobilisation to a whole new level,music is fast becoming an easy way of rallying people to society's common interest.In the wake of human trafficking cases in Libya which attracted global limelight.Songs are now being composed to rally all people against the evils of human trafficking in all their forms.

South Africa the cradle of racial discrimination liberation struggles has been not left behind,it is the musical powerhouse of  Africa credited for its talented musicians like Hugh Masekela,Mirriam Makeba, Oliver Mtukudzi and the reggae icon, the late Lucky Dube, all musical geniuses of all time.Racial discrimination which still plays out in South Africa's public sphere still forms a primary thematic area from which most of South Africa's traditional music is evolving.Music in this part of Africa is playing a classic role of easing the racial tensions that have characterised  the nation from its birth.Something spectacular about music in the south is its cool and ethnically fresh sounds that do not have an historically black oppressed tone.

 And in central Africa, a part of Africa that has experienced civil strife for sometime now,music is changing the face of war victims,music is bringing people together and extending a friendly hand to the different sides it has created.It is healing the wounds the war has helped opened.