Fujianese Rap With a South African House Beat Combine in Vinida Weng’s New Song WAIYA!

Chinese rapper Vinida Weng is generating a lot of buzz among South African music fans for her new track WAIYA!, which incorporates beats inspired by amapiano -- a South African subgenre of house music that emerged in the 2010s. "I ...

Rwandan Singers Strike a Chord on Chinese Social Media

A young Rwandan man and his group of compatriot singers have gone viral in China with short videos showing them performing well-known songs in near-perfect Mandarin. The group, led by Pacifique Izabayo, who goes by the online name Bobo, performs ...

Chinese Troops in Djibouti Compete in a Military Skills Competition (That Also Made For a Cool Music Video)

Chinese troops in Djibouti recently (they didn't specify precisely when) held the "East African Warriors" military skills competition and leveraged the event to make a Wolf Warrior II-style music video that was no doubt a big hit among viewers back home. ...

South African Eli Zaelo Wants to be China’s Next “Mandopop” Star

27-year old Pretoria-native Eli Zaelo came to Hong Kong a few years ago to perform as part of the Lion King cast at Disneyland. She had never been to Asia before and didn't speak a word of Chinese, either Cantonese or Mandarin. But she did see an opportunity, ...

South African Singer Eli Zaelo Wants to Become Hong Kong’s Next C-Pop Star

Pretoria native Eli Zaelo first moved to Hong Kong in 2015 to join the cast of the Disney show the "Lion King" which performed in the territory. After the show was over and she returned to South Africa, Zaelo felt compelled to return to the southern Chinese ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

BRICS Announces Numerous New Initiatives

The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...

“I Can Be 100% Congolese and 100% Chinese” Social Media Star Zhong Feifei Tells Teen Vogue

Chinese-Congolese social media influencer, model, and aspiring pop star Zhong Feifei got a break this week when the hugely popular publication Teen Vogue profiled her and featured a Q&A: TV: You have a mixed ancestry of both Chinese and Congolese, what was ...

With 62 Million Subscribers in Africa, Chinese-owned Music Streaming Giant Boomplay Now Wants to Go to Europe

Boomplay is the unrivaled champion of Africa's streaming music market with more than 62 million subscribers across the continent.  The Nigeria-based, Chinese-owned company utterly crushes the competition, especially global market leader Spotify that is only available in just five African countries. 

With 53 Million Users, Chinese-owned Boomplay Now Turns to Francophone Africa to Drive Growth

The Chinese-owned streaming music joint venture (Transsion Holdings & Netease) currently dominating the African market is now looking to grow its base of 53 million users by expanding beyond its base in anglophone West Africa into francophone countries. Boomplay's Big Plans