Half melancholic, half haunting, wholly human and it has a Shadow too. (Caveat: I have tried as much as possible to keep this largely spoiler-free, especially around the film’s more important turns and revelations. But because I’m talking about the story, some context is unavoidable) Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow (2025) is the kind of film that does […]
One Woman One Bra: Kenya Sends a Maasai Story to the Oscars
Kenya has chosen a story rooted in the Maasai community to carry its cinema to the 99th Academy Awards. One Woman One Bra, written and directed by Kenyan filmmaker Vincho Nchogu and produced by Nigerian filmmaker Josh Olaoluwa, was selected on 23 September as Kenya’s official submission for the International Feature Film category. The Kenya Oscars Selection Committee considered […]
Ugo Ugochukwu Makes History as 2026 FIA Formula 3 Champion
At 19, Ugo Ugochukwu has already found his place in the record books. The American driver of Nigerian heritage was crowned the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Champion in Madrid on September 13, becoming the first driver from the United States to win the championship. He secured the title with a composed second-place finish in the season’s final Feature […]
Collen Kebinatshipi: Botswana’s 22-Year-Old World Champion Becomes the Fifth-Fastest 400m Runner in History
At 43.39 seconds, there was barely enough time for the crowd in Budapest to process what Collen Kebinatshipi had done. The 22-year-old Botswana sprinter had just won the inaugural men’s 400m title at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, lowered his own national record and moved into a rarefied section of athletics history. Only four men have ever run the […]
Ayo Maff Becomes the First African Artist Featured as a Character in PUBG Mobile
Ayo Maff has added another remarkable milestone to his fast-rising career, becoming the first African artist to be featured as a character in PUBG Mobile, one of the world’s most influential mobile gaming franchises. The collaboration places the Nigerian singer and songwriter inside a digital universe with a global audience, marking an unusual but increasingly important intersection between African […]
Angélique Kidjo Becomes the First African Artist With a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
For more than four decades, Angélique Kidjo has carried the sounds of Benin into rooms, stages and audiences far beyond the continent. On 18 August 2026, that journey found a permanent address on Hollywood Boulevard as the five-time Grammy winner became the first African musician, and the first Black African artist, to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk […]
Felix Idubor and the Architecture of Nigerian Memory
Long before sculpture became a familiar presence in Nigeria’s public spaces, Felix Idubor was already asking a more interesting question: what happens when art becomes part of the building itself? For Idubor, sculpture was never confined to the gallery or the pedestal. It could live in an entrance, occupy a wall, define a civic space or become part of […]
Before the “Rumble in the Jungle”: Throwback to When Muhammad Ali Found a Warm Welcome in Lagos
Long before the world watched him conquer George Foreman in Kinshasa, Muhammad Ali began building a relationship with Africa that would become one of the defining dimensions of his life and legacy. In 1964, only months after defeating Sonny Liston to claim the world heavyweight championship, the young champion, then widely known as Cassius Clay, arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, […]
Bobo Wê Is Writing Benin’s Next Musical Chapter Without Letting Go of Its Past
The most influential African artists rarely abandon tradition in pursuit of modernity. They reinterpret it. That philosophy sits at the centre of Bobo Wê’s creative identity. The Beninese rapper, songwriter and performer has emerged as one of West Africa’s most distinctive musical voices by developing Gangan Trap, a sound that brings together hip-hop, trap production and the unmistakable rhythms […]
How Njideka Akunyili Crosby Redefined the Global Market for Nigerian Art
The story of Njideka Akunyili Crosby challenges one of the most enduring assumptions about success: that the path is always planned. At 16, she left Enugu for the United States with the intention of pursuing medicine. When she was not admitted into her preferred medical school, her future took an unexpected turn. She chose art instead. That decision would […]