Latest news with #Egypt80
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
You know the RiverBeat headliners. Here are 5 under-the-radar acts you won't want to miss
The 2025 RiverBeat lineup is loaded with big names at the top of the bill and plenty of local favorites playing over the course of the weekend. But the festival also boasts some unique performances that might otherwise escape your notice. From special jam sessions featuring multiple generations of blues greats and underground rappers to rare appearances by reunited garage rockers to a local debut by a legacy Afrobeat artist to the latest in Folktronica trendsetters, the 2025 fest will offer a range of musical choices for those looking for less obvious pleasures. Here are five under-the-radar acts you shouldn't miss at RiverBeat, which is set for May 2-4 at Tom Lee Park in Downtown Memphis. 20 years after helping reinvigorate the Mid-South rap scene, Memphis underground hip-hop collective Iron Mic Coalition will help kick off the 2025 edition of RiverBeat. This esteemed crew of MCs and DJs — Fathom 9, Jason 'Da Hater' Harris, Yasin Allah aka Mmilk, Mighty Quinn, Duke, General Macarthur, The Derelick, Empee, DJ Capital A and DJ Shamrock — will deliver a set of boom bap rap on the Bud Light Stage as part of May 2's opening festivities. MEMPHO MUSIC FESTIVAL 2025 LINEUP: Tyler Childers, Charley Crockett, Sierra Ferrell & more One of the features of RiverBeat has been the special event performances put together by Royal Studios honcho and Grammy-winning producer Boo Mitchell. This year — amid raves for his work on the music for the blues-themed horror film 'Sinners' — Mitchell has gathered a collection of Mississippi musicians for an all-star jam. The set will feature appearances by the legendary Bobby Rush, Duwayne, Garry and Kent Burnside, and Kinney Kimbrough, among others. One of the great garage/trash rock bands of the last 30 years, Oxford's Neckbones will make a rare reunion appearance with a May 3 evening set at the Mempho Presents Stage. Led by a trio of vocalists — Tyler Keith, Dave Boyer and Forrest Hewes — the group will revisit songs from its '90s catalog, including the classic Fat Possum LPs 'Souls on Fire' and 'The Lights Are Getting Dim.' OVERTON PARK SHELL CONCERTS LINEUP: See who is playing free shows at the Memphis venue Twin brothers Matt and Chris Drake are a popular production duo that have done remixes for a range of artists from country star Zach Bryan to rapper Flo Rida and have created viral hits of their own with their folktronica sound — a blend of folk, country and EDM. The siblings will be spinning a set at RiverBeat's Orbit Stage on May 3. The youngest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, Seun Kuti has carried on the family's musical legacy leading the group Egypt 80, following his father's passing in 1997. Kuti has carved out his own legacy across seven studio albums, including 2024's 'Heavier Yet' (executive produced by Lenny Kravitz). Thrilling live performers — as they showed during a recent set at the Coachella Music Festival — Kuti and Egypt 80 will be making their Memphis debut as part of May 4's RiverBeat finale. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: RiverBeat Music Festival lineup: 5 under-the-radar acts to check out
The South African
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The South African
Festival-goers light up the night during an electrifying set at Coachella 2025 Weekend 2.
Coachella 2025 closed out with a powerful second weekend (18–20 April), delivering standout performances from across the globe, and Africa made its presence felt in the most memorable way. South African superstar Tyla returned for another blazing performance, electrifying the crowd with her smooth Amapiano sound. Dressed in Coachella-chic fashion, she lit up the Outdoor Theatre with hits like Water and On and On , reaffirming her ascent as Africa's next global pop icon. Nigerian music royalty Seun Kuti, son of the legendary Fela Kuti, took the stage with the iconic Egypt 80 band. Their performance was a spiritual, high-energy celebration of Afrobeat and Pan-African consciousness, blending funky brass lines with revolutionary chants. This cultural experience had the audience moving and reflecting. In one of the festival's refreshing curveballs, Shaboozey – the American country singer of Nigerian descent – merged cowboy soul with hip-hop swagger. His genre-bending set stood out, reminding the crowd that country music isn't confined to stereotypes, and that African heritage runs through more musical veins than people realise. Weekend 2's highlight wasn't complete without a riveting set from hip-hop icon Missy Elliott. Making her long-awaited Coachella debut, Missy transformed the main stage into a time capsule of creativity. Hits like Get Ur Freak On and Work It felt just as fresh as ever, reminding fans that legends don't age, they evolve. Other acts, from Megan Thee Stallion and Blur to Ice Spice, gave Weekend 2 an unforgettable close. Their performances were energetic and bold and perfectly captured Coachella's spirit of innovation and global musical fusion. As the sun set on Weekend 2, Coachella 2025 became a playground for international stars and a platform where African and diasporic talent rightfully stole the spotlight. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
CBS News
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Afrobeat heir Seun Kuti brings fiery show back to San Francisco
The son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, Seun Kuti brings his father's longtime band Egypt 80 to San Francisco to headline the Great American Music Hall Saturday. As the pioneer of a musical style that would eventually be known as Afrobeat, Nigerian musician and political firebrand Fela Kuti emerged in the early '70s as one of the most important figures in African music. While he spent much of the '60s producing a jazzy style of highlife (an uptempo style that first surfaced in Ghana) with his group Koola Lobitos, a stay in Los Angeles near the end of the decade led Kuti to radically change his music and politics. Activated by the revolutionary stance of the Black Panthers and the propulsive funk sound of James Brown, Kuti returned to Nigeria, renamed his band Africa '70 and began to focus on social and political messages. Recording fiery, hard-grooving salvos indicting the corrupt government and military leaders working with corporations to exploit Africa, Kuti rose to become not only a force on the growing world music scene but a political force in his native country. Despite intense government persecution that culminated with an attack on his compound that left Kuti's mother dead, the musician would maintain his rebellious stance throughout his career until his death from AIDS in 1997. Kuti's music would inspire legions of imitators and a hit Broadway musical, but his legacy has largely been carried on by his two sons, Femi and Seun Kuti. Younger brother Seun was already performing onstage with Fela as a member of his latter era group Egypt '80 before he even entered his teens. He took over leadership of the band -- which featured a number of players with a history dating back to the Africa '70s days -- when he was 14 after Fela died. While the group toured regularly, it would be another decade before Seun Kuti would record his first album in 2008, That debut effort, entitled Many Things , was produced by Martin Meissonnier, who had already worked with Fela on two albums. Where his brother Femi would introduce elements of hip hop and electronic music into his modernized style of Afrobeat, Seun would hew closer to his father's sound and politics. His follow up albums -- From Africa With Fury: Rise in 2011 and A Long Way To the Beginning three years later -- would both be hailed for their righteous political lyrics and kinetic energy. In 2018, he released his album Black Times , which features guest appearances from legendary San Francisco guitarist Carlos Santana (who contributes an incendiary guitar solo on the title track) and noted jazz keyboardist Robert Glasper. The acclaimed effort shows the that the current political climate has only intensified the artist's commitment to writing revolutionary protest songs. Live, the younger Kuti continues to uphold his father's tradition of putting on sweat-drenched marathon stage performances. A year before the COVID-19 pandemic put Kuti's busy touring schedule on a lengthy hiatus, he recorded the live-in-studio effort Night Dreamer that features fiery takes on some of his more recent original tunes. More recently, Kuti appeared on "When We Move" -- a Common song that also featured the Roots rapper Black Thought -- and in 2022 released live recordings of a pair of new songs tracked at Clout Studios. His collaborations with hip-hop artists have continued since then. He joined forces with Roots MC Black Thought in the EP African Dreams and teamed with Talib Kweli and MadLib on the song "Nat Turner" for their album Liberation 2 . More recently, he collaborated on Janelle Monae's Album Of the Year Grammy nominee The Age of Pleasure with the singles "Float" and "Knows Better." Late last year, Kuti released his latest collection of new material entitled Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head) , which included the single "Dey" featuring Damian Marley as well as "Emi Aluta," a collaboration with Zambian singer/rapper Sampa the Great. The artist recently released a new remix of the song "Stand Well Well" with a guest verse from De La Soul rapper Pos. He brings Africa 80 back to San Francisco for a show Saturday night at the Great American Music Hall with Baltimore-based Nigerian-American vocalist Lily Ogé warming up the crowd. Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 Saturday, April 12, 8 p.m. $35-$45 Great American Music Hall
