Fèmi Kuti; one of the princes’ of afrobeat, played New York City at Lincoln Centre on the 12th of this month. I understand that it was not as packed as he would have liked. Frankly, that was the biggest Fèmi news of the day. In a New York Times article published that morning, Kuti was quoted as saying that he was not planning to see the popular Broadway show about his father [afrobeat creator, Féla Kuti] as he was protesting for the show to come to Lagos at the Shrine; the nightclub that his father founded and which he now runs.

Since the team’s arrival in Johannesburg however, they have been dealing with health issues due to Malaria. AfrobeatRadio will bring you the WGWC team’s experience in South Africa, and a final interview on their overall experience in Africa shortly. While we wait, we wish the sick members of the WGWC a speedy recovery. In the mean time, while in Nigeria, WGWC brings you a short video of a Nigerian woman’s perspective on the roles of women in African societies and what needs to be done to strive for equality.

After exciting Ghana and a brief stop in Benin, we arrived in Lagos, Nigeria. We had heard many a story of the troubles we would surely encounter in this supposedly hostile country. We are happy to report that from what we experienced, nothing could be further from the truth. While there are most likely precautions that are required in select locales, the whole of Nigeria is certainly not a hotspot.

Skoto Gallery presents Selection 2010.
Skoto Gallery is located at 529 West 20th Street, 5thFL New York, NY 10011
Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11 AM – 6 PM
For more information: www.skotogallery.com 212.352.8058

A group of paraplegic street musicians from Kinshasa, Congo, Staff Benda Bilili, which roughly translates to “look beyond appearances”, creates music that affects people across various cultures and music traditions. Vitality and authenticity, their music contains, combines sounds and feel of rumba, soul, blues with hints of funk and reggae. Their lyrics often include applicable social messages. The former homeless musicians managed to grab the attention of listeners from Canada, through several European countries, to Japan filling the concerts’ roster of the troupe.

Traveling from Assinie, Côte d’Ivoire to Accra, Ghana was an adventure in and of itself, hitchhiking in the early morning, negotiating with an obstinate bush taxi driver, cramming ourselves into a mini-bus with 9 other people and all of our collective luggage. Quite the up close and personal way to get to know the local people!

It was full of adventure, reunions
 and some frightening moments.
At the end of the trip in Ivory Coast, we found what paradise looks like! The beaches of Assinie are one of the most beautiful places in the world! We were able to play beach soccer and surf a bit.

K’naan is a Canadian rapper from Somalia. His track, “Wavin’ Flag”, from his album “Troubadour”, was chosen as an official world cup anthem. Coca Cola, one of the corporate sponsors of the event, asked him to rewrite some lyrics of the song which they deemed to be not in keeping with their image. The offending lyrics goes as follows: “Somalia, a violent, poor people zone. People struggling, fighting to eat.”

The World Cup Opens with the host country South African playing against Mexico. The match ended 1 for South Africa,  1 for Mexico

Watch Tshabalala score the first goal of the game 10 minutes into the second half of the game.
Rafael Marquez scored Mexico’s only goal to earn a 1-1 draw.
France and Uruguay face each other in the other Group A game later Friday.
Watch South Africa pre-opening interviews here
“Football legend Pelé in South Africa”. Pelé launched Pelé Sports at a dirt pitch in Melrose Arch on Thursday.

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is under way. The opening ceremony has taken place at Johannesburg’s 94,000-capacity Soccer City. Jean-Sébastien Brettes, Melissa Gundlach, and Nicholas Kuhn left for Africa to start “We’re Going to the World Cup!” followed by a small camera crew, making a pilgrimage down the continent from Morocco to South Africa.