The 7th edition of What’s Trending brings you some of the best news from all over the African continent and beyond. Keeping within the realms of culture and lifestyle, expect the find the latest trends happening right now.
Have you heard?
LA Singer Arima Ederra speaks on Ethiopian Roots
Arima Ederra comes with a maturity so far past her years it can be shocking to find out her music comes from such a young soul. Her debut album, Earth to Arima, gained heavy praise around the blogosphere for its timeless quality and natural composition. Her latest piece of work is in the form of the up and coming EP Temporary Fixes.
If you’ve never heard of LA Based Arima Ederra, expect a form of soul music unique to her distinctive, airy yet layered vocals. She sings overs beats and rhythms multi faceted in nature, often using experimental sounds and textures, ensuring her music is never predictable. Beyond this, the singer – songwriter channels her own wisdom into her lyrics, speaking to the free spirit within.
One of the most interesting things is Arima’s connection with her Ethiopian roots despite being located in Los Angeles.
“My music now especially was super inspired by my background. I listen to the textures and different sounds, the emotion. Lots of Amharic and Ethiopian music is very deep and it’s always these very vulnerable love songs” – Arima in conversation with Rouge Mag
She told True Africa : I grew up with my dad blasting it in the house. I was always singing songs with him in the car too. I don’t think I realised how much I was influenced by it until I got older. I listen to it here and there but always gain something sweet afterwards.
She also said “I think Ethiopian music overall emphasises so much on love. The sweetest lyrics, heart felt melodies and vulnerability. I love the tones and textures to their voices too!
She shares one of her favourite Ethiopian artists;
Ederra’s lasted project Temporary Fixes is out this year. For now, watch a visual for one of the artist’s tracks “Flowchart”. We love to see musicians inspired by their roots!
Racism towards model Aamito Lagum
Last week, MAC cosmetics posted a photograph of a Aamito Lagum lips to it’s Instagram page. Taken backstage during New York Fashion Week, the photograph was meant to showcase MAC’s “Royal Romance” lipstick.
However, the photo was bombarded with racist comments. MAC addressed the issue two full days later by posting a photograph to it’s Instagram page which read “ALL AGES, ALL RACE, ALL SEXES” and the caption, “M.A.C stands for and respects All Ages, All Races, All Sexes. We celebrate the beauty of individuality, and the confidence to be who you are.”
In response to the racist comments the hashtag Prettylipsperiod began trending at a fast rate, encouraging many black women to upload celebrating their lips in all shapes and sizes. With over 1,700 Instagram within a few days it became clear that the project was not only about supporting the model Aamito Lagum but also about loving and supporting loving and supporting black women just like her.
Aamito Lagum also supported the hashtag in solidarity with the self-representation of twitter users that look like her. We love to hearing about movements and trend that challenge the status quo – take a look as #Prettylipsperiod still trends and help it spread even further.
A photo posted by M∙A∙C Cosmetics (@maccosmetics) on
Sony Music hits Lagos
The music fans will be happy to know Sony Music Entertainment is expanding its operational presence across Africa. This comes as part of a long-term strategy to open offices in a number of key markets in the region.
The company has recently opened an office in Lagos, Nigeria to serve as the new hub of its on-the-ground operations in West Africa, and has named music business entrepreneur Michael Ugwu as General Manager for the West African region.
It also recently began the process of registering to do business in Nairobi, Kenya, which will anchor the Sony Music’s physical operations in East Africa.
‘With over 800 million people living in Sub Saharan Africa, the African continent is a market with huge potential for local artists wanting to expand their horizons.”
The news comes seven months after Sony’s big rival, Universal Music Group, highlighted Africa as a key expansion territory in the coming years.In connection with the opening of operations in Lagos, Sony Music recently signed Nigerian superstar Davido to a worldwide deal. Sony Music has long had offices in South Africa, in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, and throughout the continent, Sony Music earns revenue from partners including Vevo, YouTube, Apple Music and iTunes.
“Expansion in Africa has been part of our strategy for several years,” said Adam Granite, President, Northern & Eastern Europe and Africa, Sony Music International.
“As the region continues to grow, we see significant opportunities to market the incredible local talent in Africa to the rest of the world as well as import our repertoire and exploit it on emerging digital platforms.”
App of the week
This week’s app is called HelloFood. It comes as the solution to the rapidly evolving fast lifestyle many of us have adopted where there is barely any time for conventional cooking. Take- out and restaurant culture is steadily on the rise.
HelloFood offers the convenience of allowing users in Ghana to order food at a click of a button. Users are given the choice of restaurants near to them and are also while being able to customize their meals with various sauces and toppings. The app also offers exclusive deals to save you money.
HelloFood was recently awarded the Best Mobile App Company of the Year at the 5th edition of the Ghana Telecom Awards.The app is available across Africa, in Nigeria, Morocco, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Algeria and Egypt as a free download via the Google Play Store, iTunes and Microsoft.
Music of the Week
Music this week comes from Kenya. If you’re unfamiliar with Bahati, he rose to prominence in 2013 with the song “Mama”. His smooth Swahili vocals partner with lyrics often describing his upbringing and the struggles he has overcome, singing over well- produced beats. Enjoy the beautiful visuals for “Machozi” below.