America's music stars are turning more and more to Africa

Kanye West (photo), Beyonce or Jay-Z concerts in Abidjan or Dakar?

It's only a matter of time, according to journalist Jennifer Padjemi.

REUTERS - RANDALL HILL

Text by: Kpénahi Traoré Follow

3 min

Beyoncé and Jay-Z in collaboration with Oumou Sangaré, Kanye West who has giant screens installed in African cities (Accra, Lagos, Johannesburg, Abidjan and Dakar) for the release of his new album, the American music stars are turning more and more towards the continent, and in particular its French-speaking countries.

On the Place du Souvenir in Dakar, and on one of the facades of a large hotel in Abidjan, Kanye West fans were able to enjoy a preview listening session of some songs from their next album. star.

Why this marked interest in Africa?

Publicity

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The American rapper-composer Kanye West is not the only one to woo Africa, Beyonce and Jay-Z also unveiled a few days ago, the clip "

Mood for eva

", a collaboration with the famous Malian singer Oumou Sangaré .

If Nigeria was until then the country that attracted the most American artists, now this attraction is gradually spreading to the whole continent, especially French-speaking African countries.

An interest which is not so trivial, according to Jennifer Padjemi, journalist and specialist in pop-culture: "

Today, Africa is the way out, precisely, to go elsewhere, since today Africa is an important market in the music industry, not least because it is increasingly connected.

So young people take precedence as much as young Europeans, as young Americans and therefore it is also important to be able to recover this demography, because it is more and more present

”.

The success of African artists

African artists like Burna Boy and Wiz Kid who won Grammy Awards this year have demonstrated that they are just as capable of achieving star fame outside the continent. Success that does not leave you indifferent. " 

We can clearly see that the North-South crossing is no longer so obvious and that it is rather done upside down, that today, it is rather the so-called southern music that will praise Western artists

" , continues Jennifer Padjemi.

Kanye West, Beyonce or Jay-Z concerts in Abidjan or Dakar? It's only a matter of time, according to the reporter: “ 

I think it's going to happen, but the question is when. Because there are several parameters that are often questioned, we will say that the infrastructure is lacking for major concerts for Beyoncé or Kanye West. We will say that the tickets for the concerts of these artists are quite expensive, we will have to deal with that otherwise it can be experienced by African fans as contempt because these stars tour everywhere in Europe, in Asia except in Africa. At some point, they will no longer have a choice, it will happen, you have to ask yourself when. "

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