African artists and musicians shine as they showcase their talents at Toronto’s Papermill Theatre. Here’s our Afro-Gene 2024 recap.
From Nigeria and Ghana to South Africa, African music is having a run. Music from the African continent is experiencing unparalleled global mainstream success, as African artists and musicians sell out arenas and have big names like Chris Brown looking for features alongside their African counterparts.
In Canada, there’s a growing number of artists who either immigrated to Canada from Africa or are born to African parents who are bringing the sounds of the continent to North America.
This talent was on full display at the Papermill Theatre in Toronto as African artists, as well as those from the diaspora, showcased their musical talents at Afrogene 2024, curated by Fusihype, the night was hosted by comedians Jayaykenny and Ebiye Victor, with Edgethedj spinning the tunes.
Some of the higkhlights included local artist Ssunday, with his soulful and bluesy sound, who performed his singles “Blue Sunday” and “33 Bay st.” Not only is he good performer, but he got the crowd involved as they sang “Set it off”.
There was also Maxcocobaby, a Nigerian-Canadian artist with a big and soulful voice, as well as Gift Eber, a
a native of Burundi who sang passionately to the ladies in a mix of Burundi, English, and French. He had some of the best crowd reaction of the night, while making them want to dance.
Ashley “The Artist”, who we previously saw perform at Filltheblnk, performed a cover of Aṣa’s “Fire On The Mountain”, a fitting song which she used to highlight the genocides in Palestine and the Congo.
Other performers included Regardless GGM, with his Afrobeats and Drill fusion, Sasky Mali a Nigerian-born Afrofusion artist with a message, and Calgary’s Chinelo who performed her original song “On My Mind”.
But the 2024 champion was none other than Kafayé with his polished vocals and production.
To stay up-to-date on the latest from Afrogene, give them a follow at instagram.com/afrogene.ca.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 310 international voters for the 81st Golden Globe Awards by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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