Apple Music premiered its first episode of Africa Now with Nigeria’s foremost female DJ last Sunday, kicking it off with a conversation including Nigerian producer Kiddominant and South African actress and television personality Pearl Thusi.
The premier follows Apple Music’s recent launch of their Africa Now playlist, highlighting a continued interest in the music of the African continent. The radio show aims to highlight the latest in African music including amapiano, afrobeats, highlife, alte, house, hip-hop, afrobongo, kuduro, and more. Both the playlist and the show is an ambitious attempt to build a bridge between classic and contemporary African music, including the diverse sounds of Africa’s many countries.
DJ Cuppy, the radio show’s host and DJ, has been the face for African music on more than one occasion; DJing for the MTV Africa Music Awards, appearing in a 2018 World Cup commercial as a Pepsi DJ ambassador, and more recently as a Global Citizen Education ambassador. Cuppy has released two compilations of her own, House of Cuppy I & II which feature remixes of afropop hits and urban tracks.
Regarding the new Africa Now program the host stated, “There are so many rich textures and sounds in Africa and the time is now for the world to embrace our diversity. Each and every week I’ll be bringing a dynamic guide to discovering and celebrating the biggest and best sounds from across Africa, the Motherland. It will be entertainment at its best, Cuppy style!”
Each show will feature Apple’s selection of the best and hottest of Africa’s music, finishing off with a 10-minute DJ set of tracks pulled from the Africa Now playlist. Episodes air weekly on Sundays 6am LA / 9am NY / 1pm Abidjan / 2pm Lagos/London / 3pm Johannesburg/Paris / 4pm Nairobi only on Apple Music.
