This Is Africa: Our first year

We celebrate the first birthday of This Is Africa by looking back at some of the most inspiring up-and-coming artists who have starred in our spotlight feature, focusing on new talent from every corner of the continent.

The ten featured artists come from Algeria, Togo, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Botswana, Kenya, Libya, South Africa, Namibia and Nigeria. They include Bahjat from Libya, who isn’t letting the insecurity in his country get in the way of his career: he has been studying at a pop academy in Sweden. Lioness from Namibia is somehow managing to combine her increasingly successful life as a popstar with her job as a hospital doctor, while Gigi Lamayne is a ball of energy and talented wordsmith from South Africa who has overcome tough challenges and tackles tough subjects in her rap lyrics.

Image: Brian Nadra (Credit: Arthur Keef), Rooofa (Credit: Zak Studio), Mula (Credit: Ibrahim Canaan), Santrinos Raphael (Credit: Riozda Pictures), Bahjat (Credit: Sebastian Jorquera/Vidavision Mediagroup) and Bad Gyal Situa (Credit: Paragon Agency)